Actress Anne Meara, who played Rhoda's friend 'Sally Gallagher' in the first half of season 3, died yesterday at the age of 85. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Meara joined the cast in the beginning of Season 3, as 30-something airline stewardess Sally Gallagher (aka "Big Sal") who meets Rhoda and Brenda at a single's resort one weekend. The three hit it off as 'friends' and Sally became a semi-regular to the cast in September.

It was a pivotal time for the series, as RHODA begins the season without her husband Joe, and without her parents Ida and Martin. (David Groh was written out of the show, while Nancy Walker left to star in her own short-lived sitcom.) The writers were trying to create a whole new supporting cast for the character, and added Meara and actor Ron Silver (who passed away in 2009) to the cast that season.

Meara's character came across as sarcastic and angry in almost every episode, and didn't have the right chemistry with the others. Her last appearance was in December 1976, for the "New Year's Eve" episode (it would be Groh's last appearance, as well). Meara's character was never seen again, nor ever mentioned again.

R.I.P. to Anne Meara.

No offense and I know this is probably not the right time to mention it, but I kind of understood why they didn't keep her on Rhoda for too long. She clearly was older than the rest of the cast and to me she didn't quite fit in.

As I said before, it's too bad Jerry Stiller and Anne didn't have a show on their own that they did together. I can't figure out why it didn't happen.

I agree - she was too old and certainly didnt fit in. They did surround Harper with young actors on the show (maybe to distance that group from her parents) and having Sally as a friend didn't really mix. Plus, she came across as angry and sarcastic all the time - not a character you could warm up to or want as a friend yourself.

Rest in peace.

I think in fairness to the Sally character,played so well by Anna Meara,she was trying to fill the void of the much missed Nancy Walker for season3,the sad thing is Rhoda's girlfriends like Mryna,Susie and Sally all disappeared after season 3 and we were stuck with the unfunny Benny.

I think in fairness to the Sally character,played so well by Anna Meara,she was trying to fill the void of the much missed Nancy Walker for season3,the sad thing is Rhoda's girlfriends like Mryna,Susie and Sally all disappeared after eason 3 and we were stuck with the unfunny Benny.

If they were trying to make Anne Meara the replacement for Ida Morgenstern it wasn't going to work out. And it didn't. They tried to make her a peer for Rhoda rather than a mother figure, and like we said before, she was too old for that. Then again she was too young to be a mother figure. She just wasn't right for the show.

Benny is a more amusing character to me than Sally Gallagher, even if a lot of people don't consider him very likeable.

I liked the Benny character much more than Sally.

Benny was naive, charming and likable in an 'odd duck' sort of way. He fit in because the other characters surrounding Rhoda were odd ducks as well - Brenda, Myrna, Gary, Johnny Venture.

Sally was just an angry woman. She was not warm or likable in any way - very hard and rough for the show. Now I don't know if this was Meara's interpretation or if this was how the producers wanted her character - but it was not a good fit at all.