<Li> Martin and Ida Morgenstern were portrayed on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda by veteran actors Harold Gould and Nancy Walker, respectively . They were the parents of Rhoda Morgenstern . Ida was portrayed as a stereotypical overbearing Jewish mother, whereas Martin was somewhat calmer and more even - keeled . While Rhoda was living in Minneapolis, Ida occasionally visited . When Rhoda moved back to New York, she initially stayed with her mother in the Bronx . During the run of Rhoda, Martin and Ida separated while Martin went off to find himself and pursue a long - shelved dream of becoming a lounge singer . Toward the end of Rhoda's run, Martin had returned and was attempting to win Ida back, though this remained unresolved when the series ended . </Li> <Li> Dottie and Walter Richards are Mary's parents . Dottie was played by veteran actress Nanette Fabray and Walter was played by Bill Quinn . Their first appearance was in 1972, two years after Mary had left her fiancé and moved to Minneapolis . Her parents moved to Minneapolis to be near Mary, though Mary and her mother, in particular, had a bit of trouble learning to relate to one - another, now that Mary was an adult . That season they made a handful of appearances on the series, before disappearing without explanation . </Li> <Li> Marie Slaughter was played by actress Joyce Bulifant . Marie was the wife of news writer, Murray Slaughter, and a homemaker . She and Murray had three daughters; they adopted a Vietnamese son toward the end of the series . </Li> <Li> Joe Warner was played by actor Ted Bessell . He became Mary's boyfriend during season 6, appearing in two episodes . Prior to appearing on the Mary Tyler Moore show, he was best known for having played Marlo Thomas' boyfriend in the sitcom That Girl . </Li>

Who played murray's wife on the mary tyler moore show