Valerie Harper, the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" alum who has been battling brain cancer for more than a year, has reportedly been sued by a group of Broadway producers who claim the actress never told them about her life-threatening illness.
The producers of the show "Looped," led by playwright Matthew Lombardo, want $2 million from the 74-year-old Harper for allegedly intentionally failing to notify them that her
lung cancer had spread to her brain, TMZ reported.
Harper, who starred in the 2010 "Looped" Broadway run and even earned a Tony Award nomination, was slated to headline a national tour scheduled for 2012-2013. The suit claims that she knew about her illness when she signed on for the show but never said anything to the producers about it until she told the public in March 2013.
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Harper's illness ultimately caused her to drop out of the show, and Lombardo now wants $500,000 — plus another $1.5 million in punitive damage — for the inconvenience.
TMZ noted that the suit seems to be in response to one Harper filed against Lombardo, arguing that he never paid the remainder on her contract.
Harper was initially diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009 and learned in late 2012/early 2013 that the disease had spread to her brain. At the time, doctors gave her just three months to live.
But she pushed on, even competing on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."
Earlier this month, rumors swirled that Harper's cancer was in remission, forcing the actress to make a public statement and set the record straight.
"In response to a recent erroneous quote concerning my health,
I am not 'absolutely cancer-free,'" she said at the time. "I wish I were. Right now what I am is cautiously optimistic about my present condition and I have hope for the future."
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