Closer USA – August 05, 2019

few years to spend meaningful time with

the people she loves, including her husband,

Tony; her daughter, Cristina Cacciotti, 36;

and her four stepsons. “We’ve had a long

Hollywood marriage,” says Valerie of Tony,

a fitness expert–turned–entertainment

producer whom she wed in 1987 after eight

years together. (Her first marriage, to Rich-

ard Schaal, who played Chuckles the Clown

on MTM, ended in divorce after 14 years in

1978.) “I wish I had met Tony earlier, but I

didn’t,” she says. “I wouldn’t give up a min-

ute of my life with him. He has been there

for me since the day I met him. He just walks

into the room and my spirits lift.”

A LOVING PARTNERSHIP

Tony has always been Valerie’s rock, but

even more so during her ongoing illness.

“He’s my most constant guardian angel,” she

gushes. “He creates this space of no giving

up. When I’d say, ‘We only have so much time

— we’d better do this or that,’ Tony just swal-

lowed his own fears.”

His belief in physical exercise has also

been a blessing. Valerie assumed she’d spend

her days “sitting there watching televi-

sion with my feet up” when she first became

“Ijust

take

things

one

day at a

t i me.”

—Valerie,toCloser

“Somepeoplearewired

with positivityfromheadto

toe andthat’sValerie,”says

writer-directorSusieSinger

Carter,whocastheras a

womanbattlingAlzheimer’s

inthe 2016 shortfilmMy

MomandtheGirl. Valerie

ShedidDancingWiththeStars

(withTristanMacManus)in 2013

because,she said,“it might

proveinspiringto peopleto

see a 74-year-oldwomanwith

terminalcancerdancing.”

ill, but Tony motivated her to keep moving

— which might be another reason she has

thrived. “He said if I don’t walk I will be a

part of my own demise,” shares Valerie.

It’s been emotionally difficult at times, but

Tony never once thought of leaving Valer-

ie’s side through her ordeals. “Our marriage

has deepened,” he tells Closer. “We have an

extraordinarily strong friendship that’s the

foundation of our union. ”

That’s typical of the woman audiences

have considered a cherished pal since her

earliest days playing Mary Richards’ feisty

neighbor and best friend Rhoda Morgen-

stern on MTM. “ Valerie’s fought this fight

before and did so beautifully,” adds Della

Casa. “If she’s able to do it again, she will.”

Valerie, her family and their friends pray

that with financial help, a new round of

treatment and a whole lot of love, she’ll con-

tinue to make medical history. “I don’t

begrudge staying here,” says Valerie, who ad-

mits that it’s been gratifying to bring a spark

of hope to other people dealing with chron-

ic health issues. “I’m the poster child for not

listening to the doctor or believing every-

thing I’m told. I’ve had a great life.”

— Reporting by Katie Bruno

“I feel a tremendous

responsibility to honor this

magnificent human being,”

gushed Valerie of playing

Israel’s first female prime

minister, Golda Meir, in a

national tour and 2007 film

version of the one-woman

show Golda’s Balcony.