In 1970, she also made her first appearance playing Ida Morgenstern, the mother of Valerie Harper's character Rhoda Morgenstern on the first season of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". The role proved to be ideal for her. The episode that introduced her character, "Support Your Local Mother", was so well-received that it won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy Series for James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. Walker thereafter became an annual guest star on the show for the next three years. When the MTM spinoff series "Rhoda" premiered in 1974, Walker was a regular cast member.