For the last 20 years, Julie Kavner has been known worldwide as the voice of Marge Simpson, the lovable, Homer-tolerating, blue-haired matriarch of television's classic dysfunctional family "The Simpsons." But people may forget that "The Simpsons" was hardly Kavner's first taste of success.

Her true smash debut came in the early 1970s, when Kavner burst onto the scene as Brenda Morgenstern, the sister of Valerie Harper's character in "Rhoda." A spin-off of the classic sitcom, "Mary Tyler Moore," the show finds Rhoda Morgenstern (Harper) moving from Minneapolis to her home in New York City and Brenda's apartment -- a host of hilarious situations involving her family (Nancy Walker and Harold Gould) and future husband (David Groh).

The first season of the series debuts on DVD (Shout! Factory) on Tuesday, and while the release marks the 35th anniversary of the debut of the show, Kavner said that the show, for the most part, doesn't feel dated.

"The writing was phenomenal -- the show still holds up. All of it does, except for the '70s wardrobe," Kavner said, laughing during a recent interview. "The show was so honest and true. And even though it was a comedy, it wasn't a joke show. It wasn't about doing setups and punch lines. It was the true definition of situation comedy. The comedy arose from the situations. The funniness came from the characters. It was real. The writing came from a real sense of these people."

Kavner said that she has no idea why it took so long for the show to debut on DVD, but she's thrilled the time is finally here because the show is so dear to her heart.

"The start to my whole life was 'Rhoda,'" Kavner said. "This was my first paying job. Plus, there was such great work going on during those years … it was always about the work. Valerie, who had a theater background, understood it. I had a theater background going, too, but no paid work. I was doing community theater, and we were paying to keep the doors open. I found that work ethic on 'Rhoda,' from the actors to writers and producers on the show -- David Davis and Lorenzo Music, to James L. Brooks and Alan Burns -- it was always about the work."

Making a good situation even better was the fact that there was no creative interference from outside sources on "Rhoda."

"We were working with Grant Tinker, the head of MTM Productions, whose philosophy was about hiring the people who can do the job and then let them do it," Kavner said. "That's not so these days. I hear stories from other television actors who say there are 20 executives from the studios -- who are not writers or producers -- who (come to a set) and feel like they have to say something. If they don't say something, the question arises of why they should have their job."

Thanks to Brooks, that same sense of creative freedom is something that Kavner and her fellow cast and crewmates enjoy to this day on "The Simpsons."

"Jim made the stipulation when we started 'The Simpsons' -- no network interference in terms of the creativity of the show," Kavner said. "We don't let them near the show. We don't let them come to the studio and give us notes about the writing and the scripts -- when you have 20 non-writers messing around with the script, I think you lose focus."

Thirty-five years and two hit series later (as well as a string of Woody Allen films), it's almost hard to believe that Kavner's casting on "Rhoda" was essentially by happenstance. She had originally auditioned for a guest-spot on "Mary Tyler Moore," but the opportunity didn't pan out. But Davis, who co-wrote the pilot to "Rhoda" with Music (the voice of Carlton the Doorman and, later, Garfield), remembered Kavner's audition and a year later, brought her back in for an audition.

For Kavner, landing the role on the show affirmed the old adage about one door closing and another one opening.

"That's the carrot -- as an actor, you get one carrot and you always hope for the next -- and you better damn well get used to rejection along the way," Kavner said with a laugh. "You know it's not personal, because there are a million people out there that can also do the job. It's about luck and timing, being in the right place at the right time with the right people."