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Who Was Mary Tyler Moore?
Mary Tyler Moore, an award-winning actress, is celebrated as one of television’s most beloved figures, renowned for her portrayal of Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show during the 1960s. Her remarkable performance on the series earned her three Emmy Awards. In 1970, she starred in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a groundbreaking series that showcased her role as a single, career-oriented woman in her thirties, garnering her an additional three Emmys. These iconic television sitcoms solidified Moore’s status as one of the most popular actors in television history. The legendary actress passed away in January 2017 at the age of 80.
Early Life and Career
Born on December 29, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, Mary Tyler Moore was the eldest of three children of George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and Marjorie Hackett Moore. Raised in the Catholic faith, her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was eight years old, where she began her journey in acting and dance during her high school years.
Moore launched her entertainment career as a dancer in commercials, notably portraying Happy Hotpoint, a dancing elf used to promote home appliances in the mid-1950s. She also worked as a chorus dancer in various television variety shows. In 1959, she achieved a significant milestone by landing a role in the television drama Richard Diamond, Private Detective, where she played Sam, a glamorous secretary represented solely by her shapely legs. Throughout her early career, Moore made numerous guest appearances on shows such as Johnny Staccato, Bachelor Father, The Tab Hunter Show, 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, and Lock-Up.
Her film debut occurred in 1961 with X-15, an aviation drama featuring David McLean and Charles Bronson, marking the beginning of a distinguished career in both television and film.
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Mary Tyler Moore rose to prominence in 1961 when she secured the role of Laura Petrie, one of television’s most cherished characters, in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Created by Carl Reiner and featuring Dick Van Dyke in the lead role, the series showcased Moore’s exceptional comedic talent, earning her Emmy Awards in 1964 and 1966 for her performance. Following the show’s conclusion in 1966, Moore transitioned to film, starring in musical features such as Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), where she portrayed an aspiring actress alongside Julie Andrews, and Change of Habit (1970), in which she played a nun who develops a romantic relationship with a doctor, played by Elvis Presley. She also demonstrated her range in the television thriller Run A Crooked Mile (1969), acting opposite Louis Jourdan.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Moore achieved her next significant success with the 1970 launch of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a groundbreaking series that she not only starred in but also produced with her second husband, Grant Tinker, through their company, MTM Enterprises. The show resonated with audiences and became a cultural touchstone, reflecting evolving societal views on women in the workplace. Moore’s character, Mary Richards, was one of the first successful single female leads on television, navigating both personal and professional challenges as a television producer at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. The series also featured notable talents including Ed Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Betty White, Valerie Harper, and Cloris Leachman.
Moore’s outstanding performance earned her three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in 1973, 1974, and 1976. The show concluded its run in 1977. Beyond her own series, her production company was responsible for a number of other acclaimed television programs, such as The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78), Taxi (1978-82), Hill Street Blues (1981-87), Remington Steele (1982-87), Cheers (1982-93), and spin-offs of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, including Rhoda (1974-78), Phyllis (1975-77), and The Lou Grant Show (1977-82).
In recognition of her iconic role as Mary Richards, a statue depicting her throwing her hat in the air—an unforgettable moment from the show’s opening sequence—was unveiled in downtown Minneapolis in 2002.
Later Theater and Film Work
Following her initial success, Moore attempted to make a return to television with series such as Mary (1978) and New York News (1995); however, neither achieved lasting popularity. Nevertheless, her career continued to thrive in other areas. In 1980, she won a Tony Award for her role in Whose Life Is It Anyway? on Broadway and received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of an emotionally distant mother in Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford.
In her later years, Moore appeared in several television movies, including First, You Cry (1978), Heartsounds (1984), Finnegan Begin Again (1985), Lincoln (1988), in which she portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln, and Stolen Babies (1993), for which she won another Emmy Award. In 1996, she returned to film in the comedy Flirting with Disaster, directed by David O. Russell, where she played the adoptive mother of Ben Stiller’s character.
Personal Life
Throughout her life, Moore was married three times. She wed Richard Meeker in 1955, with whom she had a son, Richard, before their divorce in 1961. She later married television executive Grant Tinker in 1962, a partnership that lasted until their divorce in 1981. Tragically, Moore’s son Richard died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1980. In 1983, she married Robert Levine, a physician who had treated her mother, and they remained together until her passing.
Moore faced personal challenges, including struggles with alcoholism, a condition that afflicted her parents as well. Shortly after marrying Levine, she sought treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in her early thirties, she became a prominent advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In her later years, she dealt with complications from diabetes, including kidney and heart issues, and vision loss. In 2011, she underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. The following year, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.
A passionate animal lover and vegetarian, Moore was also an activist, collaborating with organizations like the Humane Society and Farm Sanctuary. She co-founded Broadway Barks in 1999 alongside Bernadette Peters, an initiative aimed at promoting pet adoption through an annual event featuring Broadway stars.
Death and Legacy
Moore was hospitalized in January 2017 in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she was reported to be in critical condition. She passed away on January 25, 2017, at the age of 80 due to cardiopulmonary arrest following pneumonia.
In the wake of her death, fans, co-stars, and fellow celebrities honored Moore as a pioneering figure both in front of and behind the camera. Carl Reiner remarked, “She’ll last forever, as long as there’s television. Year after year, we’ll see her face in front of us.”