Mary Tyler Moore: Trailblazer, groundbreaker, and role model

Mary Tyler Moore, at left, with co-star
James Farentino in their
1985 television show "Mary".

Source: www.imdb.com/title/tt0088562/

(may be subject to copyright)

She had blazed quite a trail for women in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but by the time the 1980s rolled around, Mary Tyler Moore had reached the zenith of her career. During the decade, she had unparallelled dramatic success in her career, and transitioned into television production, although by the close of the decade she twice was unable to recapture the magic and the popularity she had on television.

Mary Tyler Moore passed away in 2017 and, looking back at her career, she built quite a strong resumé of strong female characters, starting in a time when very few others existed. She truly was one of the groundbreaking trailblazers on television, and her legacy lives on in the multitude of strong women on TV today.

Legs and brains

Mary Tyler had her first continuing role on TV in “Richard Diamond, Private Detective” where she played a receptionist. Interestingly, her voice was heard and only her legs appeared on camera. I never saw the show, but saw clips as part of some history of television.

It was in 1961 that her face became well known when she began a five-year run on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” playing Laura Petrie, wife of Rob Petrie played by Van Dyke. That show went off the air in the 1960s, long before I was born. I did see an episode when Channel 7 on peasant vision celebrated its anniversary by showing a bunch of old shows it broadcast over the years. Over the span of a week or two, they re-broadcast “The Twilight Zone”, and “The Honeymooners” among other things, and an episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. That was my first exposure to that show.

What I recall most, aside from the fact it was still pretty funny was how young she looked.

Why was that?

Because, I had grown up watching her on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show”, where she broke ground as a single woman, working in a management position.

That show had some classic moments. Everyone who has seen the show, points to the “The Death of Chuckles the Clown” episode, as the hallmark of the show. That was one of the funniest episodes. However, for me, my biggest memory comes right from the opening show.

Mary Richards is being interviewed by Lou Grant, played by Ed Asner. He starts in with a bunch of questions, and the exchange goes something like this.

“What religion are you?” he asks.

“Mr. Grant, you really aren’t allowed to ask me that,” Mary responds.

“Oh, okay. Are you married?”

“Presbyterian.”

It was classic TV, and set the stage for a show with rich, well-written characters.

Yet, the show had its send-off, and it actually did have a final, farewell episode, before the dawn of the 1980s.

It was the climax of a TV career for Mary Tyler Moore that would never return to the same heights as it had been.

Mary Tyler Moore in 1980's "Ordinary People", perhaps her greatest dramatic role.

Source: http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2018/03/ordinary-people-1980.html

(may be subject to copyright)

The 1980s

Mary Tyler Moore opened the decade with a stirring performance in “Ordinary People”, a theatrical release that looked into the lives of a family after a son takes his own life. Moore played the grieving mother, struggling to cope with her loss. Her efforts earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress.

She would hit another home run in 1984 playing the wife to James Garner’s Harold Lear in the television movie “Heartsounds”, garnering her more critical acclaim and another award nomination. It was the story of a doctor who develops a heart condition and must contend with the health-care system. This time Mary Tyler Moore earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or special.

She would earn two more award nominations in the decade – a CableACE award nomination in 1985 for Finnegan Begin Again, and another Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or special in 1988 for playing Mary Todd Lincoln in "Lincoln".

That proved to be the height of the decade for Moore.

She would try her hand at two more series, neither gaining any traction from viewers.

In 1985, she starred in “Mary” as Mary Brenner, a former high profile writer at a fashion magazine who goes to work at a tabloid. The show also featured James Farentino, John Astin and a young Katey Sagal. It was cancelled after 13 episodes.

Moore was back again in 1988, starring in “Annie McGuire” where she played a newlywed with children, trying to cope with her life and ageing parents. One of its cast members was a 15-year-old Adrien Brody who would go on to win an Oscar in 2002 for “The Pianist”. “Annie McGuire” aired just eight episodes, with another three that never made the air.

Television production

Mary Tyler Moore in her
1988 television show "Annie McGuire".

Source: www.famousfix.com/topic/annie-mcguire

(may be subject to copyright)

Moore also had a major influence in the 1980s on television production, through her company MTM Enterprises. Created  in 1969 by Moore and her husband Grant Tinker, the TV mogul, it was responsible for a large number of successful shows such as, “Remington Steele”; “The White Shadow”; “WKRP in Cincinnati”; “Newhart”; “Hill Street Blues”; and “St. Elsewhere”.

One of the interesting features was that each show had its own unique closing credits involving “Mimsie”, the cat mascot for MTM. In “Remington Steele”, it had a Sherlock Holmes hat and pipe. In “The White Shadow”, it dribbled a basketball. In “WKRP in Cincinnati” it had sunglasses and played rock music. In “Newhart” it said meow with Bob Newhart’s voice. In “Hill Street Blues” it was dressed like a police officer. In “St. Elsewhere” it was in surgical garb.

Diabetes

Another aspect of Mary Tyler Moore’s life was the awareness she raised around diabetes. I recall a commercial on one of the channels talking about diabetes and some of the famous people who had it such as hockey player Bobby Clarke and actor Mary Tyler Moore. It was a cause she trumpeted throughout her life.

Parting thoughts

Mary Tyler Moore would continue on acting, including a return to the role of Mary Richards in a reunion movie with Valerie Harper as her best friend Rhoda Morgenstern in 1998.

She will always be remembered as a woman who played roles well beyond the conventional, or stereotypical roles of the time. She played strong women and, in her award-winning sitcom, a woman in a leadership role. That was almost unheard of then.

Moore will also be remembered for enabling creative shows to emerge through MTM Enterprises. Some of those, such as “Newhart”, “The White Shadow”, and “St. Elsewhere” were innovative, and even groundbreaking.

And, she was a champion for several causes, most notably diabetes. It was a disease from which she suffered, but she wanted to raise awareness of it, and tell people with diabetes they can lead normal, or in her case, extraordinary lives.

She would never recreate the success she had in the 1970s, but she successfully transitioned into theatrical and television movies, where she earned several award nominations in the 1980s.

All told, Mary Tyler was a trailblazer, a ground breaker, and a role model for a generation of women.

*This is from the vault