Yeah. This one actually hurts. I've been expecting this news since hearing her health had tanked a few weeks ago around her birthday but still..... Both Laura Petrie and Mary Richards are gone...
She radiated class. Was never associated with anything but great shows. She was a really important cultural icon, with her ground breaking shows. So sorry to see her go,. Went to a taping of a show in Hollywood many years ago. It was a pilot of r a sitcom starring Betty White. Mary was one of the exec producers. Right before they rolled cameras, Betty called out Mary's name in the voice of her character on the MTM Show (can't think of the character's name). To our our surprise, Mary stepped close to the main window of the booth behind us and waved. They had to hold up rolling until the applause died down. She looked great that night. RIP.
Well, crap. I'd had no idea her health had declined so much. Not only was The Mary Tyler Moore Show quite brilliant, but her production company was responsible for the existence of Hill Street Blues. So two of the best TV shows ever made had her involved in one way or another. I read somewhere today that she once said she couldn't create a character, that she essentially played herself. What that means about her extraordinary performance in Ordinary People may not bear thinking about. So many people seem to think celebrities have charmed lives and absolutely nothing to complain about. Her personal life, with its succession of tragedies (actual, as opposed to the usual stupid definitions), proved what crap that belief is. Requiescat in pace, and thanks for the fabulous memories.
Seeing this pop up on my phone yesterday was like getting punched in the stomach. I watched her every week when I was a kid for as long as her show was on the air-- and, of course, saw her constantly on re-runs of Dick van Dyke's show. She was not only a great talent and a cultural icon, but a wonderful role model-- she was quiet and kind and easy going, yet her personality was like a force of nature. RIP, Mary Tyler Moore.
Looks like Me-TV will be airing a tribute block of MTM this Sunday afternoon, and Decades has rescheduled their weekend Binge for Feb. 4-5 to MTM. Wonder who has Dick Van Dyke these days (other than Netflix streaming)? It's bounced around between retro channels. Me had it years back. COZI has it listed as one of their current shows, but not scheduled in the listed slot.
I've got DVD on DVD - I don't want to trust to the vaguaries of syndication. I've noticed of late, rewatching it as an adult, that Mary was every bit Dick's equal in talent and comic timing. And of course, Mary in Capri pants and Diana Rigg in a catsuit - equal crushes in my teenage years
The Bob Newhart Show, St. Elsewhere, Lou Grant, WKRP, Remington Steele... Though the main force behind the company was her former husband Grant Tinker, who died a couple of months ago. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the first sitcom I remember being aware of week to week (it's said that it changed national viewing patterns, people stayed home Saturday nights to see it). I followed the various spinoffs (even Phyllis; I remember reading of Burt Mustin's death in the newspaper). I even watched the variety/sketch show Mary, with unknowns David Letterman and Michael Keaton. Pretty strong legacy she left, there!
The wife and I have been watching the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Hulu. A very entertaining show. My wife commented how similar her and Daisy Ridley seem to be. Not a bad entertainer for Ms. Ridley to be compared to. RIP Ms. Moore.
For me it's more about what sort of tributes she's getting from the channels that are running the shows. On that note, I read that CBS is airing a tribute special tonight at 9 p.m. EST.