Mary Tyler Moore Essay, Research Paper

Who can turn the

world on with her smile? One person stands out. A TV

legend and an American icon: Mary Tyler Moore. Mary

was born in Flatbush on December 29, 1973 to

Irish-Catholic parents. Mary’s family was neither rich nor

poor. As a child, she attended St. Rose de Lima Parochial

School. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was

only ten years old. When she became older, she became a

popular actress. Through the years, Mary Tyler Moore has

remained as popular as ever. With recent movies such as

"Flirting With Disaster" and "Payback". But it wasn’t always

so easy for her. She started out as the leggy secretary, Sam

on "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" in 1957, where

you could only see her legs. In 1961, Mary got her biggest

break yet, playing Laura Petrie, the wife of Rob on "The

Dick Van Dyke Show". Mary played her part well for the

next six years. During this time, she was awarded two

Emmy’s. In 1966, the show was taken off and Mary was

left without a job. In 1967, Mary went on to play the part

of Miss Dorothy in the Oscar winning, "Thoroughly

Modern Millie". She played along side Julie Andrews and

Carol Channing. In a survey taken by 97 people who had

seen the movie, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" ranked a 7.7

out of on the rating scale, where 10 is the highest and 1 is

the lowest. The number 10 received the highest number of

votes (29). Through the years, Mary appeared in other

movies, which did little for her career. Then, in 1969, she

appeared with Dick Van Dyke in a special "How To

Succeed in the 70’s Without Really Trying" which appeared

on CBS on April 13, 1969. It was this show that rekindled

the network’s interest in Mary Tyler Moore. CBS is

reported to have said, "My God, we’ve discovered a star".

CBS wanted Mary for a series. At the time, they felt that

they needed to explain to the audience why a 30 year old

woman had not been married. In a way, it demonstrated

how limited the public’s thinking was at the time, with

respect to women. At first, the studio suggested a divorcee.

Mary loved the idea, but the network soon decided that the

viewing audience would think that Mary had divorced Dick

Van Dyke. At first it was so frustrating to executives that

they considered giving up on the series completely. On

January 10, 1970, Jim Brooks and Allan Burns came up

with the "format" for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". This

started one of televisions most memorable series. When the

show first tested among viewers though, it received the

worst ratings in CBS history. The network decided to try

the show out anyway. With a combination of a great cast,

including Cloris Leachman, Edward Asner, Valerie Harper,

Ted Knight and Gavin MacLeod, and a great group of

writers, the show finally made it. Over it’s seven year run,

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" received 29 well deserved

Emmy awards, which is more than any other show ever.

Among these awards were "Actress of the Year: Mary

Tyler Moore", Three "Outstanding Comedy Series"

awards, Three "Outstanding Supporting Actress" awards

for Valerie Harper, and others. The popular show,

launched three spinoffs for other cast members. They

included "Rhoda", starring Valerie Harper, which started in

1974, and was once higher rated than "The Mary Tyler

Moore Show" itself. Also launched was "Lou Grant"

starring Edward Asner, and "Phyllis" starring Cloris

Leachman. In those days, there were few entertainment

programs which featured career women, but ?Mary

Richards’ was the ideal of a modern, independent

Midwestern career woman. Mary Tyler Moore paved the

road for other leading female television performers. Who

knows? Without Mary Tyler Moore, they may have never

been a Roseanne, Ellen Degeneres, Brett Butler, or

Candice Bergan. After seven years, the show ended sadly

in 1977. In a heartwarming episode entitled simply, "The

Last Show", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" left the

airways in a way most shows only dream of going. Mary

Tyler Moore believes that the show could be put on again

and still work. "If you were to re-do the hair and re-do the

clothing, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,

because the shows were about feelings, insecurities and

small triumphs. We were never on the soapbox." Moore

said. After "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", Mary went on

to win a Golden Globe and an Academy Award

Nomination for her role as Beth in "Ordinary People", and

she appeared in other films such as "Just Between Friends"

and "Six Weeks". She also appeared in various television

series, including "Mary" and "Annie McGuire", in which she

played the title roles. A victim of diabetes, Mary serves as

the International Chairperson for the Juvenile Diabetes

Foundation International and The Diabetes Research

Foundation. Mary is also a strict vegetarian and animal

rights activist. Mary believes that while there are other

things to eat on the earth that don’t require the killing of

innocent creatures, than animals should not be killed. Mary

hopes that one day people will say "Can you believe

people used to eat animals?". Mary Tyler Moore recently

wrote her autobiography, which is entitled, "After All". Her

biography proves that Mary Tyler Moore and Mary

Richards are not much alike. She breaks new ground when

she talks about her struggle with drugs and the pain of

trying to help her brother commit suicide. Mary’s latest

feature film, "Flirting With Disaster", starring Ben Stiller and

Patricia Arquette, shows a new side of Mary. The film

teeters on the edge for most viewers who are used to the

?Mary Richards’ side of Mary Tyler Moore. Ms. Moore,

on the other hand, thinks otherwise. "The characters are

married adults and there’s nothing actually explicitly shown.

It’s always over the back of the head and nothing is seen."

After bit parts and lead roles, Mary Tyler Moore shows

that she has had her share of ups and downs. Her

production company, "Mary Tyler Moore", has produced

many popular television sitcoms, and today, Mary is one of

the wealthiest women in show business. In 1996 Mary was

crowned Queen of Brooklyn, showing that she truly did

"Make It After All"