1
-There was a night of TV that
was Mary Tyler Moore.
-I watched
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
There's not one show that
I missed.
FEY:
That show was big, big deal.
Yeah.
- Who can turn
the world on...
-It was second nature to me,
I didn't feel that separate
from the character
I was playing.
- Who can take a nothing day
-She became America's sweetheart
very quickly.
- Well, it's you, girl,
and you should know it
-DICK VAN DYKE:
I mean she was gorgeous,
and she had a sensuality
about her.
-She was an embracer of
the world.
- Love is all around...
-BETTY WHITE:
We became very close friends.
And that's why it was such fun.
- You're gonna make it
after all
-GAVIN MACLEOD:
She just had a gift from God.
And, for me,
she was a gift from God.
-You get that jolt from the
audience when they laugh at you.
Aah! Aah!
[Laughter]
-She did everything so naturally
and so gracefully.
- What we need is
perfect harmony
When she came on
it changed America.
- ...make it
after all
It was real turning point,
the '70s were
and that show was.
-I think Mary Tyler Moore has
probably had more influence
on my career than any other
single person or force.
-You're not allowed to ask that
when someone's
applying for a job.
It's against the law.
-Wanna call a cop?
-No.
-It's a yard stick by which
most sitcoms could not
measure up to today.
-You two would probably hit it
off pretty good.
-Well, I certainly wouldn't be
averse to meeting Redford,
if the situation ever
aroused...
Arose.
[Laughter]
-She reaches right out through
the television set
and says, "Here, I gotcha!"
-Because who didn't love her?
She was lovable.
She was bright.
She was gorgeous.
-NARRATOR: On the dance floor,
everything was perfect
for young
Mary Tyler Moore.
She could forget about
her alcoholic mother,
her distant father,
the abuse by a family friend.
-Because I wasn't a very happy
little girl growing up.
-NARRATOR:
When she was performing,
all her problems melted away.
This was the Mary the world
would come to love --
focused, fun-loving,
the ideal daughter,
the caring friend.
-I was learning, I think,
how much I loved it.
-NARRATOR: In her late teens,
Mary was determined to make it
as a dancer in Hollywood.
No one spent more time
perfecting her craft,
ensuring her moves
were flawless,
her timing precise.
These were skills that would
serve Mary Tyler Moore well --
but not on the dance floor.
-I wanted to be a star dancer,
but they weren't making
that many musicals anymore.
- Every day is a holiday
with Hotpoint
-I'm Happy Hotpoint!
-NARRATOR:
Mary turned to acting,
and given her effortless beauty,
small roles came fast.
-"77 Sunset Strip,"
and "Hawaiian Eye,"
and oh, lord -- um, but they did
give me experience.
-My mother was coming west
to find a new home.
My father had been killed during
the battle of Bull Run
fighting for the South.
-But I thought you said before
your father fought with
the North?
-Oh, he did.
He did.
Both the North and the South.
That way he didn't show
any favoritism.
-NARRATOR: Small dramatic roles
paid the rent,
but Mary longed to do comedy.
Then, sitcom star Danny Thomas
auditioned her
for a part as his daughter.
Mary's breakthrough moment
seemed at hand.
-It started with
hundreds of actresses,
and it was pared down to just
two of us,
and I was one of them.
And, um, after
the final, final auditions,
he came over to me and said,
"Mary, I want you to know
that the reason
you didn't get the job
is not because you're not
a good actress,
it's because you have
a very funny nose
and no one would believe
you're my daughter."
-NARRATOR: It may have been
Penny Parker who got the role,
but it was Mary Tyler Moore
whose career was
about to explode.
-Here, Rich, this is it.
This is Daddy's office.
See the typewriter?
That's where Daddy writes
the show.
-NARRATOR: In 1959, Carl Reiner
produced a pilot for a TV show.
He cast himself as the star,
playing a comedy writer
named Rob Petrie.
-What gives, Rob?
What's with the kid?
-You can't bring a child --
-Shh, please,
as a personal favor,
let him stay here.
He has no idea how his father
earns a living.
-And you want him to find out?
-NARRATOR:
The network loved the show,
but it hated the idea of
Carl Reiner in the lead.
-And the network said Carl,
you're wrong for the part --
which he wrote for himself.
-NARRATOR:
The entire cast was fired.
Reiner hired Dick Van Dyke
for the lead role,
but he couldn't find the right
actress to play
Van Dyke's wife...
Until Mary Tyler Moore
walked in the door.
-I gave her a page to read,
and she said the first line,
and I heard this sound in her
voice, a ping in her voice.
-MOORE: And Carl Reiner just
looked at me with a kind of
a look of awe.
-Soon as she read that line,
my hand became the claw
in that machine
that picks out candy
at the arcades.
I walked her across the room.
-In the middle of the scene,
he put his hand on my head,
I was sitting in a chair across
from him, and said, "Get up."
I got up, and he steered me down
the hall
to Sheldon Leonard's office.
-And I walked her down the hall
to Sheldon Leonard's and I said,
"Sheldon, I got her."
And that was it.
-And we read the scene again.
And I knew that something
wonderful was happening.
-Morning, Honey!
-What do you mean by that?!
It may be a good morning for you
but it wasn't for me.
You didn't have to clean up
the mess that this one made
when he decided to finger paint
all over the bathroom mirror
with the toothpaste.
And you don't have to be
concerned at all about the fact
that the cleaning woman
isn't coming today
and you have five
people coming for lunch.
Sure, go ahead.
Good morning. Why not?
-Honey, give me another chance!
-NARRATOR: Carl Reiner packed
the cast with
experienced comedy pros like
Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam,
and Richard Deacon.
It might have been
an intimidating environment
for a newcomer like Mary,
but Reiner knew just how to
nurture the budding actress.
-MOORE: He became, to me,
my father, my confessor,
my best friend,
my brother.
He was everything that a woman
would like to have around her
to make her feel strong
and appreciated.
-REINER:
I was those things to her,
and she needed those things.
Her father was a man who never
said a word to her.
-NARRATOR: Reiner brought Mary
along gradually,
building her confidence
by letting her do
what she knew best --
dance.
[Cheering and applause]
-NARRATOR: Soon Carl Reiner gave
Mary small physical bits
to build her comic skills.
-Aah! Aah!
[Laughter]
-And we only could do it
one time
because we only had
one inflatable boat.
We never practiced.
We said whatever happens on
the show is what we use.
-No! No!
[Laughter]
-That's good acting, using
the moment and being yourself.
-She just got it so quickly
that I'm still fascinated by how
fast she grew on that show.
-NARRATOR: A key step came when
Carl Reiner gave Mary a chance
to "cry funny."
Always the student,
Mary went to everyone she could
for advice.
-It's got to be a funny cry.
She said,
"How do you cry funny?"
She said, "I really don't know
how to cry at all," she said.
She said, "Show me."
-Well, yesterday morning...
and I kissed you...
and you said, "Don't do that,"
and you came down
to breakfast...
your yucky shirt!
I got to go to pieces
in front of him
and tell him what madness
drove me to this act
and how sorry I was
and how stupid I was,
but he did seem to not be giving
me very much attention
and so on,
and I got to cry.
-And the gray hair!
And Harpo Marx!
And the general yuckiness!
-Aw, honey.
-I prepared very well
for that crying scene.
I copied everything that
Nanette Fabray ever did
in a crying scene --
and she was the master.
[Wailing]
-Nanette! Nanette,
I'm terribly sorry.
Nannette, I didn't mean
to make you cry.
Really, I'm sorry.
-Take your hands off me,
Phillip Pendleton!
-NARRATOR: Years later,
Mary and Nanette
would have a chance to shed
some tears together --
a rare moment for television's
two best criers.
-Well, if I knew you felt
so strongly about it,
I wouldn't have brought
the meat loaf.
-Mother, we are not talking
about the meat loaf.
-Well, then,
what are we talking about?
-We're --
Mom, will you stop crying?
That isn't fair.
-I'm not crying.
[Whimpers]
-NARRATOR:
On "The Dick Van Dyke Show,"
Mary's repertoire of
vulnerability grew quickly.
Embarrassment became
her comic trademark.
-What'd you win?
-Oh, I, uh, won a...
A dryer, and a...
rotis -- rotisserie...
and a vacuum.
I'm so unhappy.
-The one where she blabs that
Carl wears a toupee,
just a tour de force.
-Aw, he got you to say something
embarrassing, didn't he?
What was it?"
-That Alan Brady is bald.
-The scene with Carl where he's
got all his toupees up there.
You remember, he calls Mary in
and he says,
"There she is, fellas."
-Fellas...
[Laughter]
There she is.
There's the little lady who put
you out of business.
-As you know, Alan, I...
You see...
When I...
-What, what, what?!
-How's your foot?
-How does it look?"
And I put my leg down, I hit on
the phone accidentally...
-Ooh!
-Aah!
-And I went, I screamed into
the phone.
I loved that when I saw that.
[Growls]
-You can ask anybody --
I've always said
I like you so much better
without your, um --
-It's hair! Hair!
You didn't have any trouble
saying it on television.
-I said to her,
"Boy, that was perfect."
-NARRATOR: For Mary Tyler Moore,
developing her comedy skills did
not mean losing her femininity.
She was blazing a trail
for a new generation of women
on television.
-That's right, one of the few
who maintained her femininity.
I mean she was gorgeous, and she
had a sensuality about her.
And she always kept it.
-NARRATOR: Mary's beauty
and comic timing
mixed perfectly with her
self-effacing persona.
The result?
She possessed a unique ability
to connect with viewers.
The whole country wanted to
give her a hug.
-She was their Mary.
And that's a wonderful quality
for any performer
to get from an audience.
Their wanting to take care of
you because they love you.
Wasn't that wonderful?
That's a gift.
That's a gift!
-NARRATOR: Mary's mannered
persona was in stark contrast
to the outsized antics
of the most popular female
comedian of the 1960s.
-Viv?
-Huh?
-Do you think we can squeeze out
through the top?
-We might --
we might not have to.
In a few minutes we'll be able
to float out.
Ah!
-She is a brilliant clown.
She creates
her own comedy.
I'm an actress
who can perform comedy well,
but I am not a comedian.
They're two
very different things.
-NARRATOR: Lucille Ball's sitcom
filmed on the stage next door to
"The Dick Van Dyke Show."
Often the veteran would secretly
watch the rookie at work.
-She would apparently come over
to our soundstage
and climb up the ladder
on the wall
and walk her way
over the catwalk.
And one day I guess
we had done something
that really got to her,
and she laughed out loud.
And there was no missing
that laugh.
[Lucille Ball laughing]
And we looked at her,
and she came down,
and she was talking to
all of us.
And as she was leaving,
she turned around to me
and she said,
"You're very good."
Not a lot of flowers,
not a lot of comedy in that,
but it really hit me.
And I knew that I must have
something worth continuing with.
-NARRATOR: Mary's growing skills
on "The Dick Van Dyke Show"
opened up the opportunity to
guest star on
variety shows of the era --
most notably a special
with Danny Kaye.
[Laughs]
-NARRATOR: Five years on
"The Dick Van Dyke Show"
meant Mary had the opportunity
to learn from one of
TV's most talented
comedians.
-When I cast Mary, I brought her
in to meet Dick
and Dick took me aside and he
said, "Hey, she's beautiful,"
and all that, but he says,
"She's much too young.
Nobody's going to believe it."
He was 31
and she was, like, 23.
And I said -- I said,
"Believe me,
they'll believe it."
-NARRATOR: Eleven years
her senior
and vastly more experienced,
Van Dyke took the time to help
Mary learn the ropes.
-MOORE: He's a great human being
and one of the most
generous performers
that I've ever worked with.
-She was 23
when she came on the show
and had never done
any comedy.
-MOORE: He was back there
giving me little hints,
little suggestions
and things.
-She did some takes that I said,
"Now you're on the right track."
Why didn't you call me?
-Because I thought you might be
in conference
with Miss Blake.
-Oh, come on now, Laurie.
Since when have I ever been
too busy to talk to you?
-You've been very busy
blake-ly --
[Laughter]
I mean it's wonderful to help
someone else get a laugh,
but it's God's own gift
to get one yourself.
I always wondered if I could get
back into shape enough
so someone would offer me a job
as a professional dancer again.
And now I know.
I did it!
And I wondered if I could take
the strain of the daily classes
and the rehearsals
and the exercise.
And now I know.
I can't!
[Laughter]
-You can't?
-No, Rob, there isn't a bone
in my body
that isn't screaming,
"For heaven's sake,
lie down in a hot tub!"
-NARRATOR: After
"The Dick Van Dyke Show"
ended in 1966,
Mary was cast alongside
Julie Andrews
in "Thoroughly Modern Millie."
-Oh, but, uh, my bags!
Oh, it's all right.
We can manage.
I live here."
-Oh, thank you.
Ahh.
-NARRATOR:
It was the kind of film
Mary had long dreamed of
performing in --
a chance to sing and dance
in a movie musical.
-She's a girl next door,
and she's also a looker,
and, look, she can dance.
Oh, my God.
This is a great package.
-I must study you if I'm going
to be an actress.
You see, the theater today is
full of ruthless women.
-Art reflects life.
That was in a speed test.
But it's true --
women today are free.
For the first time,
we're man's equal.
We can go out into the world
and make a life for ourselves.
And I fully intend to.
-So do I!
-NARRATOR: Two years later,
Mary landed a starring role
in "Change of Habit."
But when Elvis Presley signed
on, Mary's role was diminished.
-John, please!
-W--
You gotta be kidding.
-I'm a member of the Order of
the Little Sisters of Mary.
[Scoffs]
John, please say something.
-I'll be damned.
-I'm sorry.
-NARRATOR: Mary Tyler Moore
was Elvis Presley's
last leading lady
in his final
dramatic film.
-Let me show you how to do this.
You put these three fingers
right here like that.
Go ahead.
[Strumming]
That's right.
Now this one right here.
[Strums]
Very good.
Now these three here.
-What?
-These three right here.
-NARRATOR: It wasn't only
Elvis' swan song --
Mary Tyler Moore also
gave up on films
for more than a decade.
Instead, she tried Broadway --
in a lavish musical based on
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."
The play failed miserably.
-NARRATOR: By the late 1960s,
Mary's career was foundering.
-I even went to a psychologist
long after the show
went off the air,
just to see what I might have
done as a career
had I not chosen to be
a performer.
And it was three days
of testing.
And at the end of it, the result
was that, um --
in mathematics, I function at
about a fourth grade level,
just not there.
And that I would be best suited
for work either as
a model
or a member of
the armed forces.
[Laughs]
-NARRATOR: Mary Tyler Moore
didn't need to enlist,
all she needed was a nudge from
her old friend Dick Van Dyke.
-He did a variety special,
asked me to be on it with him,
and he just gave me
the spotlight.
Are you all right?
-Huh?
-All you all right?
-Yeah.
You had me going for a second.
Oh...
May I ask you something?
Did walnuts come out of
that closet?
-Walnuts?
-Yeah.
We showcased her.
She danced,
and we did sketches.
And the network saw that
and gave her a series
right away.
-Hey, I've got another
"Remember When."
-What?
-Remember when I said
I'd like you to come on
my special?
-Mm-hmm.
-And you said how long was it,
and I said an hour?
-Yeah.
-Well, it's up.
And it was from that special
that CBS decided to ask me
to do my own series.
All thanks to Dick.
-NARRATOR: Starting in 1970,
"The Mary Tyler Moore" show
began an unprecedented run,
winning more acting Emmy awards
than any show in TV history --
including four for Mary,
three for both Valerie Harper
and Ed Asner,
and two each for Betty White,
Cloris Leachman, and Ted Knight.
-Is this a picture of you with
Nikita Kruschev?
-Yeah.
-W--
-Oh, don't touch --
-You pasted your face
on somebody else's body?
-NARRATOR: The structure of
the series
put Mary at the stable center in
a universe of quirky characters.
-She straighted for all of us.
She was the straight man
so much of the time.
-You have to wash a pot that you
just boiled water in?
-How should I know?
I only use paper pots.
-I kind of liked Murray.
He's a brown bagger I could kind
of associate with.
-Ted has this really silly idea
that you're carrying on
with some cheap floozie.
-And you promised you wouldn't
tell, darling.
-Oh-ho-ho!
-Phyllis, when I first read
the script,
it said she was neurotic.
I have to go to
my hairdresser's.
-Don't you have to be at
the office?
How can you have
your hair done?
-Mary, it's for those patients
I'm doing this.
If I look my best
it gives them hope.
Something to shoot for.
Eventually it turned out I think
that I was,
"the sure, firm touch on the
wrong note."
[Chuckling]
Confident.
[Laughs]
Proud of all the things
you shouldn't be proud of.
Did you know the male bee
is nothing but the slave of
the queen?
And once the male bee --
how should I say --
has serviced the queen,
the male dies.
All in all,
not a bad system.
-Lou Grant gave me my center.
You want to go on a date
with me?
You're outta your mind.
He's a simpler soul.
He's a more honest soul,
far less devious than I am.
We're friends!
We respect each other,
we care for each other
we care a great deal.
How can two people who feel like
that date each other?
-NARRATOR: Perhaps the most
eccentric of all the characters
on the show was anchorman
Ted Baxter,
played by Ted Knight.
-The Chamber of Commerce
announced they're beginning to
take applications for queen of
the winter carnival.
So all you pink nosed
little snow bunnies...
Mary, can't you see
I'm doing the news?
Read it?
All right...
Out loud!
Why didn't you say so?
-His posture,
and then his delivery.
He was just fabulous.
-Ted, you're not getting
a Teddy Award.
You weren't nominated this year.
I'm sorry but there will be
other years.
[Wailing loudly]
-NARRATOR: Despite all
the comic talent,
in the first few weeks of
the series, ratings were poor.
Critics called it a disaster,
and labeled Mary's character
a "spinster."
-Just trying to do the best show
we could,
getting to know each other,
becoming familiar with the role,
um, praying that it lasted.
-NARRATOR: Within a few weeks,
the show found its footing
and soon became a Saturday night
institution.
-There was a night of TV that
was Mary Tyler Moore.
-I watched
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
There's not one show
that I missed.
-That show was big, big deal.
Yeah.
-Every Saturday Night,
for as long as that series
was on the air.
-NARRATOR: Behind the scenes,
the atmosphere at
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
was more friendly than
the average sitcom,
thanks largely to Mary's
tireless efforts
to ensure a happy set.
-Generosity -- she would say in
a run-through,
"You know, Jim, Allan, I think
this joke is a Rhoda line.
I don't think it's as good
for Mary."
She's giving away laughs.
-If everyone is getting along,
they're obviously doing
their best work.
I don't care whether you're
a mechanic in a garage
or an executive high above
Park Avenue, you know.
If you like each other,
you work with each other,
and it can't help but make
the product good.
-The show was just full of love.
It's that basic. It's love.
It's love.
Mary Tyler Moore's theme
was "Love is All Around."
-NARRATOR: Valerie Harper
and Cloris Leachman
were especially close --
their off-screen friendship
enhanced the comedy.
-We loved each other.
We're great friends.
We'd go to lunch every day
and decide what
we were going to do.
-I always had fun with Cloris
in a scene.
-Mary, you're not doing her
any favors,
encouraging her in this life
of sloth.
-Oh, come on Phyllis,
she's not slothy.
-The show where Valerie
has lost her job
as a window dresser,
and she is in Mary's apartment
day and night, night and day,
24/7, I'm just sick of it.
I'm just sick of it.
-Mary, as her friends,
we owe it to her
to straighten her out.
We have to force her to take
a good, hard look at herself.
We have to shake her up.
We have to slap some sense
into her.
-And she says "Rhoda!"
-Rhoda!
-And then she says it
a second time with a lot
of power -- "Rhoda!"
-Rhoda!
-And then she comes over
and takes,
disconnects my dryer and --
That was an old -- I don't think
they even make them anymore.
-Rhoda!
-What? What?
[Gasps]
What?
The show is brilliant because
Mary is who you want to be,
who you wish you were.
Rhoda is who you probably are
and Phyllis is who you are
afraid you'll become.
And that's pretty close to
the truth.
-NARRATOR: Actors especially
liked working on the series
because the writing was superior
to most other sitcoms
of the era.
-Nobody ever had to complain
or suggest that
something be changed,
because the scripts
were always near perfect
when we got them.
We would sit around the table
on Monday morning,
and they would come down
near perfect.
-You value that writing.
You never take it for granted
because it doesn't happen
that often.
-NARRATOR: At the helm
were James L. Brooks
and Alan Burns.
Their goal was to create comedy
that flowed from
real characters,
not the cardboard cutouts
that so often populate sitcoms.
-Television has
a responsibility --
[Ted interrupts]
Would you shut up, Ted!
I knew
they respected the truth.
And I knew they weren't ever
going to make a joke
that didn't make sense.
It was going to be because
it followed.
This was such an important night
to Wes.
He was counting on it so much.
And I don't have
a handkerchief.
[Sobbing]
-NARRATOR: The biggest cultural
breakthrough on the show
was the portrayal of
Mary herself --
the first single, independent
career woman on television.
-After working here
for three years
and doing every little
piddly job
from ordering paper clips
to tweezers,
I think I am ready for
a little more responsibility.
Something challenging,
something difficult.
-You do, huh?
-Yes, I do.
And I think if you did that
for me
it would take some of the load
off your shoulders.
-You're right.
By golly, you are right.
-NARRATOR: In an era when women
were fighting for equal rights,
Mary Tyler Moore was the most
visible example
of a new future for women.
-When she came on,
it changed America.
So many women have told me
it changed their lives,
made it possible for them
to work themselves.
-When you see somebody
accomplishing something
that your heart also desires,
and you see them do it
so well,
the message of that is,
that is possible.
-I've got some responsibility
for you right now.
Two things,
as a matter of fact.
-You do?
That's great.
-First thing, I want you to hire
a new sportscaster.
-Oh, Mr. Grant, thank you.
That's wonderful.
But I -- I didn't know that
Ed is leaving.
-Neither does he.
That's the second thing you do,
fire Ed.
-Oh, no.
Mr. Grant, please, no, I've
never fired anybody in my life.
I had a cleaning lady once
I couldn't fire, so I moved.
-NARRATOR: Mary's character
wasn't militant.
She made her point in a quiet,
endearing way
that fit Mary's
natural personality.
-There was a goodness about her,
and I kindness about her
that I related to
in myself.
And, oh, my God,
I wanted to me Mare.
-She never would, like,
blow up or something.
She would say,
"Well, that wasn't
a very nice thing to say."
-Because if you push me,
then I just might have to
push back -- hard.
-[Laughs]
C'mon, You can't carry that off.
-I know.
I was kind of that woman,
you know, I was that person.
I grew up in a very
conservative household,
and I went to
a private girls' school,
and you behaved in
a certain way.
And it was second nature to me,
so, I didn't feel that separate
from the character
I was playing.
-I was playing
a very mean character.
It was a hospital scene where
she was having her tonsils out.
I was a very crusty lady
and I took Mary on
and I dished it out to her.
I was horrible to her.
-So how come you changed rooms?
-Because of my roommate.
-Your roommate?
-Yeah, she kept wanting
to talk.
I got hate mail from that show.
I received hate --
"How dare you treat our Mary
in that manner?!"
I wanted to say, "Folks, I'm
paid to say those words.
I think Mary is wonderful.
I'm with you!"
-NARRATOR: Feminist leaders like
Gloria Steinem were not happy
with Mary's subtle portrayal,
and wanted her to play
a leading role
in the emerging
feminist movement.
-I believed that women --
and still do --
have a very major role to play
as mothers.
It's very necessary for mothers
to be involved with
their children.
And that's not what
Gloria Steinem was saying.
Gloria was saying, oh,
you can have everything,
and you owe it to yourself
to have a career.
And I didn't really
believe in that.
-NARRATOR:
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
did comment on the moral issues
of the early '70s --
but subtly,
and with humor.
-ASNER:
There were several episodes
that I was involved
with Sherry North,
who was a band singer,
and there's a wonderful moment
in the office
where, you know,
I get worried about
what kind of reputation
she might have.
-Okay, okay, so there have been
some other men.
-Not some other men,
lots of other men.
-Well, what's the cutoff point,
Mr. Grant?
I mean, is there some number?
I'd really like to know.
How many men is a woman allowed
to have
before she becomes
that sort of woman?
-Six.
[Laughter]
-Well...
-Walks out.
-I wash my hands
of the entire matter.
-There's a beat,
she comes back
and looks at me
incredulously.
-Six?!
-NARRATOR: In the same way,
when the show's producers took
on racial issues,
the storylines flowed naturally
from the characters.
-The producers, Allan Burns
and Jim Brooks,
they were such class acts.
They didn't pander to the lowest
common denominator,
they did not go for the obvious
race jokes
that every other writer in the
business seemed to be going for.
-Is that what you think?
That I'm not good enough?
I mean go ahead and say it
if you think it's true.
Don't worry,
I'm man enough to take it.
-Okay, Ted,
maybe that's the reason.
Maybe I don't think
you're good enough.
[Wailing]
-Gordy was contrary to
most of the roles
that were being given to
African American actors
at that time,
in that he wasn't a stereotype.
-You know, Ted, when I told you
before that my life
is the same as yours,
I was lying.
It's better.
Want to hear the terms of
my contract, Ted?
-No, no, no, please!
-I'll tell you, Ted --
-No, I don't want to hear --
-I've got a penthouse
in the east 60s
and the company pays for it.
That's right, Ted.
You know how I get to work
every day?
Chauffeured limo,
to and from.
Chauffeured limo, Ted.
That's right.
And my picture hangs right
next to Walter Cronkite.
-NARRATOR: Backstage, the series
stayed true to its values,
hiring more female writers than
any other sitcom of the era.
-Bridesmaid dresses.
Who thinks of that?
What man thinks of
a bridesmaid's dress?
Every woman if you ask her she
will get into a horrible,
not-flattering outfit
for her girlfriend.
Well, come out kid,
how bad could it be?
There's one, we were in
Little Bo Peep costumes.
That's what they looked like.
That's -- we were --
Literally!
-Who would have thought that
the stuff I said
was packed around the dress
was the dress?!
-Just to have
more women writing,
and that
women can be funny.
-NARRATOR:
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show's"
most acclaimed episode involved
the death of Chuckles the Clown.
-Well, what happened, Lou?
Who died? Would you tell us?
Chuckles.
Chuckles the Clown is dead.
It was a freak accident.
He went to the parade dressed as
Peter Peanut.
And a rogue elephant
tried to shell him.
-NARRATOR On paper,
the Chuckles episode
ran 5 minutes short,
but once the story was performed
for a live audience,
the show came out
the right length --
thanks to laughter.
-So, I went out there where
the first scene was with Murray,
and he starts telling
one liners about
"Born in a trunk died
in a trunk."
Lucky more people weren't hurt.
Lucky that elephant didn't go
after somebody else.
-That's right.
After all, you know
how hard it is
to stop after just one peanut.
[Laughing]
Because it's so hard to stop
after the one peanut.
That's when the house
went up like that.
-And with each one, I laughed
belly laughs
like I had never laughed
on camera before.
That's not funny, Murr--
[Laughing]
And it infected the audience.
And we added a minute
in that scene.
And that same process
just kept going,
adding minutes throughout
the show.
-Remember how his arch-rival
Senor Ka-Boom,
hit him with a giant cucumber
and knocked him down?
Mr. Fee Fi Fo would always
pick himself up --
[Mary stifling laughter]
...dust himself off,
and say,
"I hurt my foo-foo."
[Mary stifling laughter]
-She had to do that twice.
You only see it once,
but she did it twice.
Whew.
It was as good the second time
as the first time.
It's technique.
-And what did Chuckles ask
in return?
-[Stifles laugh]
-Not much.
[Mary giggling quietly]
In his own words --
a little song,
a little dance,
a little seltzer
down your pants.
[Laughs boisterously]
[Feigns coughing fit]
-By the end of the performance,
we had amassed
our missing 5 minutes.
-NARRATOR: Given
the acting talent on the show,
it's not surprising that nearly
every performer
got their own series --
some even before
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
went off the air.
The first was
Valerie Harper's "Rhoda."
-People fell in love with Rhoda.
Everybody knew
a Rhoda Morgenstern.
They'd say, "I recognize her.
Gee, that's like my niece.
Doesn't she run the drugstore
down the block?"
-NARRATOR: As great characters
were spun off,
others filled their shoes.
The departing Cloris Leachman
and Valerie Harper
meant the entrance of
Betty White.
-One Saturday morning,
I remember the phone rang,
and it was Mary;
she said,
"Hey, would you do a guest shot
on my show?"
Of course, she had to coax,
as you can imagine.
I think what we have to talk
about is more important than
your chocolate souffl.
-I'm sorry but this is
a very critical time.
-Well, I'm sorry this is a very
critical time for me, too.
[Slams oven]
-Oh, my poor baby!
Sue Ann Nivens was
the Happy Homemaker...
She also had a little problem
that she liked men.
Any men.
Anybody's men.
She just liked men.
Doug is from Saskatchewan.
He was on my show last week when
I was demonstrating
how to cook without a kitchen.
And that was sort of what made
the character kind of fun.
-NARRATOR: Eventually Sue Anne's
bedroom was revealed
in one of the series'
funniest episodes.
-Haven't you ever seen
my bedroom before, Mary?
-No, no I would have
remembered this.
-They discovered that she had
this, like,
a triple king size bed.
-But -- [laughs] -- the idea of
the audience being privy to
her bedroom after all this talk
about her wildness.
-How've you been Ted?
-Oh, swell, swell, Sue Ann.
Wow, what a great bedroom,
Sue Ann.
-Stop!
-All of a sudden, Ted is there
straightening his tie
in the ceiling.
So, you know the whole thing is
mirrored up there.
It was funny.
-I really feel terrible
if I made you leave the station.
[Clicks button,
bed vibrating ]
[Ted laughing]
-Ted!
-[Laughing]
I used to go to motel rooms
with my wife and I,
and spend 25 cents to get
a vibrating bed.
[Laughs]
And now, the did -- oh, I mean,
that's the genius of
the writers.
-NARRATOR: By 1977,
the show's writer/producers
wanted to end the series,
but Mary did not.
Eventually, she decided to
give in and move on.
-But Jim and Allen were anxious
to write for somebody
other than a young woman
living in Minneapolis.
And so they did "Taxi."
And the other actors, I think,
wanted to go on
and try new things.
I was still just having
a marvelous time
and didn't really
want to do it.
But good things happened to me
and probably wouldn't have
had we gone with the show
for very much longer.
And last night I thought,
what is a family,
anyway?
They're just people
who make you feel...
less alone...
and really loved.
And that's what you've done
for me.
-NARRATOR: In the series'
final episode,
Mary Richards says goodbye to
her colleagues at WJM,
in TV's most famous
group hug.
-I treasure you people.
[Mary sobbing,
audience laughs]
-Final scene,
all in the office,
and we're all hugging,
and the Kleenex was there
and they were sitting out --
[Sniffs]
And how do we get the Kleenex?
And Jim Brooks said "Go for it,"
and that's when
that whole thing started.
-I think we all need
some Kleenex.
-GEORGETTE: There's some
on Mary's desk.
[Laughter and applause]
-We're always loving
and leaving.
-When she turned off
the lights
for the last time...
it was the end of that show,
but a new beginning
for a lot of us,
because you have to go on.
...but my heart's
Right there
It's a long way
to Tipperary
It's a long way
to go
It's a long way
to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl
I know
Goodbye, Piccadilly...
-NARRATOR: The end of her sitcom
created an opportunity
for Mary to follow her longtime
dream of a weekly variety show.
-So! Variety...
Okay, let's give it a try.
Variety was wonderful for me
because it answered my singing
and dancing drive.
-NARRATOR: Once again,
Mary surrounded herself
with gifted performers.
-This year I'm going to be
surrounded by
a fantastic bunch of people
who will be with me every week,
and I'd like you to meet them
the same way I did --
through their
audition tapes.
We had the just burgeoning
David Letterman.
-David Letterman
audition tape.
[Laughter]
-Hi, Mary.
My name's Dave Letterman
-We had Michael Keaton.
-I'll tell you what,
I'll just go home
and I'll wait for
your call, okay?
I gotta get going because I
gotta do some dental work
on my cat.
So, just leave a message.
-Just a brilliant bunch
of people,
and we did some very
well-written
and singular sketches,
but it didn't catch on.
It just didn't work.
-NARRATOR: Mary tried a second
variety show the next year,
but the results were the same.
As the 1970s came to a close,
Mary Tyler Moore's future
was unclear.
Her new television projects
had not found an audience.
She battled alcoholism.
Her marriage to TV executive
Grant Tinker
was headed for divorce.
And then
the worst blow of all --
her only son died
in an accident in 1980.
-It was a tragedy.
A terrible tragedy.
She's had so many tragedies.
And, uh...
It's just very sad.
[Sniffles]
-NARRATOR: At a time when many
might have slid into despair,
Mary Tyler Moore
found a way out.
In fact, her comeback
was already underway.
When Robert Redford read the
best-selling book
"Ordinary People,"
he knew it would be
the perfect story for his debut
as a director.
In the role of the uptight,
repressive Beth Jarret,
Redford chose
Mary Tyler Moore.
To many, the choice seemed
all wrong.
But Robert Redford knew
exactly what he was doing.
-You drink too much
at parties, Calvin.
-I'm not drunk.
-Why did you tell Annie Marshall
that Conrad is seeing
a psychiatrist?
-I don't know.
Why not?
-Well, for one thing,
I don't think
people hear that kind of thing
very easily.
-C'mon, for most people
it's a status symbol,
right up there with
going to Europe.
-Well, I thought you blurting it
out like that
was in very bad taste.
-I didn't think --
-Not to mention a violation
of privacy.
-Who's privacy?
-Our privacy!
The family's privacy.
I think it is
a very private matter.
I like working for a director,
I like being shaped
and encouraged and discouraged.
I know I'm not perfect.
If I can't go around hugging
everybody all the time
the way you do,
then I'm sorry!
I'm not asking you
to be perfect.
You're missing the point."
I don't want to see any doctors
or counselors.
I'm me.
This is my family.
And if we have problems then we
will solve those problems
in the privacy of our own home,
not running to
some kind of specialist
every time something
goes wrong.
--Are you folks ready to order?
-NARRATOR:
Fans and movie critics alike
were stunned by
Mary Tyler Moore's
moving performance,
and she was nominated for
an Oscar.
-We just want you to be happy.
-Happy?!
-Yes!
-Ward, you tell me
the definition of happy, huh?
But first you'd better make sure
that your kids are
good and safe --
that no one's
fallen off a horse,
or been hit by a car,
or drowned in that swimming pool
you're so proud of!
-Oh, Beth --
-And then you come to me
and tell me
how to be happy.
-Oh, she was --
She put you away!
Her character just
put you away.
-It also gave her a chance
to show the other side
of this comedienne.
And, oh, I thought
she was magnificent in it.
-NARRATOR: The film won
Best Picture for Robert Redford,
and Timothy Hutton won
best supporting actor.
Both owe a major debt
to Mary Tyler Moore.
-You remember Buck
asked you --
he tried to talk you into
getting a dog,
do you remember that?
He said, "How about if it's just
the size of a little football?"
-You know, um...
that -- that animal next door,
that Pepper or Pippin,
whatever --
-Pippin. Pippin. Pippin!
-...is not a very friendly dog,
I -- I don't care what
Mr. McGreery says.
-What he really wanted was
a retriever
that was down
the street for sale --
-...and every time that dog
comes into this back yard,
and I try to get him out --
-[Barks]
[Barking]
-Put that on if you're going to
stay out here, okay?
-It was heart-wrenching.
But at that time for Mary to go
from what she'd been doing
and what the audience
thought of her,
to this really suffering...
-NARRATOR: That same year,
Mary returned to Broadway
in "Whose Life is it Anyway?"
This time earning critical
praise -- and a Tony Award.
At about the same time,
she met the man who would become
her third and final husband,
Dr. Robert Levine,
forming, by all accounts,
her happiest marriage.
Mary Tyler Moore
continued to act,
but now her life was entering
a new chapter --
with a special focus on
helping others,
including a major effort
to raise awareness of
Type 1 diabetes,
a lifelong condition for Mary.
-But that's the passion I have
to this moment.
Two years ago, I joined the
one hundred child delegation...
-NARRATOR: She testified
before Congress,
served as president of the
Juvenile Diabetes Association,
and even wrote a book to help
others cope with the disease.
-If Type One diabetes is not
diagnosed quickly enough,
or left untreated,
you die.
-NARRATOR: Despite all her work
for good causes,
Mary's greatest legacy
is as a role model,
inspiring women
from all walks of life.
-She was a role model for me not
just in,
"Oh, gee, I see Mary on TV and I
really like Mary,"
but, wow, what kind of woman
and what kind of businesswoman
created this?
Thank you, Mary, for being such
an inspiration to us all --
all of us women
in television.
Mary Tyler Moore herself
walked out and surprised me
on that show.
[Cheers and applause]
Oh!
[Screaming and cheering]
It's still one of the greatest,
most profound surprises.
- It's you, girl,
and you should know it
-WINFREY: It was the first time
I actually ever ugly cried,
like, snot running out of
your nose cry.
-My God!
-Yeah!
That opening scene --
"Who can turn the world on
with her smile?"
This is one of the favorite,
most fun things I've ever done.
I cannot watch this enough.
For that moment, it was
suspended reality for me.
Who can turn the world on
with her smile?
-WINFREY: Mary Tyler Moore
lived in Minneapolis.
I tried for years to get a job
in Minneapolis.
I wanted to move to Minneapolis,
I wanted to be in Minneapolis
because of Mary Tyler Moore.
- Love is all around,
no need to waste it
You can have a town,
why don't you take it?
-That one moment where I throw
my hat up in the air.
Oh, my goodness, I dreamed of
that moment forever.
-NARRATOR: Tossing the hat
was a symbolic moment,
an expression of freedom
and new beginnings.
Like no one else in the 1970s,
Mary Tyler Moore
embodied that idea --
and a generation looked to
follow her lead.
-Your legacy is every life
that you touched.
-NARRATOR: "You're going to make
it on your own"
was her theme song,
but that's the paradox of
Mary Tyler Moore --
because she wasn't alone
at all.
She was surrounded by people
who loved her --
millions,
all across the world.
-Because who didn't love her?
She was lovable.
She was bright.
She was gorgeous.
-She's the girl next door...
And she's also a looker,
and, look,
she can dance.
Oh, my God.
This is a great package.
-All of a sudden,
there's one that kind of
knocks your socks off,
and she's one of those.
-The combination of everything
she's ever done in her life
that touched our hearts,
that made us want to turn the
world on with our own smiles.
-Somebody said,
"Were you jealous of Mary?"
I said, next to her family,
I was probably the most proud
person in the world.
-Mary Tyler Moore remained
the perfectly beautiful icon.
She's the Grace Kelly
of comediennes.
-A national treasure.
Mary is a national treasure.
[Sniffles]
-And I fancied myself a young
Katharine Hepburn
about the time that we started
"The Dick Van Dyke Show,"
and if, in a rerun, you watch
the right episode,
you'll catch me up on saying
things like,
"Oh,darling..."
[Laughs]
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