She was a novice at comedy and 12 years younger than Dick Van Dyke. But she learned. She was originally supposed to be the straight man to DVD. But then they wrote an episode where she's thinks Rob would love her more if she's a blonde. So she dyes her hair blonde only to discover Rob loves his brunette wife. So she starts to dye her hair back before he gets home. He gets there and her hair is blonde on one side and brunette on the other. She starts crying through her lines. And the rest is history. In her book, she admits she stole the crying bit from Nanette Fabray who would eventually play her mother on two episodes of the MTM Show. The Dick Van Dyke Show was her college and she learned from Reiner, Van Dyke, Rose Marie and More Amsterdam.
Anywho, go to Emmy Legends to see the interviews. For me, DVD and MTM were the perfect pair. Absolutely believable as husband and wife. Sexy and sophisticated and talented to boot. They sang and danced in their living room. I wanted their life. I wanted them to be my parents!
She as well as two women Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett were my three comedienne idols. To me, they are the three greatest female TV stars ever to live. Then there's everyone else. My generation grew up with them. Daytime reruns of Lucy's shows and the Dick Van Dyke Show. Here's Lucy on Monday nights and Mary and Carol on Saturday nights.
Saturday nights in the 70s. As my sister reminded me today. We would take baths, or get our hair washed and sit downstairs in the family room with our parents and watch CBS: All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart. And then we would beg our father to let us stay up and watch Carol Burnett. He would let us as long as we didn't give him a hard time about getting up for church in the morning. We always gave him a hard time on Sunday mornings. I would turn off my alarm clock, get back under the covers and shut my eyes when my dad came knocking on the door. I would pretend to be asleep and not wake up. He would walk over to my bed, calling my name, I wouldn't budge. He'd pick up the alarm clock, turn on the alarm and hold it up to my ear.
Loved those shows as a kid. But re-watching them as adult made me appreciate their talents. My fave eps of MTM: The Lars Affair, The Dinner Party, Put on A Happy Face, The Good Time News, Ted's Wedding, Once I Had A Secret Love, Mary Midwife, The Last Show.
The Dick Van Dyke Show: Coast to Coast Big Mouth, Pink Pills and Purple Parents, I'd Rather Be Bald Then Have No Head, It May Look Like A Walnut, The Curious Thing About Women.
Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with Diabetes back in the late 1960s and was an advocate and spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation as well as Animal Rights for many years. In recent years, her health declined quite a bit. She was losing her eyesight and had brain surgery a few years back. She hadn't been out in public in about three or four years.
I am glad that she is no longer suffering but boy will I miss her. At least we'll always have reruns and DVDs and streaming.
