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EspañolTHE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
'''Mary Tyler Moore''' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977. It was "one of the most acclaimed television programs ever produced" in US television history. The Mary Tyler Moore Show It also was a breakthrough for leading female characters in television, as it was the first time that a central figure on a television show was an independent career woman: "As Mary Richards, a single woman in her thirties Moore presented a character different from other single TV women of the time. She was not widowed or divorced or seeking a man to support her."
Over a seven year period, it received high praise from critics and Emmy Awards for ''Outstanding Comedy Series'' three years in a row (1975, 1976, and 1977).
Overview
Mary Richards (Moore) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis, Minnesota after breaking off a relationship with her boyfriend of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at TV station WJM-TV, only to find it has already been filled. To her surprise, she is offered the position of associate producer for the Six O'Clock News (which pays less than the job she originally sought).
At work, she befriends her tough boss (with a soft side) Lou Grant (played by Edward Asner), sympathetic, long-suffering newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). Mary's other acquaintances and friends include upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), a self-deprecating, ex-New Yorker who becomes her best friend, their self-involved landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) and her precocious daughter Bess (Lisa Gerritsen). Characters introduced later are the acerbic, man-hungry host of WJM's cooking program, ''The Happy Homemaker'', Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), sweet-natured, soft-spoken Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), Ted Baxter's girlfriend, and African-American weatherman Gordon Howard (John Amos).
The show dealt with issues such as romance, death, career, and friendship in the lives of Richards and her friends in a comical way.
Cast
Main Cast
★ 'Mary Richards' (Mary Tyler Moore) When Moore was first approached about the show, she "was unsure and unwilling to commit, fearing any new role might suffer in comparison with her Laura character in ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', already cemented as one of the most popular parts in US TV history."[1] It was originally planned for Mary to be a divorcée, but because this was still controversial in 1970, they settled for a broken engagement instead. Also, the network was afraid viewers might think that Mary had divorced Rob Petrie, her character's husband on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show''. In a further effort to differentiate Mary Richards from Laura Petrie (Moore's hairstyle had remained essentially the same since ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' left the air four years earlier), producers had her wear a long "flip" wig during the first and second seasons.
★ 'Lou Grant' (Edward Asner) Following the end of the series, Asner continued to play the same character in the long-running dramatic series ''Lou Grant''. This is one of the few times in TV history that a situation comedy spun off a dramatic series.[2]
★ 'Murray Slaughter' (Gavin MacLeod), the head copy writer, who saves his quips for Ted Baxter's mangling of his news reports, and Sue Ann Nivens' aggressive, man-hungry attitude.
★ 'Ted Baxter' (Ted Knight), the vain, dim-witted news anchor.
★ 'Rhoda Morgenstern' (Valerie Harper) (1970–74), Mary's best friend and upstairs neighbor. Harper eventually got her own spinoff series, ''Rhoda''
★ 'Phyllis Lindstrom' (Cloris Leachman) (1970–75), Mary's snobbish landlady; wife (and later widow) of Dr. Lars Lindstrom and mother of Bess. She also starred in her own (short-lived) spinoff series, ''Phyllis''.
★ 'Georgette Franklin Baxter' (Georgia Engel) (1972–77), Ted's sweet-natured girlfriend and eventual wife
★ 'Sue Ann Nivens' (Betty White) (1973–77), hostess of ''The Happy Homemaker'' show. Her superficially ever-cheerful demeanor belies her true, man-chasing nature. She is particularly attracted to Lou Grant (who in no way returns her interest).
Recurring Cast
★ 'Gordy Howard' (John Amos) (1970–73), The station's weather forecaster.
★ 'Bess Lindstrom' (Lisa Gerritsen) (1970–75), Phyllis' precocious daughter.
★ 'Ida Morgenstern' (Nancy Walker) (1970–73), Rhoda's meddling, domineering mother
★ 'Martin Morgenstern' (Harold Gould) (1972–73), Rhoda's father
★ 'Marie Slaughter' (Joyce Bulifant) (1971–77), Murray's wife
★ 'Dottie Richards' (Nanette Fabray) (1972), Mary's mother
★ 'Walter Richards' (Bill Quinn) (1972), Mary's father
★ 'Edie Grant' (Priscilla Morrill) (1973–75), Lou's wife. They eventually get divorced.
★ 'Andy Rivers' (John Gabriel) (1973–75), The station's sports reporter, and occasional romantic interest of Mary's.
★ 'Flo Meredith' (Eileen Heckart) (1975–76), Mary's famous journalist aunt. She and Lou are attracted to each other, but they are not willing to compromise their separate careers to build a serious relationship.
★ 'David Baxter' (Robbie Rist) (1976–77), the Baxters' adopted son
Awards and honors
Emmy Awards
1971
★ Edward Asner, Outstanding Performance by Supporting Actor/Comedy
★ Valerie Harper, Outstanding Performance by Supporting Actress/Comedy
★ James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, Outstanding Writing Achievement/Comedy, for episode "Support Your Local Mother"
★ Jay Sandrich, Outstanding Directorial Achievement/Comedy, for episode "Toulouse Lautrec is One of My Favorite Artists"
1972
★ Edward Asner, Outstanding Performance by Supporting Actor/Comedy
★ Valerie Harper, Outstanding Performance by Supporting Actress/Comedy
1973
★ Mary Tyler Moore, Outstanding Continued Performance by Leading Actress/comedy
★ Ted Knight, Outstanding Continued Performance by Supporting Actor/comedy
★ Valerie Harper, Outstanding Continued Performance by Supporting Actress/comedy
★ Jay Sandrich, Outstanding Directorial Achievement/Comedy, for episode "It's Whether You Win or Lose"
1974
★ Mary Tyler Moore, Actress of the Year/Series
★ Mary Tyler Moore, Best Lead Actress/comedy
★ Cloris Leachman, Best Supporting Actress/comedy, Single Performance for episode "The Lars Affair"
★ Treva Silverman, Best Comedy Writing in a Single Program of a Series with Continuing Characters and/or Theme, for episode "The Lou and Edie Story"
★ Treva Silverman, Writer of the Year/TV Series
1975
★ James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, Stan Daniels, Ed Weinberger, Outstanding Comedy Series
★ Edward Asner, Outstanding Continuing Performance by Supporting Actor/comedy
★ Betty White, Outstanding Continuing Performance by Supporting Actress/comedy
★ Cloris Leachman, Best Supporting Actress/comedy, Single Performance for episode "Phyllis Whips Inflation" (award shared with Zohra Lampert, ''Kojak'')
★ Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels, Outstanding Writing/Comedy for a Single Episode of Regular or Limited Series with Continuing Characters and/or Theme, for episode "Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?"
★ Douglas Hines, Outstanding Film Editing for Entertainment Programming
1976
★ James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, Stan Daniels, Ed Weinberger, Outstanding Comedy Series
★ Mary Tyler Moore, Outstanding Lead Actress/Comedy
★ Ted Knight, Outstanding Continuing Performance by Supporting Actor/Comedy
★ Betty White, Outstanding Continuing Performance by Supporting Actress/Comedy
★ David Lloyd, Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series for Single Episode of Regular/Limited Series with Continuing Characters/Theme, for episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust"
1977
★ James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, Stan Daniels, Ed Weinberger, Outstanding Comedy Series
★ Allan Burns, James L. Brooks, Ed Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd, Bob Ellison, for episode "The Last Show"
★ Douglas Hines, Outstanding Film Editing/Comedy Series, for episode "Murray Can't Lose"
Golden Globe Awards
★ 1971 Mary Tyler Moore, Best Actress/Comedy
★ 1972 Edward Asner, Best Supporting Actor/Comedy
★ 1976 Edward Asner, Best Supporting Actor/Comedy (tied with Tim Conway for ''The Carol Burnett Show'')
Honors
★ In 1997, ''TV Guide'' ranked "Chuckles Bites The Dust" 1st on their list of The Greatest Episodes of All Time. "The Lars Affair" made the list at 27th.[3]
★ In 1999, ''TV Guide''
★ In 2001, ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked the opening credits image of Mary tossing her hat into the air as #2 on their list of The 100 Greatest Moments In Television.[4]
★ In 2002, ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' was 11th on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
★ Bravo ranked Mary Richards, Ted Baxter, Lou Grant, and Rhoda Morgenstern on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters [1].
★ Entertainment Weekly placed "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" 1st in its list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows of all Time.
Memorable episodes
★ "Love Is All Around" (September 19, 1970) The very first episode, in which Mary Richards, 30, moves to Minneapolis after rebounding from a broken romance. She finds an apartment in the same large house as her old friend Phyllis Lindstrom and becomes friends with her upstairs neighbor, native New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern. She also gets a job as associate producer for The Six O'Clock News at WJM-TV.
★ "Support Your Local Mother" (October 24, 1970) Mary finds herself caught between Rhoda and her mother Ida when Mrs. Morgenstern, a member of the keep-them-feeling-guilty school of child rearing, comes to Minneapolis for a visit and Rhoda refuses to see her.
★ "Rhoda the Beautiful" (October 21, 1972) After dropping twenty pounds, Rhoda reluctantly enters a beauty pageant at work. Though she looks great (even Phyllis compliments her), she still can't get used to thinking of herself as beautiful. The episode won Valerie Harper her third "Best Supporting Actress" Emmy.
★ "My Brother's Keeper" (January 13, 1973) Phyllis wants to set up her visiting brother with Mary, but instead he hits it off with Rhoda and begins spending time with her to Phyllis's disapproval. We learn that Phyllis's brother is gay. Also This is Mary's first disastrous party in Minneapolis.
The final scene of the series in "The Last Show".
★ "The Lars Affair" (September 15, 1973) Phyllis makes a desperate bid to win back her husband Lars when she finds out that he's having an affair with Sue Ann Nivens, the star of WJM's Happy Homemaker series. The character of Sue Ann Nivens, played by Betty White, was introduced in this episode. This episode was ranked #27 on ''TV Guide's The Greatest Episodes of All Time.
★ "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (October 25, 1975) The ludicrous death of WJM's Chuckles the Clown, crushed by an elephant while dressed as Peter Peanut, provokes a torrent of black humor which has everyone in the newsroom but Mary convulsed in laughter. Mary's suppressed laughter comes out at an inopportune moment: at Chuckles' funeral. This episode was ranked #1 on ''TV Guide's The Greatest Episodes of All Time.
★ "The Seminar" (January 10, 1976) Mary accompanies Lou to a convention in Washington, DC, where Lou attempts to impress Mary with all the connections that he still has there from his newsapaper days. When none of them pan out, Mary begins to feel sorry for Lou, until he receives a call from First Lady Betty Ford (who appears as herself). (Ford and Mary Tyler Moore were, in fact, good friends in real life.)
★ "Mary's Three Husbands" (February 26, 1977) Lou, Ted and Murray all fantasize about what it would be like being married to Mary. However, even in his fantasy, Mary refused to go to bed with Ted during their honeymoon.
★ "The Last Show" (March 19, 1977) The new owner of WJM re-evaluates the news operation and, unable to determine the reason for the low ratings, arbitrarily fires everyone in the newsroom except for the supremely incompetent Ted. The tag of this episode shows Mary Tyler Moore introducing the other seven regular cast members to the audience as "the best cast ever."
Theme song
The theme song, "Love Is All Around," was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
The second verse of the song was used as the opening theme after the first season ("you're gonna make it after all" instead of "you might just make it after all"). It has been covered by artists such as Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Christie front drive, Sammy Davis Jr., and Hüsker Dü.
Opening title sequence
The opening sequence of Mary tossing her hat in the air was ranked by Entertainment Weekly as the second greatest moment in television
The opening title sequence was created by Reza Badiyi who also did the one for ''Hawaii Five-O''. Badiyi came up with the idea of having Mary throw her hat into the air. An older woman can be seen in the background, obviously puzzled by the sight of a young woman tossing her tam o'shanter in the air in the middle of the street. This unwitting "extra" was Hazel Frederick, a lifelong Minnesota resident who happened to be out shopping the day the sequence was shot. Moore and Frederick met in 1996 at a book signing at the Mall of America, where Moore introduced her to the crowd as "my costar".
From 1973 to the series' conclusion, Mary is shown at one point washing her car wearing the #10 home jersey of Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Fran Tarkenton. This was during a time in which Tarkenton and the Vikings had played in three Super Bowls. Tarkenton was playing with the New York Giants during the first two years of the show's run before being traded back to the Vikings prior to the 1972 season.
Some of the scenes in the opening sequence had Mary Tyler Moore interact with some of the crew members. One noted example of this was a scene in which camera panned over a shot of Mary Richards eating at a restaurant with a much older man. This is the Basil's Restaurant in the Marquette Hotel, located at 710 Marquette. Currently, diners can eat on the terrace looking out over the IDS Center Crystal Court where the shot was filmed, and even sit at "The Mary Tyler Moore Table". The man seen eating with Mary was Mary Tyler Moore's then-husband, Grant Tinker, who also served as president of MTM Enterprises until 1981. Another scene had Mary walking in the park when two joggers run by her. The two joggers were creator James L. Brooks and Producer David Davis.
With its use in the title cards, the show sparked a revival of the Art Deco Peignot typeface which had fallen out of fashion in the 1940s.
In a spoof of the MGM opening footage of "Leo the Lion," the closing shot of the show (and of several other programs produced subsequently by the same company) was of a meowing kitten under the Peignot-typefaced "MTM" initials. The kitten, named "Mimsie," died sometime in the 1990s.
Ratings
The show became extremely popular in the Saturday night CBS sitcom lineup. Although it never ranked #1 overall for a season, it maintained high ratings throughout its seven year-run. Despite finishing relatively well in the final season, producers argued for its cancellation due to falling ratings, afraid that the show's legacy might be damaged if it were renewed for another season. Grant Tinker was also aware that his show faced enormous competition from ABC's ''Three's Company'', a midseason hit slated for a permanent primetime slot. The series finished strong, and the series finale was by far the most watched show during the week it aired. Listed below are its annual rankings among all television shows:
★ 1970-1971: #22
★ 1971-1972: #10
★ 1972-1973: #7
★ 1973-1974: #9
★ 1974-1975: #11
★ 1975-1976: #19
★ 1976-1977: #39
Spin-offs, TV movies and documentaries
★ ''The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion'' (2002) [2]
★ ''Mary and Rhoda'' (2000)
★ '' (1991) [3]
★ ''Lou Grant'' (1977-1982)
★ ''Phyllis'' (1975-1977)
★ ''Rhoda'' (1974-1978)
Cultural references
★ On her 1995 debut album ''A Stranger to This Land'' singer-songwriter Barbara Kessler included a song entitled "Mary Tyler Moore", in which she sang about how she wished her life were more like Mary Richards' life on'' The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
★ Modern rock band Weezer mentions Moore in the chorus of their 1995 hit "Buddy Holly", singing, "Oh, wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly; Oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore..."
★ In ''The Simpsons'' episode "And Maggie Makes Three", while working at the bowling alley, Homer spins around singing, "I'm gonna make it after all!", and tosses a bowling ball in the air. It, of course, lands straight on the ground.
★ In the ''American Dad'' episode, "Irregarding Steve", Roger The Alien is seen at one point wearing Mary Richards' blue outfit and white hat.
★ Chase Manhattan Bank used Joan Jett's cover of the "Mary Tyler Moore" theme as background music in a 2005 television commercial called "First Checking" or "Roxy," which depicted a young professional woman receiving her first paycheck and opening a Chase account.[4]
★ The winning musical selection that Peter Griffin plays at the piano competition in the ''Family Guy'' episode "Wasted Talent" is the ''Mary Tyler Moore Show'' theme. Afterwards, a girl throws her hat in the air and freezes, while those around her look perplexed as to why she is not moving.
★ In the comedy series ''Girlfriends'', character Maya Wilkes is in New York for her book tour. In the middle of traffic, she imitates Mary and throws her hat up in the air. A man catches it and runs away. Maya chases him.
★ On the DVD box set of the internet cartoon ''Homestar Runner'' there is footage of a puppet version of Homestar spinning in a city block and saying, "I'm gonna make it after all!".
★ Bikini Kill, an influential riot grrrl band, mentions Mary Tyler Moore in the song "Tony Randall" on their 1996 albulm, Reject All American.
★ The acclaimed series finale (the group hug, singing ''It's a Long Way to Tipperary'') has been referenced many times in other series' closing episodes, such as ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' and ''Just Shoot Me!''
DVD releases
★ Main Article: The Mary Tyler Moore Show DVD Releases
The first season of the series was released to DVD in North America in 2002, the second season was released in July 2005, the third season was released on on January 17, 2006, with season 4 following on June 20, 2006. [5]
==Impact on the Twin Cities==
In 2004, the decidedly non-fictional Twin Cities television station KSTP-TV began airing commercials featuring Ed Asner as a gruff newsman. Meant to evoke the persona of Lou Grant, the commercials featured Asner speaking to members of the station's staff. These commercials were intended to promote the channel's news department, which had seen poor ratings in recent years. For legal reasons the character was never named in the ads.
Locations
The establishing shots of Mary walking around a lake (be it in the summer or the winter) were filmed in the "Chain of Lakes" area west of downtown Minneapolis, most notably at the Lake of the Isles. The Basil's Restaurant is the location where they dined during the opening credits.
7th Street and Nicollet Mall
The original Dayton's department store in downtown Minneapolis, today. A bronze statue of Mary tossing her hat in the air stands in the foreground at the corner where it occurred.
On May 8, 2002, cable TV network TV Land dedicated a statue to Mary Tyler Moore near the corner of 7th Street and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. It captured her iconic toss and was placed near the spot where it occurred (the actual location was in the middle of the street). Although many in the press were skeptical of TV Land's motive at first— some claiming it was a marketing strategy, one Macalester professor stating that it was "like honoring a unicorn"[6] — crowds of onlookers at the unveiling exhibited hushed excitement rather than animosity. Moore herself attended, the slender and somewhat frail-looking star braving the bone-chilling cold. It has become something of a tourist attraction for fans of the show, who sometimes throw their own hats in front of it. Moore released the cap when her hand was about at waist-level and her hand went high in the air only as a follow-through. The statue by necessity shows her hand high above her head as she is releasing (or possibly catching) the cap.
The Dayton's building in the background of some of those scenes (later a Marshall Field's and now a Macy's) has changed considerably in appearance. In fact, the exact spot where the cap toss occurred was debated extensively, because the layout along Nicollet has changed substantially since the early 1970s. (Exterior shots of the Dayton's store were also used to serve as the fictional Hempel's Department Store, where Rhoda worked as a window dresser.)
Kenwood Parkway house
For the first few seasons, Mary, Rhoda and Phyllis lived in apartments at 119 N. Weatherly in Minneapolis. That address is entirely fictional ("North Weatherly" being an impish comment on the city's climate); the exterior of a real house in Minneapolis (in the Kenwood neighborhood, on 2104 Kenwood Parkway) was filmed for use in regular establishing shots of Richards' house. Once fans of the series discovered the place, it became a popular tourist destination.
However, the real owners at the time did not enjoy the attention. A sign saying "Impeach Nixon" was displayed in a window for a time, discouraging many from taking pictures. Later, the owners repainted the house a dark color instead of its original white. When producers returned to Minneapolis in 1973 to film additional exterior shots of the house, the owners refused to remove the sign. This was allegedly the motivation behind Mary Richards' move to the high rise (Riverside Plaza), at the start of the 1975 season. Other Minneapolis sites were also featured on the show, especially in the opening credits, but the show's cast very rarely spent time in the actual city, as the regular filming was done in Hollywood.
The Kenwood Parkway house went up for sale on February 2007[7] During the time it was on the market, an intruder broke into the uninhabited house in and fell asleep for the night. A cleaning crew noticed the broken glass in the morning and called the authorities.[8]
References
1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2. Other examples include ''The Brady Bunch''/''The Bradys'' and ''M
★ A
★ S
★ H''/''Trapper John, M.D.''). ''The Bradys'' is often considered a revival/continuation rather than a spin-off.
3. Mary Tyler Moore: TV Guide News
4. The Top 100 Moments In Television
5. "DVD details for 'Mary Tyler Moore'"
6. Mary Tyler Moore Statue Stirs Debate Marisa Helms
7. For Sale: 2401 Kenwood Parkway
8. Intruder falls asleep inside Mary Tyler Moore's TV home Jana Shortal
External links
★ ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' Online
★ Encyclopedia of Television
★ Citysearch: ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' Tour describing locations featured in the series
★ ''The Mary & Rhoda Magazine'', with a brief selection of articles about the series
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