The Chris Moeller Archives

Love is All Around

I could write a lot about Mary Tyler Moore. Not only did she star in two magnificent shows that defined their era and set the stage for every comedy series that followed-- The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but she had her name-- or initials-- on a dozen more.

Mary and then-husband Grant Tinker's production company was named for her-- MTM Enterprises. That house produced archetypal comedies as well as dramas-- The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Phyllis, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, St. Elsewhere, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, Remington Steele, The Mary Show-- featuring young comedy players David Letterman and Michael Keaton, and my favorite television show of all-time: WKRP in Cincinnati. 

What that group of shows birthed-- the concepts, the iconic moments, the actors, the writers-- cannot be measured, Mary Tyler Moore principal among them. I've heard Al Franken tell the story, circa his run on Lateline, that he ran into Mary at an event and told her that he and his colleagues were currently doing the 1,000th rip-off of her show. There were no "workplace" comedies of importance before The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which won a then-record 29 Emmys during its seven-season-run from 1970 to 1977. Hip people were staying home on Saturday nights during the 1970s and they were watching CBS. Mary, at that time, anchored the greatest night-time lineup in the medium's history-- All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. Some of us came along immediately after-- but that was the golden age of reruns for these shows.

The production logo for the company was the iconic meowing kitty, Mary's real-life cat, Mimsie, who died in 1988 at the age of 20. The MTM logo was a take-off on the MGM lion. Over time, the various shows under production at MTM had some fun with it. Instead of the cat meowing, Newhart featured its star performer deadpanning a meow. The New WKRP in Cincinnati substituted the meow with "Les Nessman" cooing "ooh." On the final episode of the medical dramedy St. Elsewhere, Mimsie was featured on life support, attached to an EKG machine, and flatlining. If you see that MTM logo, know that a noteworthy, intelligent program has just aired. Unfortunately, it comes at the end of each episode, so you got to keep checking your local listings for these series listed above.

"Mary Richards," the character Mary played in her eponymous series, reminded me of my own aunt Mary. My dad's sister was also an independent single woman (she also had spunk) that took off for points north and west, moving from Iowa to Montana in the mid-1960s. She actually came first, as Mary Richards didn't make that drive to Minneapolis to start her new life until 1970. Like Mary, my Mary also had a decorative wooden "M" nailed to a wall in her home. She still might.

Moore's #1 legacy will always be that series. It stands as an Everest in the landscape of TV history. Fortunately for fans like us, the players on that show, by and large, have a terrific record of age longevity. Gavin MacLeod is still kicking at 85, Ed Asner 87, Valerie Harper 77, Betty White 95, Cloris Leachman 90, and Georgia Engel 68. The only other major player on screen was Ted Knight, who died in his early 60s in 1986. Creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns are 76 and 81, respectively. Even Sonny Curtis, the man who wrote and performed the show's iconic theme song, "Love is All Around," is still living at 79 years old.

A similar story can be told about The Dick Van Dyke Show, an even older series. Creator Carl Reiner is currently 94. Van Dyke is 91. Rose Marie lived to 93 years of age and Morey Amsterdam to 87. Emmy-winning writer Bill Persky is 85. Mary must have been an extraordinarily healthy spirit to work with.

posted by CM @ 9:38 PM