Mary Tyler Moore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Tyler Moore
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Moore in 2011
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| Born | December 29, 1936 New York City, U.S.
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| Died | January 25, 2017 (aged 80) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Resting place | Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Education | Immaculate Heart High School |
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| Years active | 1957–2013 |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
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| Children | 1 |
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Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was a famous American actress, producer, and advocate for good causes. She is best known for her amazing roles in two popular TV shows: The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977). These shows helped change how people saw women in America.
Mary Tyler Moore won many awards for her acting, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the movie Ordinary People. Besides acting, Moore cared deeply about animal rights, healthy eating (vegetarianism), and preventing diabetes.
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Mary Tyler Moore's Early Life
Mary Tyler Moore was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on December 29, 1936. Her parents were Marjorie and George Tyler Moore. Her father worked as a clerk. Her family was Irish-Catholic and lived in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn.
Mary was the oldest of three children. She had a younger brother, John, and a younger sister, Elizabeth. When Mary was eight years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She went to Catholic schools, including Saint Ambrose School and Immaculate Heart High School.
Mary Tyler Moore's Career in Entertainment
Starting in Television
Mary Tyler Moore's TV career began with a fun job as "Happy Hotpoint." She played a tiny elf dancing on Hotpoint appliances in TV commercials during the 1950s. She earned about $6,000 for appearing in 39 commercials in just five days.
Later, she got her first regular TV role as a mysterious telephone receptionist in Richard Diamond, Private Detective. In this show, viewers mostly saw her legs, which made her character even more interesting. She also made guest appearances in other TV series like Johnny Staccato and Bachelor Father.
Starring in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966)
In 1961, Mary Tyler Moore was cast in The Dick Van Dyke Show. This weekly series was about the life of a TV writer. Moore played Laura Petrie, the wife of Dick Van Dyke's character.
Her energetic and funny performances made her and her stylish capri pants very popular. She became known around the world. When she won her first Emmy Award for playing Laura Petrie, she was thrilled.
Success with The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977)
In 1970, Mary Tyler Moore and her husband, Grant Tinker, created a new sitcom for CBS. This show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was set in a newsroom. It featured Ed Asner as her boss, Lou Grant.
This show was groundbreaking because it showed an independent woman focused on her career, not just marriage and family. It reflected the ideas of the Women's Movement. The show was so popular that three characters got their own spin-off series: Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, and Ed Asner as Lou Grant.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show won 29 Emmys in seven seasons. Mary Tyler Moore herself won three awards for Best Lead Actress in a sitcom.
Later TV Projects
After her hit show, Mary Tyler Moore continued to work in television. She starred in several TV specials and tried new sitcoms like Mary (1978) and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979). She also appeared in Mary (1985) and Annie McGuire (1988).
In the 1990s, she played a tough newspaper owner in the drama New York News. She also made guest appearances on Ellen and The Ellen Show. In 2004, she reunited with her Dick Van Dyke Show cast for a special.
Later, in 2006, she guest-starred in three episodes of That '70s Show. In 2011 and 2013, she reunited with her former co-star Betty White on the show Hot in Cleveland, along with other MTM cast members.
Theater Performances
Mary Tyler Moore also performed in several Broadway plays. She starred in Whose Life Is It Anyway in 1980, for which she won a Special Tony Award. She also appeared in Sweet Sue in 1987.
Film Roles
Mary Tyler Moore's first film role was a small part in Operation Mad Ball (1957). Her first speaking role was in X-15 (1961). After her success on The Dick Van Dyke Show, she appeared in films like Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), where she played an aspiring actress. She also starred with Elvis Presley in Change of Habit (1969).
She earned an Oscar nomination for her powerful performance in the drama Ordinary People (1980). She later appeared in films such as Six Weeks (1982), Just Between Friends (1986), and Flirting with Disaster (1996).
Mary Tyler Moore also starred in many TV movies. She received Emmy nominations for her roles in First, You Cry (1978), where she played a woman battling breast cancer, and Heartsounds (1984). She won an Emmy for Stolen Babies in 1993.
Writing Memoirs
Mary Tyler Moore wrote two books about her life. The first, After All, was published in 1995. Her second book, Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes, came out in 2009.
MTM Enterprises Production Company
In 1969, Mary Tyler Moore and her husband Grant Tinker started their own television production company called MTM Enterprises. This company produced The Mary Tyler Moore Show and many other popular TV shows and films.
Some of their successful shows included Rhoda, Lou Grant, Phyllis (all spin-offs from The Mary Tyler Moore Show), The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Hill Street Blues. The MTM logo featured a cute cat named Mimsie, similar to the Metro Goldwyn Mayer lion logo.
Mary Tyler Moore's Personal Life
In 1955, at age 18, Mary Tyler Moore married Richard Meeker. They had one son, Richard Carleton Meeker Jr. They divorced in 1962. Later that year, she married Grant Tinker, a TV executive. They formed MTM Enterprises together. Moore and Tinker divorced in 1981.
In 1980, Mary Tyler Moore's son, Richard, passed away at age 24 due to an accidental gunshot.
On November 23, 1983, Mary Tyler Moore married cardiologist Robert Levine. They met when he treated her mother. They remained married for 34 years until her death in 2017.
Health and Later Years
Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1969. She became a strong advocate for diabetes research. In 2011, she had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. Later, she faced heart and kidney problems, and her eyesight was affected by diabetes complications.
Mary Tyler Moore passed away on January 25, 2017, at the age of 80. She died from heart and lung issues, complicated by pneumonia. She was buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Helping Others: Philanthropy
Mary Tyler Moore was very active in charity work. She was the International Chairperson of JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). She used her fame to help raise money and awareness for diabetes mellitus type 1 research.
In 2007, JDRF created the "Forever Moore" research initiative to honor her dedication. This program supports research to find new treatments and technologies for people with type 1 diabetes.
Moore was also a passionate advocate for animal rights. She supported charities like the ASPCA and Farm Sanctuary. She worked to raise awareness about how farm animals are treated and promoted more humane care. She also co-founded Broadway Barks, an event in New York City that helps shelter animals find homes. She worked with her friend Bernadette Peters to encourage adopting animals from shelters and to make New York a no-kill city for animals.
In memory of her father, Mary Tyler Moore donated money in 1995 to help Shepherd College (now Shepherd University) acquire a historic building. This building became a center for American Civil War studies, named the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War. She also helped renovate a historic house in Winchester, Virginia, that was used as headquarters by Confederate General Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War. This house had been owned by her great-grandfather.
Political Views
Mary Tyler Moore was known for her balanced political views. While she supported President Richard Nixon in 1972 and President Jimmy Carter in 1980, her views later became more conservative. In a 2009 interview, she described herself as a libertarian centrist. She also mentioned watching Fox News and liking some of its commentators.
In a 2013 interview, Moore said she was asked to join the feminist movement in the 1970s by Gloria Steinem. However, Moore believed that women have an important role in raising children and didn't fully agree with the idea that women must have a career.
Awards and Special Honors
Mary Tyler Moore received many awards and honors throughout her career.
- In 1981, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Ordinary People. She won the Golden Globe Award for that role.
- She won a total of seven Primetime Emmy Awards. Four were for her role as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and two were for playing Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
- On Broadway, she received a Special Tony Award in 1980 for her performance in Whose Life Is It Anyway?. She also won a Tony Award in 1985 as a producer for Joe Egg.
- In 1986, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
- In 1992, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- On May 8, 2002, a statue of her character Mary Richards was dedicated in downtown Minneapolis. The statue shows the famous moment from the show's opening credits where Mary tosses her tam o' shanter hat into the air.
- In 2011, she received the Screen Actors Guild's lifetime achievement award.
- In 2012, Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters were honored by the Ride of Fame for their charity work with "Broadway Barks."
See also
In Spanish: Mary Tyler Moore para niños
