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Mary Tyler Moore

Actress

"My grandfather once said, having watched me one entire afternoon, prancing and leaping and cavorting, 'this child will either end up on stage or in jail.' Fortunately, I took the easy route."

About This Interview

Mary Tyler Moore knew she'd have a career on stage, "I knew at a very early age what I wanted to do. Some people refer to it as indulging in my instincts and artistic bent. I call it just showing off, which was what I did from about three years of age on." In her Archive interview Mary Tyler Moore discusses about growing up in Brooklyn before moving with her family to Los Angeles. She chronicles her first TV job, as "Happy Hotpoint" on Ozzie and Harriet, which she began right after graduating high school. She then went on to be a chorus dancer, before choosing to pursue acting, where she had many small parts in many series. After she revealed that she had played the unseen "Sam" on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, her career began to take off. She turned to comedy when Carl Reiner cast her as Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show . Moore discusses the show, as well as meeting her future husband Grant Tinker on the set. She then talks about her next series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the first of many series produced by MTM Productions. She then discusses her later series and her acclaimed work in the film Ordinary People and on stage in Whose Life is it Anyway? Mary Tyler Moore was interviewed in New York City on October 23, 1997. Diane Werts conducted the two-hour interview.

Related To This Video

  • Shows
  • People
  • Topics
  • Genres

Shows

  • Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet
  • Danny Thomas Show, The aka Make Room for Daddy
  • Dick Van Dyke Show, The
  • Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman
  • Ellen
  • Emmy Awards, The (primetime and daytime)
  • Gore Vidal’s Lincoln
  • Mary (1978, CBS)
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The: "Chuckles Bites the Dust"
  • Rhoda
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective

People

  • Edward Albee
  • Morey Amsterdam
  • Edward Asner
  • Lucille Ball
  • Allan Burns
  • Abe Burrows
  • Sonny Curtis
  • Sam Denoff
  • Valerie Harper
  • Ted Knight
  • James L. Brooks
  • Sheldon Leonard
  • Gavin MacLeod
  • Rose Marie
  • Bill Persky
  • Arthur Price
  • Carl Reiner
  • Pat Robertson
  • Danny Thomas
  • Grant Tinker
  • Dick Van Dyke
  • Betty White
  • Bob Wood

Topics

  • Historic Events and Social Change
  • Memorable Moments on Television
  • Pop Culture
  • Television Industry

Genres

  • Commercials

Featured Content

Video: The Dick Van Dyke Show episode "My Blonde-Haired Brunette"

Resources

Links

  • Museum of Broadcast Communications' Encyclopedia of Television article: Mary Tyler Moore
  • Autobiography: Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes by Mary Tyler Moore
  • Autobiography: After All by Mary Tyler Moore
  • DVD: The Dick Van Dyke Show
  • DVD: The Mary Tyler Moore Show 
  • IMDB entry on Mary Tyler Moore
  • Wikipedia entry on Mary Tyler Moore
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Watch Interview Highlights

  • Mary Tyler Moore on her childhood talent
  • Mary Tyler Moore on being "Happy Hotpoint" on commercials for the sponsor of Ozzie and Harriet
  • Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show  episode "My Blonde-Haired Brunette" (airdate: October 10, 1961)
  • Mary Tyler Moore on her "oh, Rob!" catchphrase on The Dick Van Dyke Show
  • Mary Tyler Moore on Lucille Ball giving her the greatest gift "she ever received in the business" w
  • Mary Tyler Moore on the character of Mary Richards, exemplified on "The Good-Time News" episode (ai
  • Mary Tyler Moore on The Mary Tyler Moore Show  episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (airdate: O
  • Mary Tyler Moore on tossing hat in the air for the opening of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  • Mary Tyler Moore on The Mary Tyler Moore  show finale, "The Last Show" (airdate: March 19, 1
  • Mary Tyler Moore on her work on the film Ordinary People
  • Mary Tyler Moore on her Tony Award-winning Broadway role in Whose Life is it Anyway?
  • Mary Tyler Moore on how she'd like to be remembered

Watch By Chapter

  • Chapter 1
  • On growing up in Brooklyn, NY
  • On moving to Los Angeles with her family
  • On her first jobs, including playing "Happy Hotpoint" on Ozzie and Harriet ads, chorus dancing, and small acting roles
  • On her first regular role on Richard Diamond, Private Detective 
  • On auditioning for The Dick Van Dyke Show and the relationship between Laura and Rob Petrie 
  • On working with Carl Reiner and developing her character on The Dick Van Dyke Show
  • Chapter 2
  • On some classic episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show and her "oh, Rob!" catchphrase
  • On working on The Dick Van Dyke Show; meeting and falling in love with Grant Tinker
  • On winning her first Emmy, the success of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and her sadness at the ending of the series
  • On her film and stage work after The Dick Van Dyke Show, including the ill-fated stage production of Breakfast at Tiffany's
  • On being diagnosed with diabetes, starring in the special Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman, and the formation of MTM
  • Chapter 3
  • On the development of The Mary Tyler Moore show and the casting of the ensemble
  • On the development and reaction to the pilot of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  • On memorable episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the origin of the show's opening, and going off the air
  • Chapter 4
  • On The Mary Tyler Moore show finale and the growth of MTM as a studio
  • On her later variety special and series and her film work in Ordinary People and Flirting with Disaster
  • On writing her autobiography, performing on Broadway in Whose Life is it Anyway?, and the TV movie Secrets of the Rose Garden
  • On summing up her career, appearing on the "Lobster Diary" episode of Ellen, her animal activism, and her opinion on the future of TV
  • Chapter 5
  • On where Laura Petrie and Mary Richards would be in 1997; how she would like to be remembered and her induction into the TV Academy Hall of Fame

Discussed In This Interview

  • shows
  • people
  • topics
  • genres

shows

  • Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet
    • Clip 1
  • Danny Thomas Show, The aka Make Room for Daddy
    • Clip 1
  • Dick Van Dyke Show, The
    • Clip 1
    • Clip 2
    • Clip 3
    • Clip 4
    • Clip 5
    • Clip 6
    • Clip 7
  • Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman
    • Clip 1
  • Ellen
    • Clip 1
  • Emmy Awards, The (primetime and daytime)
    • Clip 1
  • Gore Vidal’s Lincoln
    • Clip 1
  • Mary (1978, CBS)
    • Clip 1
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
    • Clip 1
    • Clip 2
    • Clip 3
    • Clip 4
    • Clip 5
    • Clip 6
    • Clip 7
    • Clip 8
    • Clip 9
    • Clip 10
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The: "Chuckles Bites the Dust"
    • Clip 1
  • Rhoda
    • Clip 1
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective
    • Clip 1

people

  • Edward Albee
  • Morey Amsterdam
  • Edward Asner
  • Lucille Ball
  • Allan Burns
  • Abe Burrows
  • Sonny Curtis
  • Sam Denoff
  • Valerie Harper
  • Ted Knight
  • James L. Brooks
  • Sheldon Leonard
  • Gavin MacLeod
  • Rose Marie
  • Bill Persky
  • Arthur Price
  • Carl Reiner
  • Pat Robertson
  • Danny Thomas
  • Grant Tinker
  • Dick Van Dyke
  • Betty White
  • Bob Wood

topics

  • Comedy
  • Censorship / Standards & Practices
  • Characters & Catchphrases
  • JFK Assassination and Funeral
  • Studio Management
  • Censorship / Standards & Practices
  • We Laughed
  • Comedy
  • TV Theme Songs
  • Characters & Catchphrases
  • Studio Management
  • Studio Management

genres

  • Commercials
  • Comedy Series
  • Comedy Series
  • Music Shows & Variety Shows/Specials
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