This morning I made fun of the word “iconic.” It’s overused but it actually applies to the great Mary Tyler Moore who died today at the age of 80. It’s hard to believe she was that old: she’ll always be the gorgeous Laura Petrie and the spunky Mary Richards to me.
MTM was the star of two ground breaking sitcoms as well as my first crush. I grew up watching re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show and the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Who among us will ever forget how she tossed her hat in the air at the beginning of her classic eponymous teevee show?
I searched the interwebs for my favorite episodes of MTM’s two great series. I was only able to find a clip of Coast to Coast Loudmouth but it’s streaming on Netflix. Mary’s character let it slip on live teevee that Alan Brady (Carl Reiner) was as bald as a cueball. Furious hilarity ensued. Here’s her apology to Alan and his boys:
I was surprised that full episodes of her 1970’s show are on YouTube. I’m not sure how long this will last but Chuckles Bites The Dust is one of the funniest 25 minutes in teevee history. See Mary lose it at the funeral of Chuckles the clown:
Mary Moore lived a long and productive life. She will be missed. But we’ll always have this indelible image seared on our collective consciousness:
Nice tribute, Adrastos.
I remember what a shock it was after those characters to see her play the icy mother in Ordinary People — and how good she was in the role.
Comic actors are usually good when they turn to drama. More jarring in MTM’s case because her teevee characters were so lovable.