Mary Tyler Moore, who first major role sexy housewife on The Dick Van Dyke Show gave her frame, to only later become an icon for many woman as a single, career woman who could turn the world on with her smile in the Mary Tyler Moore Show has died today.
In the ’70s, she was also a behind-the-scenes TV powerhouse at MTM Enterprises, formed with her then-husband Grant Tinker and responsible for such landmark shows as Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, Lou Grant and Hill Street Blues.
Her longtime rep issued a statement :
“Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine. A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.”
Moore was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 33, which lead to her suffered a variety of health problems over the year. She work tirelessly to raise money to help fight the disease.
On the silver screen she earned an Oscar nomination for 1980’s Ordinary People. She was also given a special Tony Award for her Broadway role in the Brian Clark drama about harsh decisions faced by a once-vital sculptress paralyzed below the neck after a car accident, Whose Life Is It Anyway?
At the 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she was given a Life Achievement Award, Moore, introduced by Dick Van Dyke, told how there were six other Mary Moores belonging to the union when she started in the business. Rather than change her name, as she was advised, she used her middle name — which was also her father George Tyler Moore’s middle name — and signed up with SAG as Mary Tyler Moore.
That way, she said, she made her father happy, “and tonight,” she told the adoring crowd, “after having the privilege of working with the most creative and talented people imaginable, I, too, am happy, after all.”
