A few years ago, soon after I moved to Boston, I fell completely in love with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I’d watched it occasionally in reruns as a child, but this time I checked the DVDs out from our library and savored every single episode. I love Lou Grant, Rhoda, Murray and the whole cast, but Mary Richards – sweet, spunky, hardworking, brave Mary – is my favorite.
I loved her chic wardrobe and cozy studio apartment. I laughed aloud at her eloquent facial expressions and quick wit. I cheered as she made her own way in a big city, forging a new career (as I was doing much the same thing). And I related in a deep and visceral way to the struggle between being a “nice girl,” staying true to yourself and your values, and standing up to sexism or other prejudices.
Mary belongs to my grandparents’ generation, and her show was popular in my parents’ youth. But much of what we’re fighting for, as women and as human beings, has not changed. (In the current political climate, this truth is coming home to me every single day.)
Mary Tyler Moore died this week, and I’ve been thinking about her – both the character I love and the actress who pushed television forward with her bold, funny, utterly real performance. She may have “turned the world on with her smile,” as the show’s theme song has it, but she also lit up the world with her courage, wit and grace.
Thank you, Mary. You made us laugh, you made us think and you made us brave. I think you made it after all.
Katie, you an amazing writer. I hope that you will write many books in your life. You hit the heart hard with a beautiful collection of words and always they have a soft landing full of emotion, imagination, faith and truth.
Thank you so much, Mary.
I thought of you when I heard the news. She was so wonderful.
She’s the best.
I graduated from High School in 1978 and I believe the MTM show ended 1977 – so this show was our Saturday night entertainment. You got the sense that most people didn’t go out Saturday night – there was a great line up of shows and Mary’s was the best. Mary inspired many people (especially young women) to do more with there life and the show was groundbreaking in dealing with certain subjects. But watching the show live it seems like what spoke most to me is that Mary was wonderful and brilliant at her job but also real and made mistakes and had the same sort of problems everyone had. The show really emphasized friendship and how that group cared about each other and it was just so funny. You either wanted to be like Mary if you had those ambitions or you just wanted to be like Rhoda and be Mary’s best friend. Wonderful show and glad it is enduring. Living in the Twin Cities (St. Paul – next to Minneapolis) we were always grateful how she showcased our cites.