Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

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1

-There was a night of TV that

was Mary Tyler Moore.

-I watched

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

There's not one show that

I missed.

FEY:

That show was big, big deal.

Yeah.

- Who can turn

the world on...

-It was second nature to me,

I didn't feel that separate

from the character

I was playing.

- Who can take a nothing day

-She became America's sweetheart

very quickly.

- Well, it's you, girl,

and you should know it

-DICK VAN DYKE:

I mean she was gorgeous,

and she had a sensuality

about her.

-She was an embracer of

the world.

- Love is all around...

-BETTY WHITE:

We became very close friends.

And that's why it was such fun.

- You're gonna make it

after all

-GAVIN MACLEOD:

She just had a gift from God.

And, for me,

she was a gift from God.

-You get that jolt from the

audience when they laugh at you.

Aah! Aah!

[Laughter]

-She did everything so naturally

and so gracefully.

- What we need is

perfect harmony

When she came on

it changed America.

- ...make it

after all

It was real turning point,

the '70s were

and that show was.

-I think Mary Tyler Moore has

probably had more influence

on my career than any other

single person or force.

-You're not allowed to ask that

when someone's

applying for a job.

It's against the law.

-Wanna call a cop?

-No.

-It's a yard stick by which

most sitcoms could not

measure up to today.

-You two would probably hit it

off pretty good.

-Well, I certainly wouldn't be

averse to meeting Redford,

if the situation ever

aroused...

Arose.

[Laughter]

-She reaches right out through

the television set

and says, "Here, I gotcha!"

-Because who didn't love her?

She was lovable.

She was bright.

She was gorgeous.

-NARRATOR:
On the dance floor,

everything was perfect

for young

Mary Tyler Moore.

She could forget about

her alcoholic mother,

her distant father,

the abuse by a family friend.

-Because I wasn't a very happy

little girl growing up.

-NARRATOR:

When she was performing,

all her problems melted away.

This was the Mary the world

would come to love --

focused, fun-loving,

the ideal daughter,

the caring friend.

-I was learning, I think,

how much I loved it.

-NARRATOR:
In her late teens,

Mary was determined to make it

as a dancer in Hollywood.

No one spent more time

perfecting her craft,

ensuring her moves

were flawless,

her timing precise.

These were skills that would

serve Mary Tyler Moore well --

but not on the dance floor.

-I wanted to be a star dancer,

but they weren't making

that many musicals anymore.

- Every day is a holiday

with Hotpoint

-I'm Happy Hotpoint!

-NARRATOR:

Mary turned to acting,

and given her effortless beauty,

small roles came fast.

-"77 Sunset Strip,"

and "Hawaiian Eye,"

and oh, lord -- um, but they did

give me experience.

-My mother was coming west

to find a new home.

My father had been killed during

the battle of Bull Run

fighting for the South.

-But I thought you said before

your father fought with

the North?

-Oh, he did.

He did.

Both the North and the South.

That way he didn't show

any favoritism.

-NARRATOR:
Small dramatic roles

paid the rent,

but Mary longed to do comedy.

Then, sitcom star Danny Thomas

auditioned her

for a part as his daughter.

Mary's breakthrough moment

seemed at hand.

-It started with

hundreds of actresses,

and it was pared down to just

two of us,

and I was one of them.

And, um, after

the final, final auditions,

he came over to me and said,

"Mary, I want you to know

that the reason

you didn't get the job

is not because you're not

a good actress,

it's because you have

a very funny nose

and no one would believe

you're my daughter."

-NARRATOR:
It may have been

Penny Parker who got the role,

but it was Mary Tyler Moore

whose career was

about to explode.

-Here, Rich, this is it.

This is Daddy's office.

See the typewriter?

That's where Daddy writes

the show.

-NARRATOR:
In 1959, Carl Reiner

produced a pilot for a TV show.

He cast himself as the star,

playing a comedy writer

named Rob Petrie.

-What gives, Rob?

What's with the kid?

-You can't bring a child --

-Shh, please,

as a personal favor,

let him stay here.

He has no idea how his father

earns a living.

-And you want him to find out?

-NARRATOR:

The network loved the show,

but it hated the idea of

Carl Reiner in the lead.

-And the network said Carl,

you're wrong for the part --

which he wrote for himself.

-NARRATOR:

The entire cast was fired.

Reiner hired Dick Van Dyke

for the lead role,

but he couldn't find the right

actress to play

Van Dyke's wife...

Until Mary Tyler Moore

walked in the door.

-I gave her a page to read,

and she said the first line,

and I heard this sound in her

voice, a ping in her voice.

-MOORE:
And Carl Reiner just

looked at me with a kind of

a look of awe.

-Soon as she read that line,

my hand became the claw

in that machine

that picks out candy

at the arcades.

I walked her across the room.

-In the middle of the scene,

he put his hand on my head,

I was sitting in a chair across

from him, and said, "Get up."

I got up, and he steered me down

the hall

to Sheldon Leonard's office.

-And I walked her down the hall

to Sheldon Leonard's and I said,

"Sheldon, I got her."

And that was it.

-And we read the scene again.

And I knew that something

wonderful was happening.

-Morning, Honey!

-What do you mean by that?!

It may be a good morning for you

but it wasn't for me.

You didn't have to clean up

the mess that this one made

when he decided to finger paint

all over the bathroom mirror

with the toothpaste.

And you don't have to be

concerned at all about the fact

that the cleaning woman

isn't coming today

and you have five

people coming for lunch.

Sure, go ahead.

Good morning. Why not?

-Honey, give me another chance!

-NARRATOR:
Carl Reiner packed

the cast with

experienced comedy pros like

Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam,

and Richard Deacon.

It might have been

an intimidating environment

for a newcomer like Mary,

but Reiner knew just how to

nurture the budding actress.

-MOORE:
He became, to me,

my father, my confessor,

my best friend,

my brother.

He was everything that a woman

would like to have around her

to make her feel strong

and appreciated.

-REINER:

I was those things to her,

and she needed those things.

Her father was a man who never

said a word to her.

-NARRATOR:
Reiner brought Mary

along gradually,

building her confidence

by letting her do

what she knew best --

dance.

[Cheering and applause]

-NARRATOR:
Soon Carl Reiner gave

Mary small physical bits

to build her comic skills.

-Aah! Aah!

[Laughter]

-And we only could do it

one time

because we only had

one inflatable boat.

We never practiced.

We said whatever happens on

the show is what we use.

-No! No!

[Laughter]

-That's good acting, using

the moment and being yourself.

-She just got it so quickly

that I'm still fascinated by how

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