Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration Page #6

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gotta do some dental work

on my cat.

So, just leave a message.

-Just a brilliant bunch

of people,

and we did some very

well-written

and singular sketches,

but it didn't catch on.

It just didn't work.

-NARRATOR:
Mary tried a second

variety show the next year,

but the results were the same.

As the 1970s came to a close,

Mary Tyler Moore's future

was unclear.

Her new television projects

had not found an audience.

She battled alcoholism.

Her marriage to TV executive

Grant Tinker

was headed for divorce.

And then

the worst blow of all --

her only son died

in an accident in 1980.

-It was a tragedy.

A terrible tragedy.

She's had so many tragedies.

And, uh...

It's just very sad.

[Sniffles]

-NARRATOR:
At a time when many

might have slid into despair,

Mary Tyler Moore

found a way out.

In fact, her comeback

was already underway.

When Robert Redford read the

best-selling book

"Ordinary People,"

he knew it would be

the perfect story for his debut

as a director.

In the role of the uptight,

repressive Beth Jarret,

Redford chose

Mary Tyler Moore.

To many, the choice seemed

all wrong.

But Robert Redford knew

exactly what he was doing.

-You drink too much

at parties, Calvin.

-I'm not drunk.

-Why did you tell Annie Marshall

that Conrad is seeing

a psychiatrist?

-I don't know.

Why not?

-Well, for one thing,

I don't think

people hear that kind of thing

very easily.

-C'mon, for most people

it's a status symbol,

right up there with

going to Europe.

-Well, I thought you blurting it

out like that

was in very bad taste.

-I didn't think --

-Not to mention a violation

of privacy.

-Who's privacy?

-Our privacy!

The family's privacy.

I think it is

a very private matter.

I like working for a director,

I like being shaped

and encouraged and discouraged.

I know I'm not perfect.

If I can't go around hugging

everybody all the time

the way you do,

then I'm sorry!

I'm not asking you

to be perfect.

You're missing the point."

I don't want to see any doctors

or counselors.

I'm me.

This is my family.

And if we have problems then we

will solve those problems

in the privacy of our own home,

not running to

some kind of specialist

every time something

goes wrong.

--Are you folks ready to order?

-NARRATOR:

Fans and movie critics alike

were stunned by

Mary Tyler Moore's

moving performance,

and she was nominated for

an Oscar.

-We just want you to be happy.

-Happy?!

-Yes!

-Ward, you tell me

the definition of happy, huh?

But first you'd better make sure

that your kids are

good and safe --

that no one's

fallen off a horse,

or been hit by a car,

or drowned in that swimming pool

you're so proud of!

-Oh, Beth --

-And then you come to me

and tell me

how to be happy.

-Oh, she was --

She put you away!

Her character just

put you away.

-It also gave her a chance

to show the other side

of this comedienne.

And, oh, I thought

she was magnificent in it.

-NARRATOR:
The film won

Best Picture for Robert Redford,

and Timothy Hutton won

best supporting actor.

Both owe a major debt

to Mary Tyler Moore.

-You remember Buck

asked you --

he tried to talk you into

getting a dog,

do you remember that?

He said, "How about if it's just

the size of a little football?"

-You know, um...

that -- that animal next door,

that Pepper or Pippin,

whatever --

-Pippin. Pippin. Pippin!

-...is not a very friendly dog,

I -- I don't care what

Mr. McGreery says.

-What he really wanted was

a retriever

that was down

the street for sale --

-...and every time that dog

comes into this back yard,

and I try to get him out --

-[Barks]

[Barking]

-Put that on if you're going to

stay out here, okay?

-It was heart-wrenching.

But at that time for Mary to go

from what she'd been doing

and what the audience

thought of her,

to this really suffering...

-NARRATOR:
That same year,

Mary returned to Broadway

in "Whose Life is it Anyway?"

This time earning critical

praise -- and a Tony Award.

At about the same time,

she met the man who would become

her third and final husband,

Dr. Robert Levine,

forming, by all accounts,

her happiest marriage.

Mary Tyler Moore

continued to act,

but now her life was entering

a new chapter --

with a special focus on

helping others,

including a major effort

to raise awareness of

Type 1 diabetes,

a lifelong condition for Mary.

-But that's the passion I have

to this moment.

Two years ago, I joined the

one hundred child delegation...

-NARRATOR:
She testified

before Congress,

served as president of the

Juvenile Diabetes Association,

and even wrote a book to help

others cope with the disease.

-If Type One diabetes is not

diagnosed quickly enough,

or left untreated,

you die.

-NARRATOR:
Despite all her work

for good causes,

Mary's greatest legacy

is as a role model,

inspiring women

from all walks of life.

-She was a role model for me not

just in,

"Oh, gee, I see Mary on TV and I

really like Mary,"

but, wow, what kind of woman

and what kind of businesswoman

created this?

Thank you, Mary, for being such

an inspiration to us all --

all of us women

in television.

Mary Tyler Moore herself

walked out and surprised me

on that show.

[Cheers and applause]

Oh!

[Screaming and cheering]

It's still one of the greatest,

most profound surprises.

- It's you, girl,

and you should know it

-WINFREY:
It was the first time

I actually ever ugly cried,

like, snot running out of

your nose cry.

-My God!

-Yeah!

That opening scene --

"Who can turn the world on

with her smile?"

This is one of the favorite,

most fun things I've ever done.

I cannot watch this enough.

For that moment, it was

suspended reality for me.

Who can turn the world on

with her smile?

-WINFREY:
Mary Tyler Moore

lived in Minneapolis.

I tried for years to get a job

in Minneapolis.

I wanted to move to Minneapolis,

I wanted to be in Minneapolis

because of Mary Tyler Moore.

- Love is all around,

no need to waste it

You can have a town,

why don't you take it?

-That one moment where I throw

my hat up in the air.

Oh, my goodness, I dreamed of

that moment forever.

-NARRATOR:
Tossing the hat

was a symbolic moment,

an expression of freedom

and new beginnings.

Like no one else in the 1970s,

Mary Tyler Moore

embodied that idea --

and a generation looked to

follow her lead.

-Your legacy is every life

that you touched.

-NARRATOR:
"You're going to make

it on your own"

was her theme song,

but that's the paradox of

Mary Tyler Moore --

because she wasn't alone

at all.

She was surrounded by people

who loved her --

millions,

all across the world.

-Because who didn't love her?

She was lovable.

She was bright.

She was gorgeous.

-She's the girl next door...

And she's also a looker,

and, look,

she can dance.

Oh, my God.

This is a great package.

-All of a sudden,

there's one that kind of

knocks your socks off,

and she's one of those.

-The combination of everything

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