The Mary Tyler Moore Show was an American
sitcom that aired on CBS from 1970 - 1977 the show ran for seven seasons before it ended its run on CBS network back in 1977.
The show starred legendary actress Mary Tyler Moore. Moore played the shows main character, Mary Richards, who is an independent woman living in Minneapolis. She is unmarried and works at the fictional WJM News as a producer and later executive producer for the news. In the workplace she works with Murray Slaughter, played by Gavin MacLeod. Murray is purpetually making small quips towards the mostly dim-witted and somwhat naieve anchorman, Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight. She also works with often gruff but loveable boss Lou Grant, played by Edward Asner. In later seasons, the workplace is joined by homemaker and cooking show host, Sue Ann Nivens, played by the legendary Betty White.
At home in Minneapolis Mary is often visited by her neighbours Phyllis Lindstrom, played by Cloris Leachman and Rhoda Morgenstern, played by Valerie Harper. Along with being Mary's neighbour, Phyllis is also the landlady of her building. Rhoda is Mary's outgoing, sarcastic, Jewish neighbour who constantly makes wisecracks, mostly at her own expence. Last but not least, there is Georgette Franklin Baxter, a ditzy woman with a very happy disposition, joins the crew when she becomes Ted's girlfriend and later wife.
Aside from loveable characters and iconic and revolutionary plots abd themes, the show had a cheerful theme song that most everyone who has watched the show would remember with fondness. The theme, Love is All Around was the show's opening theme and was accompanied by shots of Moore in Minneapolis. However, the theme was made legnedary with the iconic shot of Moore tossing her hat into the air. That moment defined a generation. The show's closing credits had shots of the cat members in the episode along with any notable guest stars. It was also accompanied by an instrumental version of the main theme. It was also paired with more shots of Moore as Richards in Minneapolis. One of thoes shots was of Moore and cast member Valerie Harper at a park thowing bread in to a lake for the ducks.
Numerous and promonent publications have said that the plot of the show and many themes that it brought up were revolutionary for the time and changed television forever and for the best. Along with being recognized for its overall greatness and impact from many publications, it also won numerous awards. These wins include Outstanding Comedy Series (1975-1977), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (won by Moore from 1973-1976), and Actress of the Yeay (won by Moore in 1974). That is just some of the awards won at the Emmys during the run of the show. It was also recognized at the Golden Globes among others. To top it off, the show won a Peabody award in 1977.
MTM Enterprises, Moore's production company also produced some spinoffs with some of the characters from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. These spinoffs include the short-lived Phyllis (1975 - 1977), Rhoda (1974 - 1978), and Lou Grant (1977 - 1982). The episodes from all seven seasons of the show are available digitally and in a physical format. The final season of the beloved classic was aired on CozyTV after Moore's death in January 2017 in her memory. The marathon included words and small interviews from surviving cast members like Valerie Harper and other stars who looked up to Moore.
Legendary actress Mary Tyler Moore was born 29th December, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York in the United States. She is best known for her iconic role in the 70s television sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Mary Richards and her preceding role on the 60s television show The Dick Van Dyke Show as Laura Petrie, starring alongside another acting great, Dick Van Dyke. She played his charismatic wife on the show. The character of Mary Richards was a producer and later, executive producer for WJM News. Other roles in television included shows such as
Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Johnny Staccato, Bachelor Father and many more. To add to her impressive television credits, she also had roles in many movies such as, Burbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip and many others. As for theater, she was in productions of Whose Life Is It Anyway and Sweet Sue. While Moore has starred in a number of stage productions, television and movies, she started her career with television commercials and worked her way up. She won many awards for her work that include some Tony Award wins, Academy Award nominations, Golden Globe awards and nominations and numerous Emmy award wins and nominations. Notably, Moore won many awards for her work and role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show throughout the run of the series. To add to an already extensive and impressive list of achievements, Moore was an author. She wrote two memoirs, After All (1995), where she chronicled the many struggles she had had through the years to that point, most notably being a recovering alcoholic. She wrote a second book called, Growing Up Again: Life, Loves and Oh Yeah, Diabetes, in 2004. In Growing Up Again…, an important topic brought up in the book, as one can tell from the title, is that Moore was living with type 1 diabetes. With success on the screen being a given, 
Moore has also had lots of success off screen with her company MTM Enterprises. MTM Enterprises has produced hits like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, Rhoda, and Lou Grant. On top of it all, She was also an activist for people who suffer from type 1 diabetes. She often donated money to help raise awareness and fund research. Along with that, she supported charities like the ASPCA and Farm Sanctuary for fairer and more compassionate treatment of animals. Sadly, Moore passed away the age of 80 on 25th January, 2017 in Greenwich Connecticut at Greenwich Hospital. She died from cardiopulmonary arrest with complications from pneumonia. Even though the great Mary Tyler Moore is no longer with us, she lead a long life and left a legacy behind that ensures that she will live on forever in the hearts and minds of everyone in the entertainment industry and the viewers who adored her and her work. It is safe to say that Mary Tyler Moore has a special place in history that is all her own.
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