As “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Tyler Moore starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show for decades. Despite her Hollywood success, she had family tragedy. The Mary Tyler Moore narrative.
Mary Tyler Moore was born in Brooklyn, New York, to clerk George Tyler Moore and Marjorie Hackett Moore on December 29, 1936. Her father termed her household “impoverished nobility.” She was the oldest of three Catholic children.
Mary Tyler Moore early life
Mary grew up in colorful Brooklyn. She was raised in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood as an English-Irish Catholic. Though unfamiliar, Mary found it exciting. “My background is exciting,” she remarked. “We integrated ourselves, fought, called each other names, but we were friends.”
Mary adored dancing as a child. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was five, bringing her closer to her showbiz goal. Mary’s successful uncle Harold Hackett urged the Moore family to migrate to Los Angeles after World War II.
Moving to LA
Mary worked hard from the bottom to attain her dream. Hollywood grammar school and Catholic school were her schools. Despite having a father who knew vintage movies, she failed in school and had low self-esteem.
Mary felt LA was where she needed to be to succeed in show industry. Music and dancing were her emphasis in 1953 while working in a Hollywood mailroom. Though not glamorous, it was a step toward her ideal. Mary wasn’t meant for a mailroom.
Mary saw radio show rehearsals and took dance courses with her aunt’s money. When she graduated high school, Mary was headed for show business.
Dancer Mary Tyler Moore
Mary made her TV dance debut in 1955’s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet advertisements. She earned $6,000 playing “Happy Hotpoint” in 39 segments. Mary became a professional dancer at 17. After discovering she was pregnant, everything changed.
Mary married Richard Carleton Meeker in 1955 and had Richard “Richie” Meeker Jr. in 1956. The actress described how hard it was to act while pregnant in her memoir. She had to wear a tighter costume as she got pregnant.
Comedy Shows: Mary Tyler Moore
After pregnancy, Mary’s career soared. She was hired for her “beautiful dancer legs” but showed she had talent in various TV shows. In the early 1960s, she played Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Its witty comedy made the show a hit. Her showwork earned Mary two Emmys and a Golden Globe.
Mary focused on family and movies when the show ended in 1966. She discovered her calling in comedy shows. She played single news station producer Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. The groundbreaking show was an instant hit.
Mary won many honors for her seven-season, 168-episode sitcom. Not everything was easy. Mary and the writers worried before the pilot aired. After a bad first try, Mary wept herself to sleep. The authors made improvements, and the show was a hit.
Mary Tyler Moore Awards
Mary was nervous because the show was taped live, where she had to master dancing sequences. “It was do or die,” she said. The role earned Mary three Emmys and a Golden Globe, demonstrating her ability.
Despite her accomplishment, Mary struggled. Mother and daughter struggled with alcoholism. Mary’s sister died from booze and medications, and her son was addicted and lost.
Abuse of Alcohol
Mary’s alcoholism increased during her marriage to Grant Tinker. To cope with sadness, she drank and played “Russian roulette” with her car. Mary continued drinking after their 1980 divorce until she sought help at the Betty Ford Center. She managed to stop drinking and gained strength during her recuperation.
Tragic Passing of Son Ritchie Meeker
Mary’s son, Richie Meeker, unfortunately passed suddenly in October 1980 after unintentionally killing himself with a gun. Richie had fought with addiction, and his death was traumatic for Mary. She wrote of her loss in her biography after scattering his ashes in the Owens River in California.
Mary Tyler Moore—Oscar
Despite the sadness, Mary continued to find success. She received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Ordinary People in 1980. Her Whose Life Is It Anyway? Broadway performance earned her a Tony.
Mary and Robert Levine married in 1983 and lived together until her 2017 death. Mary developed heart and renal difficulties from diabetes in her senior years. After losing her vision, she had a benign brain tumor removed in 2011.
After battling pneumonia, Mary Tyler Moore, 80, died of cardiac arrest on January 25, 2017. Celebrities like Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey paid tribute to her.
Mary Tyler Moore had a difficult existence behind the scenes, but her brilliance, elegance, and kindness will go on. Though missed, her legacy continues on.