Mary Tyler Moore RIP
Tributes flow for the star whose pioneering career led the way for women on TV
Beloved actress Mary Tyler Moore, who starred in two of the most popular TV shows of all time, has died at the age of 80.
“Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile,” says her publicist Mara Buxbaum, who confirmed that Mary passed away in a Connecticut, US, hospital surrounded by family, including her husband of 33 years Robert Levine, on January 25.
Born in Brooklyn, Mary had a long battle with type 1 diabetes, after she was diagnosed in 1969 at the age of 33. Although her cause of death is not yet known, her health took a turn for the worse recently, and she’d been on a respirator for more than a week before she died.
In 2011 she had brain surgery to remove a benign tumour, and reportedly also had problems with her kidneys, heart and vision.
Mary first shot to fame as perky suburban housewife Laura in The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran for five seasons from 1961. But she’s best remembered for her role in her own sitcom in the ’70s.
As a single female TV producer in a newsroom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, she soon became a feminist icon, influencing a generation of young women, and paving the way for others who followed her into TV.
Tributes flooded in last week, with Carl Reiner, producer and creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, telling the Associated Press “she’ll last forever”. “She was an impressive person and a talented person and a beautiful person. A force of nature,” Carl said.
The three-times-married mum-of-one also starred in shows including Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip, Wanted: Dead or Alive and Hawaiian Eye.
Mary also received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work in the 1980 drama Ordinary People, in which she played a grieving mother unable to cope with the death of her son. In a tragic twist of fate, later that year her only child Richard died of an accidental gunshot to the head.
“She was a truly amazing person, a great friend and an inspiration to all,” co-star Timothy Hutton said in a statement. “I will always be grateful for her kindness.”kindness.