Mary Tyler Moore - Biography

Last Editor: gowje1				Mary Tyler Moore Biography -   Name : Mary Tyler Moore Profession : Actress Birth Details : born on December 29, 1936 Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m) Personal quotes : "Sometimes you have to get to know someone really well to realize you're really strangers." "There is a dark side. I tend not to be as Spouse : Dr. Robert Levine (23 November 1983 - present) Grant Tinker (1 June 1962 - 1981) (divorced) Dick Meeker (1955 - 1961) (divorced) 1 child

Mary Tyler Moore Trivia -

Broke a bone in her wrist while filming Mary and Rhoda (2000) (TV) Her son, Richie, was born only 3 months earlier than her own 40-year-old mother's last child. Left dancing for acting because it "lacked the spotlight," and she "really wanted to be a star." First TV appearance was in 1955 as "Happy Hotpoint" the Hotpoint Appliance elf, in commercials aired during the "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" (1952) TV show. Strong animal rights activist. Entered Betty Ford clinic for "Social Drinking Habit" [1984] Son Richie's death in 1980 considered accidental, not suicide (hair trigger on gun went off - gun later removed from market for same reason) Vegetarian. Celebrity sponsor of the Great American Meatout, March 20, 2001. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (insulin dependent) over 30 years ago. She recently testified before Congress (along with actors Kevin Kline and Jonathan Lipnicki and former astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13) calling for an increase in funding for diabetes research and support embryonic stem cell research, which she called "truly life affirming." Also present in the hearing room were about 200 children with diabetes and their families, who were in town for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Children's Congress 2001. [2001] Told David Letterman that her (and others') nickname for Dick Van Dyke when they did the "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) together was Penis Von Lesbian, a play on his real name. Bronze statue capturing her character Mary's signature hat-toss went on display May 8, 2002 at the Minneapolis intersection where the scene for "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970) was originally filmed. On hand for the ceremony, Moore tossed her tam, but this time, into an appreciative downtown crowd. Founded MTM Enterprises in 1969 with ex-husband Grant Tinker. Sold the company in 1990. Appeared in the Broadway play "Sweet Sue" in 1988 with Lynn Redgrave and a fully nude Barry Tubb. Mary Tyler Moore portrayed the first Sam, who was in charge of the answering service on CBS Television's "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957). Only her voice and her legs were known to the viewer. Measurements: 36-28-36 (in "Happy Hotpoint" ads as a young starlet), 36-24-36 (on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961)), 36C/D-25-36 (after 1990 implants - removed in 1991) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Walked out of the Neil Simon play "Rose's Dilemma" in December, 2003, citing problems with the playwright. Reportedly he sent her an insulting note prior to an appearance regarding her failure to memorize lines. The problem was that he had kept rewriting her lines and expected her to learn them on the spot. She was replaced by actress Patricia Hodges, but the play closed two months later to poor reviews. Was named as "Queen of Brooklyn" at the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival in 1996 Was paired with Richard Chamberlain in 1967 for "Holly Golightly," a musical adaptation of Truman Capote's earlier novel (and film), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). When it became obvious during pre-Broadway tryouts that no amount of play-doctoring was going to save a potentially disasterous show, producer David Merrick announced that he was closing the show one week prior to it's scheduled Broadway opening, as he put it, "out of consideration for the audience." Was a heavy smoker during the time "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) was in production. Has since quit. She was trying to quit smoking during filming directed by Carl Reiner when she discovered that she was going to be off-screen for the majority of the episode. She won Tony Awards in 1980 and in 1985. She won in 1980 after taking over the lead in the play "Whose Life Is It Anyway?". She was so good that she was given a special Tony because she was not eligible for a traditional nomination due to being a replacement performer. She won in 1985 when her company, MTM, backed the revival of the play "Joe Egg". MTM's mascot is a cute orange-striped kitten named Mimsie. Is, to the day, 2 years older than Jon Voight. The kitten that was the mascot for Mary's company, MTM Enterprises, would meow at the end of all MTM shows. In addition, it would even "wear costumes" reflecting the theme of the MTM show: At the end of each "St. Elsewhere" episode, the kitty is seen wearing a surgical mask and it had a policeman's hat tilted on its head at the end of "Hill Street Blues."

Mary Tyler Moore Detailed Biography -

Mary Tyler Moore (born on December 29, 1936) is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30ish single woman who worked as a news producer at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. The oldest of three siblings, Moore was born in Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York to George Tyler Moore and Marjorie Hackett. She moved to California when she was eight years old. She attended Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic school in Brooklyn, and Notre Dame convent school in Hollywood. At the age of 17, she started off with a role as "Happy Hotpoint" on television commercials broadcast during Ozzie and Harriet. During these commercials she would dance around on the Hotpoint appliances (a General Electric subsidiary). After that, she appeared in several bit parts in movies and on TV shows including Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip, Steve Canyon, and Hawaiian Eye. She auditioned for the role of the older daughter of Danny Thomas for his long-running hit TV show, but was turned down. Much later, Thomas explained that "no daughter of mine could have that (little) nose." In 1955 she married Dick Meeker, whom she described as "the boy next door," and was pregnant with her only son Richie within six weeks. Meeker and Moore divorced in 1961, and Richie shot and killed himself in 1980. International headlines announced that Meeker killed himself when playing a game of Russian Roulette in front of two female friends. Authorities later ruled the episode an accident. A few years earlier, Moore's sister had committed suicide. Her last remaining sibling died of cancer (Moore claimed that she had helped him end his life with an overdose of painkillers), and her mother, who suffered from alcoholism is also deceased, leaving only her father, George Moore, who lives in California. Moore's first regular television role was on the show Richard Diamond, Private Detective; however, in that show, only her legs were ever shown. Her first important television role in which gained wide recognition was as Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show. When she won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Laura, she said, through her tears, quite incorrectly, "I know this will never happen again!" Moore married Grant Tinker in 1962, and in 1970 they formed the television production company MTM Enterprises, which created and produced the company's first television series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. MTM Enterprises would later produce popular American sitcoms and drama television series such as Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Hill Street Blues. Moore and Tinker divorced in 1981, and she married Dr. Robert Levine in 1983. Moore has admitted having a drinking problem from the time she starred in the Dick Van Dyke show until after marrying Levine. Her alcoholism peaked in the 1980s, and Moore eventually entered the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment in 1984. She has been sober since then. Her onetime co-star, Dick Van Dyke, also battled alcoholism for many years. In August 2005, it was announced that Moore would guest-star as a local newswoman on three episodes of the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. Moore's scenes were shot on the same soundstage where The Mary Tyler Moore Show was filmed in the 1970s. Two of the episodes have premiered recently, and the third will air on February 9th, 2006. TV Work Richard Diamond, Private Detective (cast member in 1959) The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) Run a Crooked Mile (1969) The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) Mary (1978) (canceled after 3 episodes) First, You Cry (1978) The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979) (canceled after 3 months) Heartsounds (1984) Finnegan Begin Again (1985) Mary (1985-1986) Lincoln (1988) Annie McGuire (1988) (canceled after 3 months) The Last Best Year (1990) Thanksgiving Day (TV series) (1990) Stolen Babies (1993) New York News (1995) (canceled after 3 months) Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden (1996) Payback (1997) Good as Gold (2000) Mary and Rhoda (2000) (also executive producer) Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Gimes (2001) (also executive producer) Miss Lettie and Me (2002) The Gin Game (2003) Blessings (TV series) (2003) The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited (2004) Since her debut in 1961's "X-15", Moore has starred in several films, including Ordinary People for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. It was a role that completely shifted Moore out of the lovable characters she's often been associated with, bringing a cold steeliness to a mother who refuses to be there for her traumatized son. More recently she portrayed Sante Kimes in the made-for-TV movie Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes (2001) and reunited with her Dick Van Dyke Show castmates for a reunion "episode." Filmography X-15 (1961) Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) Don't Just Stand There! (1968) Change of Habit (1969) Ordinary People (1980) Six Weeks (1982) Just Between Friends (1986) Flirting with Disaster (1996) The Blue Arrow (1996) (voice) Keys to Tulsa (1997) Reno Finds Her Mom (1998) (documentary) Labor Pains (2000) Cheats (2002)