Beloved television actress Marty Tyler Moore has died aged 80, following many years of illness.
The actress starred in two of the most popular TV shows of all time The Dick Van Dyke Show and her own comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Moore passed away at a hospital in Connecticut, in recent years she’d battled illnesses caused by diabetes. In 2013 the actress underwent elective surgery to remove a meningioma – a benign tumour of the lining tissue of her brain.
Her death was announced by her publicist who said she died in the company of friend and family.
“Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine,” Mara Buxbaum said in a statement.
“A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.”
Moore shot to fame playing Dick Van Dyke’s perky TV wife Laura in his comedy series which ran for five years. The actress really made a name for herself with her own show in the 1970s.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show focused on the life of Mary Richards, a single unmarried career focused woman. The show, which ran for seven seasons from 1970, made Moore a feminist icon. Previously women had not been shown on television to be independent and career orientated.
The show also featured Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Ed Asner, Valerie Harper and Gavin MacLeod. The show was one of the first TV programs to touch on social issues such as equal pay for women, sex work, marital infidelity and homosexuality.
The show inspired several spin-offs with both Cloris Leachman and Valerie Harper’s characters getting their own programs.
In 1967, Moore appeared alongside Julie Andrews in the film musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. In the late 1970’s Moore had her own variety show. Among the cast members were David Letterman, Michael Keaton and actress Swoozie Kurtz. The show was taken off the air after just three episodes. A few months later the cast was changed and the program was relaunched, but again it only lasted for a few episodes.
In 1980 Moore received praise her role in Ordinary People. The directorial debut of Robert Redford, the film is about a family dealing with the death of one of their sons. Moore won a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of grieving mother Beth Jarrett. She was also nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA.
Through out the ’80s and ’90s Moore stared in several TV shows that hoped to recapture the popularity of The Mary Tyler Moore Show but none sparked the audiences interest and they were all quickly cancelled.
Moore went on to have memorable guest roles in Ellen, That 70’s Show and Hot in Cleveland. Her appearance on Hot in Cleveland not only reunited her with Betty White, her former co-star but also with Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman and Georgia Engel, who also guest starred on the show at the same time.
Alongside her second husband, actor Grant Ticker, Moore owned the production company MTM Enterprises which created The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it’s subsequent spin-offs. The company was also behind many other successful TV shows including Hill Street Blues, The Bob Newhart Show and St Elsewhere.
Moore is survived by her third husband Dr S. Robert Levine. Tragically Moore’s only son Robert Meeker died in 1980 when he was just 24 years old. Moore was just 19 when she gave birth to her son with first husband Richard Meeker. Robert Meeker, who was a gun collector, was killed when he accidentally shot himself while cleaning one of his weapon.
Check out this clip of Mary Tyler Moore surprising Oprah Winfrey on her TV show where Oprah had listed the actress as one of her greatest inspirations.
image: Shutterstock
