Mary Tyler Moore spent decades as “America’s Sweetheart,” starring in popular shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But behind her Hollywood success, her life was filled with family tragedies. Here is the story of Mary Tyler Moore.
Mary Tyler Moore was born on December 29, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, to George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and Marjorie Hackett Moore. She was the oldest of three children in a Catholic family, raised in a home her father called “impoverished nobility.”
Mary Tyler Moore – Childhood
Brooklyn was a diverse place during Mary’s childhood. As an English-Irish Catholic, she grew up in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Though it was different from what she was used to, Mary found it exciting. “My background is exciting,” she said. “We integrated ourselves, fought each other, called each other names, but through it all we were friends.”
Mary loved dancing as a young girl. When she was five, her family moved to Los Angeles, bringing her closer to her dream of being in show business. After World War II, the Moore family settled in Los Angeles, where Mary’s successful uncle, Harold Hackett, encouraged the move.
Moving to Los Angeles
Starting at the bottom, Mary worked hard to achieve her dream. She attended grammar school in Hollywood and later went to a Catholic school. She wasn’t the best student and struggled with self-confidence, especially with a father who was an expert on movie classics.
However, Mary knew that if she was going to make it in show business, LA was the place to be. She focused on singing and dancing and worked in the mailroom of a Hollywood company in 1953. Although it wasn’t glamorous, it was a step toward her dream. But Mary wasn’t meant to stay in a mailroom.
Mary would often sit in on radio show rehearsals, and she eventually took dance classes, which her aunt paid for. By the time she graduated high school, Mary was well on her way to a career in show business.
Mary Tyler Moore – Dancer
In 1955, Mary got her first on-screen role as a dancer in TV commercials for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. She played “Happy Hotpoint” in 39 segments, earning $6,000. At just 17 years old, Mary was now a professional dancer. But soon, she found out she was pregnant, which changed everything.
Mary had married Richard Carleton Meeker in 1955, and they had a son, Richard “Richie” Meeker Jr., in 1956. She wrote in her memoir how difficult it was to continue working as an actress while pregnant. She even had to squeeze into a costume that became tighter as her pregnancy progressed.
Mary Tyler Moore – Comedy Shows
After her pregnancy, Mary’s career took off. She appeared in several TV shows, and although she was often hired for her “beautiful dancer legs,” she soon proved she had real talent. In the early 1960s, she was cast as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. The show became a huge success, known for its clever humor. Mary won two Emmys and a Golden Globe for her work on the show.
After the show ended in 1966, Mary took a break to focus on family and movies. However, she found her true calling in comedy shows. In 1970, she got her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where she played the role of Mary Richards, a single woman working as a producer at a fictional news station. The show was groundbreaking and became an instant hit.
Mary’s show ran for seven seasons and 168 episodes, earning her many awards. But it wasn’t all easy. Before the pilot aired, both Mary and the writers were worried. They had a terrible first run-through, and Mary cried herself to sleep. But the writers made changes, and the show became a huge success.
Mary Tyler Moore – Awards
The show was filmed in front of a live audience, which made it nerve-wracking for Mary, who often had to perform dance routines perfectly. “It was do or die,” she said. Mary won several awards for her role, including three Emmys and a Golden Globe, proving her talent.
However, behind the success, Mary faced personal struggles. Both she and her mother battled alcoholism. Mary’s sister passed away from a combination of alcohol and painkillers, and Mary’s own son also faced addiction and tragic loss.
Alcohol Abuse
Mary’s alcoholism worsened during her marriage to Grant Tinker. She would drink to cope with unhappiness, even playing “Russian roulette” with her car. After their divorce in 1980, Mary’s drinking continued until she checked into the Betty Ford Center for help. She managed to stop drinking and found strength during her recovery.
Tragic Passing of Son Ritchie Meeker
Mary’s son, Richie Meeker, tragically passed away in October 1980 after accidentally shooting himself with a gun. Richie had struggled with addiction, and his death was devastating for Mary. She later spread his ashes in the Owens River in California and wrote about her grief in her memoir.
Mary Tyler Moore – Academy Award
Despite the heartbreak, Mary continued to find success. In 1980, she starred in Ordinary People, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She also won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in Whose Life Is It Anyway?.
Mary married Robert Levine in 1983, and they stayed together until her death in 2017. In her later years, Mary battled complications from diabetes, including heart and kidney problems. She also lost her vision, and in 2011, she had a benign tumor removed from her brain.
Mary Tyler Moore passed away on January 25, 2017, at the age of 80 due to cardiopulmonary arrest, following a battle with pneumonia. Her death was met with tributes from fellow celebrities, including Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey.
Mary Tyler Moore had a tough life behind the scenes, but she will always be remembered for her talent, grace, and kindness. She will be missed, but her legacy lives on.
Prince William is ‘beside himself’ as Kate Middleton allegedly considers terrible decision with tremendous ramifications
A new bombshell report claims Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, is considering stepping down from her royal duties entirely.
As per a Palace insider who spoke to the National Enquirer, Kate still hasn’t made the decision but she keeps pushing back the date when she’ll return to public life because the pressure she faces from her royal life has taken a toll on her.
“Kate’s desperate struggle with the constant pressures of life in the royal fishbowl has clearly taken a terrible toll on her physical and mental health,” the senior palace source was reported to have said.
“She spent weeks staying out of the public eye after her operations — and it’s only strengthened her resolve to quit,” the source added.
This has allegedly rocked her marriage to Prince William and the monarchy.
According to the same source, William is “beside himself” about Kate’s potential departure.
“William is beside himself over her decision,” the source stated, as reported by Radar Online. “He can’t believe his wife would ever consider such a move.
“He made sure she understood what she was getting into when she married him, and she did an excellent job. He is afraid that she has grown emotionally unstable, but she argues that she is now seeing clearly!”
Another source said, “Kate’s disillusioned and frustrated by the ongoing drama surrounding her renegade brother-in-law, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan,” Radar Online shared. “But ironically, they’ve shown her there’s an alternative to being trapped in The Firm.”
The source added: “She knew when she married William her life would change forever, but never in her wildest dreams thought it would be this intense!
“Kate had a hard time when she first joined the family but after a few years assumed she’d gotten through the worst of it.”
The Palace being unusually quiet regarding Kate’s health condition sparked rumors over the severity of her condition.
What we know so far is that she won’t be returning back to her royal duties until Easter and that her schedule is completely cleared up.
Given the fact that her recuperation is taking months, and that her whereabouts are kept a secret, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many question how serious her procedure was.
Recently, TMZ shared the first photo of Kate after her surgery in January. She could be seen wearing classes while inside a car with her mother. Some speculated that the photo was staged, but other believed that if that was the case she would have posed outside of the car.
On Mother’s Day, Kate and William shared a photo of her with her children on their X account, but the photo was soon pulled by numerous news agencies amid suspicions that the it had been “manipulated.”
The Princess took to X to explained that she had self-edited the image before posting it online.
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