PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: MEDIA AS ENTERTAINMENT: AN EVENING WITH MARY TYLER MOORE {LONG VERSION}

Summary

One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's Media as Entertainment events. Held at The Paley Center in New York, this evening honors actress Mary Tyler Moore, whose long career in both comedy and drama has cemented her as one of the most influential female trailblazers in the business. Host Pat Mitchell (director, The Paley Center for Media) brings Moore to the stage and offers opening remarks about the “She Made It” series and about the Paley Center, and then introduces a clip package of Moore’s work. The discussion touches on such topics as: the many diverse characters Moore has played over the years; her artistic beginnings and her feelings of herself as a “failed dancer”; the surprising ease of the transition from dramatic to comedic work; meeting director Carl Reiner and landing the part of the “pure, sincere” Laura Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”; her long friendship with and “crush” on Reiner; meeting Dick Van Dyke and how he “put her on a platform” to show her talent on the show; her appeal to Reiner to employ Van Dyke’s and her dancing talents on the show; the creation of her production company MTM Enterprises with then-husband Grant Tinker and the subsequent “Mary Tyler Moore Show”; the experience of being “the boss” on her own sitcom; the camaraderie of the cast; and comparisons to shows such as “Maude” and “That Girl” with other strong leading women. Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: her work in the drama “Ordinary People” and director Robert Redford’s interest in seeing “the dark side” of Moore; using “many aspects” of her father in the role; her mother’s struggles with alcoholism; the unusual two-bed set-up on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”; her work in juvenile diabetes education; her regrets about ending “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” after seven years and her belief that it could’ve gone on longer; the experience of dancing with Gene Kelly on a variety show; her current favorite comedy programs; her work in the film “Flirting With Disaster” and the upcoming “Against the Current”; the obsession with increasingly younger characters in current film and television; her favorite memories of her career; the importance of a strong script; how she spends her free time, including working with animal adoption programs with actress Bernadette Peters and authoring a book on diabetes; and whether she would ever consider writing for television. Clips featuring Moore are interspersed throughout the program, including: “Hotpoint” appliances commercials (1955); “Richard Diamond, Private Detective” (1959); “Johnny Staccato” (1960); “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-1966); “Heartsounds” (1984); “First You Cry” (1978); “Stolen Babies” (1993); “Miss Lettie and Me” (2002); “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-1977); and appearances and performances on other shows, including “Saturday Night Live.”

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