Brilliant actress and comedian, Mary Tyler Moore became no more today at the spry age of 80.
Moore was more than just a pretty, beret-throwin’ set of gams. She was a feminst icon who could turn the motehrfuckin’ world on with her motherfuckin’ smile! She could take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile, goddamnit!
From 1961 through 1966, she played Laura Petrie on the classic “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” [This show is available to stream on Netflix. I recommend that you do so.]
Housewives had previously been shown in the the Donna Reed style of overly dressy skirts and frou-frou heels mold of a sitcom housewife. ‘Cuz, you know, reality.
Instead, Tyler Moore’s character, Laura shattered that view by opting to wear capri pants—a revolutionary choice that sparked plenty of studio and sponsor hand-wringing.
“I had Laura wear pants, because I said, ‘Women don’t wear full-skirted dresses to vacuum in,’ she said. “CBS said, ‘You know, we’re afraid that housewives are going to be a little annoyed because she looks so good in pants.’ [Which she did] So they made me wear pants in no more than one scene.”
After three episodes, she said, funk that and just wore the pants anyway. Later she said “We got the absolution of men everywhere and women kind of breathed a sigh of relief, too, and said, ‘Hey, that’s right. That’s what we wear.’”
Personally, I like to wear a big frou-frou dress and heels when I’m vacuuming. But that’s
You’re damn right she looked so good in them pants!
me. And J. Edgar Hoover. [Topical.]
In 1970, she started her own production company with then hubby Grant Tinker: MTM (*meow*). Guess what it stood for…
MTM’s (*meow*) 1st show was, believe it or not, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Holy crap was this show great. But it also broke barriers for women, while being hilarious.
The show centered around a single, career-minded woman living on her own.
Now, at the time the CBS network researchers warned that there were four things viewers would never accept in their living rooms: New Yorkers, Jews, divorced women, and men with mustaches. Well… two outta four ain’t bad.
The New Yorker character Rhoda was Jewish — as was Lou, the show sometimes implied. They dumped the divorcee angle because preview audiences couldn’t believe that she would divorce a guy as nice as Dick Van Dyke. People are dumb.
Similarly novel were hints that Mary was sexually active. This seems like nothing today, but it was a huge deal back in the 70s. So, Lena Dunham better get on her skanky knees and thank Mary Tyler Moore for creating the ability for her to produce her own drivel on HBO.
Basically, she became the incarnation of the modern woman.
The show was part of CBS’s winning Saturday-night lineup, which also included “M*A*S*H*,” “All in the Family” and “The Carol Burnett Show.” What? On Saturday night?!?! Don’t they usually reserve Saturday night for crap fests like “Full House,” or “Family Matters?”
You cannot talk about “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” without mentioning Chuckles the Clown.
Known as the best sitcom episode – ever. A children’s TV show host, Chuckles the Clown, is killed. He was dressed as Peter Peanut in a circus parade and an elephant tried to eat him. [Don’t worry, they don’t show it. This isn’t “Game of Thrones.”]
Throughout the episode, everyone is making jokes about his death, much to the behest of Mary, who finds such humor inappropriate. Until the funeral, when Mary loses it.
During rehearsals, Tyler Moore was supposed to remain grim and mournful while everyone joked about his unusual demise, but she continually cracked up whenever Mr. Fee-Fi-Fo was mentioned. She recalled that the insides of her cheeks were almost raw from biting them so hard to keep from laughing during the actual taping of the episode.
MTM (*meow*) went on to do a slate of other, little known shows: “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Newhart,” “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “Hill Street Blues” “St. Elsewhere,” “Remington Steele” and “Rescue 911.”
Now, this woman didn’t live the cushy life of the elite. Her parents were alcoholics. Her sister died of alcohol and drug OD. Her brother died of cancer. And her ONLY SON died in a gun accident. And through all that, this fucking saint made us laugh! Personally, I’d be at the bottom of a bottle after all that crap.
This hit goes to: Morrigan’s Mirror! Pirate doubles her score to 40 points!
There is a planned execution tonight, so we might have a new leader soon. Unless the Supreme Court comes through.
Happy pooling,
SPMI
Current Standings:
Jami: 90 – (Fidel Castro – 10, Bernard Frost – 20, Zsa Zsa Gabor – 10, George Michael – 50)
Wes: 80 – (Holly Dunn – 50, John Glenn – 10, Debbie Reynolds – 20)
Lee Kwang Soo!: – 50 (Alice Drummond – 20, Dr. Henry Heimlich – 10, Hashemi Rafsanjani – 20 )
Tailgating w/ Jesus: 50 – (Ralph Branca – 10, Craig Sager – 40)
Morrigan’s Mirror: 40 – (William Christopher – 20, Mary Tyler Moore – 20)
Josh: 40 – (Florence Henderson – 20, Grant Tinker – 10, Gordie Tapp – 10)
Team Sushi: 30 – (Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka – 30)
Gianna: 20 – (Leonard Cohen – 20)
Welcome to Ghoul Pool Headquarters 