Being Mary Tyler Moore

➤ Rated TV-PG
➤ Max

When Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique came out in 1963, one of the hit programs on TV was The Dick Van Dyke Show, starring Mary Tyler Moore as housewife and devoted mother Laura Petrie. The documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore recounts how Moore praised Friedan and relished her own independence, but she wasn’t necessarily a feminist activist. Even as she grappled with balancing her own work and home life, her TV roles reflected the rapidly changing roles of women in society.

Moore developed her comedy chops on the show with Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke. Despite the series’ traditional gender roles, Moore widened options for women by wearing pants instead of a dress on-screen and coming into her own as a comedic actor.

By 1970, Moore had her own sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but this time she played a young, single career woman. “Mary Tyler Moore on television represented America at that moment, in that fresh release from ancient womanhood,” TV producer Norman Lear said.

James Brooks co-created CBS’ The Mary Tyler Moore Show during sitcoms’ golden age. Initially, Moore’s character was written as a young divorcée, but Brooks had to drop that part of the show’s premise. According to Brooks, CBS wouldn’t allow three things in its shows: a divorced woman, Jews, and anyone with a mustache. The Mary Tyler Moore Show went on to win 29 Primetime Emmy Awards during its run from 1970 to 1977.

Though some will enjoy the portrait of Moore as a pop icon, I recommend watching old episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show or The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her most enduring, and endearing, qualities shine in those ­masterfully written episodes.