Legendary actress Mary Tyler Moore died at the age of 80 at Greenwich Hospital on Wednesday. Her death, reported by multiple sources, was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest caused by pneumonia.
Moore, a resident of Greenwich, leaves behind husband of 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine. Previously, she was married from 1962 to 1981 to her second husband, Grant Tinker, an award-winning television producer. The couple launched MTM Productions, creating television programs including The Bob Newhart Show, Taxi, Hill Street Blues, Cheers and Remington Steel. Moore’s first husband was Dick Meeker who she married at the age of 18. They were married from 1955 to 1961.
First Selectman Peter Tesei released a statement released Wednesday afternoon, expressing his sadness to learn of the death of the longtime Greenwich resident.
“I grew up watching her on TV,” he said. “She was an iconic cultural and entertainment figure, especially for women as a single professional woman working in the then male-dominated field of journalism.”
Tesei noted that Moore made significant contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and to animal welfare.
Broadway Barks event, July 2014. Photo: Leslie Yager
Along with Bernadette Peters, Moore established Broadway Barks*, an event that has the goal of lowering the euthanasia list for animals in New York and make the city a more humane place for animals.
Tesei said, “On behalf of the Town of Greenwich, I extend our heartfelt condolences to her husband, Dr. Robert Levine.”
The woman who turned the world on with her smile will be most remembered for her role in the progressive and influential television series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which ran from 1970 to 1977.
Featuring a beret-tossing Mary Richards, the program follows the victories and pitfalls of a young single woman embarking on a career in in Minneapolis, though it might have been any city. Employed as an associate producer in the lowest ranking Minneapolis TV station’s newsroom, Moore’s character successfully navigates office politics and sexism with a dose of humor and collegiality, eventually garnering a promotion to news producer.
A memorable moment took place during the season three premiere, when Moore’s character learns her predecessor, a man, had earned more than her. She asks for a raise and gets one, but it’s still not as much as the man made.
Moore will also be remembered for her role on the Dick Van Dyke show, which ran from 1961 to 1966. Moore played the role of an equally vivacious and spunky woman, Laura Petrie, who was a stay-at-home mother whose husband Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), was the head writer of a variety show produced in Manhattan.
*See also: PHOTOS: Broadway Barks Aims to Reduce the Euthanasia List in New York
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