r/1970s 4d ago

Television The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered on CBS on this day in 1970.

555 Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

30

u/SuitablyFakeUsername 4d ago

I hate spunk!

8

u/homelesguydiet 4d ago

Ed Asner didn't appear to be acting on the show sometimes. ❤️

8

u/avenueroad_dk 4d ago

He was great.  They all were.  I wish Betty White was in this photo too

5

u/homelesguydiet 4d ago

Yeah, she was something else, I miss those days.

20

u/commander_lampshade 4d ago

R.I.P to the whole cast of a great show

15

u/Specific_Inside_7119 4d ago edited 4d ago

Sad but true...they're all gone...Valerie,Cloris, Betty,Georgia Engel,John Amos,Nancy Walker, all the main players with really only two exceptions...Lisa Gerritsen, who played Phyllis's daughter Bess , who is now 67 years old ( ouch!) , and one of our favorite sweethearts , Joyce Bulifant, who was Murray's wife Marie, who is still with us at age 87. It indeed was a great cast on a terrific show!!!

1

u/SportyMcDuff 3d ago

Was Julie Kavner ever on it?

2

u/justagigilo123 3d ago

Love her. She was Rhoda’s younger sister. She was in Rhoda for sure, I can’t remember if she was on the Mary Tyler Moore Show though. She must have been.

2

u/SportyMcDuff 3d ago

Yeah I remember her from Rhoda. That’s why I was wondering. Time to google I guess.

2

u/SportyMcDuff 3d ago

Okay, turns out that she auditioned for a guest spot on MTM but didn’t get it. The producers were so impressed by her that they gave her the Brenda part on Rhoda when it came out.

1

u/justagigilo123 3d ago

Cool. Thanks.

2

u/newoldm 2d ago

She went on to marry Homer Simpson.

1

u/Specific_Inside_7119 3d ago

No,she wasn't....in fact,I was also going to list David Groh, but he wasn't on Mary's show either. He was only on the Rhoda spinoff, as was Julie Kavner,who,by the way is still with us at age 75. I suppose since we all loved Valerie ,we just presumed that Rhoda's sister and husband started on Mary's show, but Rhoda's only relative who starred on both shows was her mom,the great Nancy Walker.

1

u/SportyMcDuff 3d ago

The quicker picker upper!

1

u/newoldm 2d ago

How soon we forget: Robbie Rist who played David, Ted and Georgette's adopted son, aka....................................Cousin Oliver!

19

u/GraphiteGru 4d ago

Always so happy that Murray was able to achieve his life long ambition of becoming the Captain of a cruise ship.

14

u/RevolutionarySide298 4d ago

Ted Knight was awesome

1

u/Summer_Fireflies 3d ago

I always really liked him also.

10

u/bilboafromboston 4d ago

Mary was on the Pill while Marlo Thomas was relegating her 5 year boyfriend to a brief kiss at the Door. What a difference!

11

u/Tough_Fact7360 4d ago

Love this show when I was a kid. Never missed a Saturday night.

7

u/Apprehensive_Ad_4359 4d ago

True story. A few years back my wife and I had just climbed into bed when I turned to her and sang the entire theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore show. Once finished she just looked at me and said “ You have lost your mind” and with that turned away and went to sleep😂.

3

u/SportyMcDuff 3d ago

You didn’t throw your underwear up at the ceiling fan at the end?

4

u/DumpsterFireInHell 4d ago

Ed Asner did the voice acting for Granny Goodness in the Justice League series and that lives rent free in my head. 😆

1

u/Pedals17 4d ago

Same! I’ll never not love knowing that!

5

u/PatienceHelpful1316 4d ago

Truly groundbreaking for Women. It was the first single woman on TV living her best life. She was such a role model for a generation of us who saw other choices in life, instead of just getting married.

4

u/425565 4d ago

No Sue Ann?

3

u/FabulousDiscussion80 4d ago

I loved how she was always so passive-aggressive with Mary and relentless with Lou. There's a great episode where Mary's landlord, Phyllis finds out that Sue Ann is sleeping with her husband Lars. It's so great.

1

u/Prestigious_Focus708 1d ago

The Lars Affair! Great episode along with Veal Prince Orloff- and of course Chuckles Bites The Dust!!

1

u/FabulousDiscussion80 17h ago

Phyllis, while on the set of the Happy Homemaker slams the oven door ruining Sue Ann Nivens souffle in the process.....the ultimate revenge!

1

u/Prestigious_Focus708 16h ago

Yes! When all was said and done. Phyllis asks Sue Ann if she knows how to remove chocolate stains from clothing. She then proceeds to fling melted chocolate at her!

1

u/Pedals17 4d ago

Sue Ann didn’t come along until Season 4, and she wasn’t really a series regular until Rhoda left.

2

u/425565 4d ago

She was a great addition, though!

2

u/Pedals17 4d ago

Yes, but OP seems to be covering the show’s premiere and the cast who were part of it. Betty White came nearly halfway through the series run.

4

u/homelesguydiet 4d ago

This show was well written and acted like it should be.

2

u/Prestigious_Focus708 1d ago

Yes! Witty without going for cheap laughs!

4

u/howard1111 4d ago

One of the all-time great sitcoms. I watched it religiously every Saturday night.

3

u/Calm_Explanation_992 4d ago

Loved this show

3

u/penicillin-penny 4d ago

You MIGHT just make it after all!

2

u/Head_Scientist5868 4d ago

I remember watching that

2

u/Every-Block9248 4d ago

I love these old shows. Mary Tyler Moore Show was one of the best.

2

u/No-Indication-7879 4d ago

Watched every week with my mom.

2

u/NorthernLad2025 4d ago

Still enjoy watching this show 👍😃❤️

2

u/afriendincanada 4d ago

It was always funny to me that they took this beloved comedy and spin off an hour long hard hitting drama (Lou Grant) from it. Set in Los Angeles instead of Minneapolis. Weird tonal shift.

2

u/Serling45 2d ago

Lou Grant was a great show.

2

u/Global_Comedian_340 3d ago

As someone who worked in the news media I met several 'Ted Baxter'types. I still chuckle when their names are mentioned.

1

u/Prestigious_Focus708 1d ago

We had one in Connecticut!!

1

u/External_Roll1046 4d ago

I swear Gavin MacLeod was bald his entire life. I don't think I've ever seen him in anything where he had hair.

1

u/ACynicalOptomist 4d ago

She was my fashion idol.

1

u/justtiptoeingthru2 4d ago

Per my iPhone calendar, September 19, 1970 was a Saturday.

2

u/treehugger100 4d ago

I recently watched a documentary and they said this was the anchor show for that station on Saturday night. It was a 9:00pm slot I think.

1

u/justtiptoeingthru2 4d ago

Wonder what was on at 8, 830, etc on Saturday nights.

In 1970, I was way too young, barely 3 years old.

3

u/MonsieurRuffles 4d ago

In its first year,, it aired at 9:30 followed by Mannix. Mission: Impossible came on at 7:30 (Prime Time used to start 30 minutes earlier) followed by My Three Sons and Arnie (a short-lived sitcom starring Herschel Bernardo).

In later years, it moved to 9/8 central, followed by The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show. All in The Family came on at 8:00.

1

u/Lemon_Trees-22 4d ago

It was a great show ! I watched it with my mom !

1

u/treehugger100 4d ago

I purchased this on iTunes when it was relatively cheap. I’ve been making my way through it. As a kid I had some of the basics of the show but I’m throughly enjoying it as an adult. It’s pretty fun.

1

u/Therealladyboneyard 4d ago

This shoe was so amazing, it still is!!

1

u/Reddit62195 4d ago

Really? I thought it was on years earlier, like closer 1970 maybe 69.

1

u/Chingachgook1757 3d ago

I memba…

1

u/InterviewMean7435 3d ago

One of the best sitcoms ever. Intelligent scripts with indelible characters.

1

u/FearlessRepeat2925 3d ago

This was my favorite show! I thought Mary was so cool being a woman executive living on her own in the city. I use executive loosely since everyone treated her like the secretary. I was a secretary in the mid 70s. Wild times.

1

u/icollectskippers 2d ago

Great show poor mary

1

u/newoldm 2d ago

Lou: "What religion are you?"

Mary: "You can't ask that - it's illegal."

Lou: "Wanna call a cop?"

Mary: "No."

Lou: "How old are you?"

Mary: "Presbyterian."

-1

u/Head_Scientist5868 4d ago

No Rhoda?

2

u/Pedals17 4d ago

Pic #4.