Television icon Mary Tyler Moore dies aged 80

Television icon Mary Tyler Moore dies aged 80

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Television icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away this afternoon at the age of 80.

The Emmy award-winning actress died Wednesday surrounded by family members who quickly flocked to say their goodbyes at a Connecticut hospital.

Her publicist, Mara Buxbaum,said in a statement: 'Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine.





'A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.'

Moore, whose comic realism helped revolutionize the depiction of women on the small screen, was reported to be in 'grave condition' at the undisclosed hospital, TMZ first reported.

The longtime actress, who gained fame in the 1960s as the frazzled wife Laura Petrie on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', had been on a respirator for more than a week, TMZ reported.

Moore suffered from a number of health problems and her condition 'had become critical' recently.

The actress, who won seven Emmy awards over the years and was nominated for an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of an affluent mother whose son is accidentally killed in 'Ordinary People,' had a long battle with diabetes.

She was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1966 at the age of 33, which is the same year of the last season she played Laura Petrie on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'.

The New York native went on to play the groundbreaking role as Mary Richards on 'The Mary Tyler Moore' show from 1970 to 197, where she portrayed a single career woman working in a Minneapolis TV newsroom.

Moore truly made her mark on the series which aired at a time when women's liberation was catching on worldwide.



Her character brought TV audiences an independent, 1970s career woman. Other than Marlo Thomas' 1960s sitcom character 'That Girl,' who at least had a steady boyfriend, there were few precedents.

Mary Richards was comfortable being single in her 30s, and while she dated, she wasn't desperate to get married.

She sparred affectionately with her gruff boss, Lou Grant, played by Ed Asner and addressed always as 'Mr. Grant.'

And millions agreed with the show's theme song that she could 'turn the world on with her smile.'

The show was filled with laughs. But no episode was more memorable than the bittersweet finale when new management fired the entire WJM News staff - everyone but the preening, clueless anchorman, Ted Baxter.

Thus did the series dare to question whether Mary Richards actually did 'make it after all.'

The series ran seven seasons and won 29 Emmys, a record that stood for a quarter century until 'Frasier' broke it in 2002.

The series ran seven seasons and won 29 Emmys, a record that stood for a quarter century until 'Frasier' broke it in 2002.

'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' spawned the spin-offs 'Rhoda,' (1974-78), starring Valerie Harper; 'Phyllis' (1975-77), starring Cloris Leachman; and 'Lou Grant' (1977-82), starring Asner in a rare drama spun off from a comedy.

Moore was born in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York on December 29, 1936 as the oldest child of three children.

Her family eventually moved to Queens before moving to sunny Los Angeles when she was eight-years-old.

At the age of 17, Moore decided to embark on a career as a dancer and first appeared on television as a tiny elf dancing on Hotpoint appliance commercials in the 1950s.



Her first regular TV role was playing a telephone receptionist on  Richard Diamond, Private Detective'.

Moore's acting career quickly took off, as she appeared in several television shows and movies, including Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside Six, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Steve Canyon, Hawaiian Eye, Thriller and Lock-Up.



But when she was cast on 'The Dick Van Dyke' show where she gained even more fame in the 1960s playing Laura Petrie, the frazzled, homemaker wife of Van Dyke's character, comedy writer Rob Petrie, from 1961-66.

'She was an impressive person and a talented person and a beautiful person. A force of nature,' said producer, creator and director Carl Reiner, who created the 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' told The Associated Press.

'She'll last forever, as long as there's television. Year after year, we'll see her face in front of us.'

With her unerring gift for comedy, Moore seemed perfectly fashioned to the smarter wit of the new, post-Eisenhower age. As Laura, she traded in the housedress of countless sitcom wives for Capri pants that were as fashionable as they were suited to a modern American woman.