Mary Tyler Moore: Outpouring Of Grief, Praise For Actress From Co-Stars, Others

UPDATE: 7:30 p.m. EST — Dick Van Dyke called Mary Tyler Moore "the best."

Cloris Leachman called her "America's sweetheart."

And Oprah Winfrey said she wanted to cry.

Original post

The death of Mary Tyler Moore Wednesday prompted an outpouring of grief from former co-star Ed Asner and others. Moore was 80.

She had been hospitalized with pneumonia due to complications from diabetes.

Moore and Asner starred on the “Mary Tyler Moore” show, 1970-77, which revolved around a fictional Minneapolis newsroom. Moore played an independent, unmarried career woman as the central character on the CBS sitcom, with Asner as her news director boss, Mr. Grant.

The show brought the newsroom into the livingroom, with Moore’s character working as an associate news producer.

The show is ranked sixth by the Writers Guild on the list of 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time, and in addition to Moore and Asner boasted a cast including Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, Gavin McLeod, Ted Knight and Georgia Engel. The show led to spinoffs staring Harper and Leachman.

Moore was hailed as a role model by Oprah Winfrey and Andrea Mitchell.

And her portrayal of her character Mary Richards changed the way female characters were portrayed and dealt with such subjects as equal pay for women, premarital sex and homosexuality, as well as marital infidelity, infertility and divorce.

Former first lady Betty Ford once appeared on the show.

Moore first gained fame playing Laura Petrie on the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” which aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and centered around the work and home life of Rob Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke, and gave viewers an inside look at how television works. Moore played a stay-at-home mom.

Moore broke into show business in 1955 as a dancer, her first role as a dancing appliance in a Hotpoint commercial.

Her first television role featured her legs, not her face. She was the answering service girl on “Richard Diamond, Private Detective” (1957-60). The lead character was played by David Janssen.