Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: A History of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (50 page)

4. If you had to choose a favorite episode of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, which would it be and why?

The pilot episode is perfect, a rarity in TV, and so is the finale — an even more rare feat. But I really love “Rhoda the Beautiful,” a season three episode, because it’s about Rhoda’s metamorphosis. She started out as the “dumpy and frumpy” character who they dressed in baggy sweatshirts so she could complain about her lack of a love life. But Valerie was beautiful to begin with, and then she lost thirty pounds in real life, and stumbled upon the idea of dressing in that artsy way that became her signature — the headscarves and flowy tops. (Mary’s stand-in on the show, Mimi Kirk, originated the look, which Val then appropriated for Rhoda.) In this episode, Rhoda is coerced into entering a beauty pageant at the department store where she works, and she wins! But at first she tells Mary and Phyllis that she came in third because she can’t quite deal with it. Val won an Emmy for the episode, and Treva wrote it about her own struggles with weight and looks. It just encompasses every reason I wanted to write this book.

5. The people involved in the show have witnessed the lasting influence their show had (and continues to have) on television culture. Did you speak to any of them about how they feel about current comedies starring single women? For example, does Mary Tyler Moore watch
30 Rock
? Does Valerie Harper like
Girls
?

I did talk to some of the stars and writers about current TV and was surprised to learn, first of all, that many of them do not like
Sex and the City
, which seemed like a natural heir to me. They seem to appreciate more traditional, strong sitcom craft — over and over they mentioned
Modern Family
to me. And writer Pat Nardo told me she loves the raunchy
2 Broke Girls
, one of my guilty-ish pleasures as well. She told me: “It’s cringe-making in terms of how they speak, how they think. But they remind me of Mary and Rhoda. Their relationship itself is darling.”

6. Brooks, Burns and the other creators had infinite hurdles to jump throughout the story, especially in the beginning; between censorship from the network and criticism from the media, it is a wonder the show ever made it to air. What has been a difficult hurdle in your career? How were you able to overcome it?

I think the biggest hurdle in my career was my entire twenties! I did some serious dues-paying as a local daily newspaper reporter, covering city councils and police reports, writing something like four stories a day and making barely a livable wage. I racked up some major credit card debt and had pretty much every stress-related ailment known to humans. But I was a scarily driven young woman, and though I don’t even know if I had any idea what I was working toward, I’ve arrived at a point where I always wanted to be. I feel really lucky, and the newspaper thing was incredibly good training — I’m sad that more journalism grads don’t have that option anymore with so many small papers closing.

7. Mary Tyler Moore did not define herself as a feminist during the show (nor did the producers and Mary Richards). And in the beginning the central audience for the show was
“women who embraced liberation in their everyday lives without necessarily identifying as feminists.”
Why do you think Moore and the producers of the show decided against taking on a feminist identity?

It was — and frankly, to many, still is — a scary word. I believe that it may have been a smart marketing move, even though I always encourage women to identify with the label now. Making Mary seem like just a nice, regular woman — and traditionally “feminine” — helped move feminist ideas toward mainstream acceptability. There was a feeling of: If Mary can stay out all night with a man, or take birth control, or ask for equal pay, it must not be that radical.

8. Even without a feminist label, Moore inspired millions of women—including many future feminists—with her show. Looking back, do you see Mary Richards as a feminist? Why or why not?

I do see Mary Richards as a feminist. She never openly denied the label, either, which is key. And I always imagine her becoming more radicalized as she got older. Presuming she got a job at another TV station and moved up to a position of power, I think she would have embodied feminist principles: Mary Richards helps other women, expects equal treatment, and understands the importance of birth control. I can imagine her mentoring younger women and campaigning for Hillary Clinton.

9. When you watched
The
Mary Tyler Moore
Show
as a kid, how did you identify with the characters? Do you see the show and the characters in a different light when you watch it as an adult? How has your perspective changed?

I really did want to be Mary and Rhoda, which is a funny thing for a little tiny kid. I liked to play “office” and imagine myself at Mary’s desk, which shows you what my idea of fun is, I guess. Now when I watch it, I’m always surprised by how progressive it feels. The episode in which we learn Phyllis’ brother is gay plays well even by modern standards; the sexual references, especially Betty White’s as Sue Ann Nivens, hold up even in our post-
Sex and the City
world.

10. Your previous book,
Why? Because We Still Like You
, also told the history of an influential television series. How was writing about the Mickey Mouse Club different from this project?

The biggest difference, of course, is that the people on
The Mickey Mouse Club
were kids, so their struggles within the context of the book are markedly different.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
dealt with network censors and major social trends like feminism;
The Mickey Mouse Club
had rowdy cast members and puberty. Also, I must admit:
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
is way more fun to watch. I’m still not sick of it.

11. What is your advice for aspiring female writers?

Keep writing until someone pays attention. Also, get yourself mentors, male and female. They’re invaluable, especially in such a solitary line of work.

12. Tell us a little bit about your upcoming book,
Sexy Feminism
. How did
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
contribute to making a conversation about sexy, empowered women possible?

Sexy Feminism
is based on the website (
SexyFeminist.com
) that I run with my coauthor, Heather Wood Rudulph. We were tired of reading the endless self-improvement guides foisted upon women, bossing them around about how to look, date, and act without having their own best interest at heart. So we wrote a how-to guide for bringing feminism into everyday life, from makeup and fashion to work and sex. And there are lots of
Mary Tyler Moore Show
references, I can assure you! I think Mary Richards and the women who wrote her are the ultimate sexy feminists.

I’m honored that those who helped to create Mary, Rhoda, and the rest of the indelible
Mary Tyler Moore
characters shared their stories with me. This book is based on published accounts and other research materials (specified in the endnotes to follow) as well as hours of interviews, email conversations, phone calls, and more email conversations with creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, MTM executive Grant Tinker, former CBS executives Fred Silverman and Michael Dann, and many of the writers and cast members (not to mention superfan Joe Rainone, an invaluable resource). I cannot thank them enough for helping me with this dream project. I must in particular mention my deepest gratitude to those who went above and beyond, helping me to secure interviews with others, sending me photos, calling in favors, giving me detailed feedback on memories, and sharing very personal stories with me: Valerie Harper, Allan Burns, Treva Silverman, Pat Nardo, Gloria Banta—your generosity knows no bounds. If there’s a reason
Mary Tyler Moore
succeeded, it is because of wonderful spirits like you. If this book is any good, it’s for the same reason.

While I’m at it, I must thank my own wacky cast of characters. Thank you to: Jesse Davis, for two years of editing on demand and endless conversations about this one damn TV show from the ’70s; the most inspiring editor/publisher ever, Jonathan Karp; the agent who changed my life, Laurie Abkemeier; Simon & Schuster MVP Nicholas Greene; my readers, Heather Wood Rudúlph, A. K. Whitney, Allison Hantschel, and Gavin Edwards; my transcriber, Katie Lucas; those who gave me shelter, food, and wine during research trips, John and Diane Katz, Carter Covington, and Patrick Sean Smith; those who gave me shelter on my self-imposed writing retreat, the nuns at the Grail; and the ever-helpful librarians who got me everything I needed from Smith College’s Gloria Steinem Papers.

© A. JESSE JIRYU DAVIS

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
grew up deep in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, then escaped to New York to live in a succession of very small apartments and write about pop culture. She spent a decade on staff at
Entertainment Weekly,
cofounded
SexyFeminist.com
, and now writes for several magazines, including
New York, Fast Company,
and
Writer’s Digest
. She is also the co-author, with Heather Wood Rudúlph, of
Sexy Feminism
. She has provided pop culture commentary for CNN, VH1, A&E, and ABC, and teaches article writing and creative writing.

FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Jennifer-Keishin-Armstrong

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

SimonandSchuster.com

Also by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Why? Because We Still Like You: An Oral History of the Mickey Mouse Club

Sexy Feminism
(with Heather Wood Rudúlph)

All quotations and recollections in this book come from the author’s interviews with the major, surviving participants in the scenes and incidents recollected, unless otherwise noted here. Quotes at the beginning of each section and attributed to characters from
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
come from episodes of the series. Sources follow for other quotes and information from publications not attributed in the text.

introduction: comedy and the single girl

“platinum blonde”
: Graham Greene, quoted by Rhoda Koenig, “The Queen of Comedy,”
Independent,
June 24, 2005.

“Theoretically a ‘nice’ single woman”
: Helen Gurley Brown,
Sex and the Single Girl
(Open Road Integrated Media ebook, 2012), p. 23.

“glamour girl”
: Ibid., p. 21.

“not to stay back home”
: Katherine J. Lehman,
Those Girls: Single Women in Sixties and Seventies Popular Culture
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2011), p. 73.

chapter 1. the comeback (1961–70)

first national live television broadcast
: “This Day in History,”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-truman-makes-first-transcontinental-television-broadcast
.

commercial television had its first live television broadcast
: “CBS at 75,”
http://www.cbs.com/specials/cbs_75/timeline/1950.shtml
.

The former dancer had grown up watching Milton Berle
: Mary Tyler Moore interview, Archive of American Television.

“This child will either end up on stage”
: Ibid.

moved with her family to Los Angeles
: Mary Tyler Moore,
After All
(New York: Dell, 1995), p. 29.

“straight woman”
: Mary Tyler Moore, Museum of Broadcast Communications,
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=mooremaryt
.

first tested it out
: Vince Waldron,
The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book
(New York: Applause Theatre Books, 2001), p. 125.

“very egalitarian”
: Mary Tyler Moore interview, Archive of American Television.

word
pregnant
was not allowed
: Ibid.

“You’re very good”
: Ibid.

“rather than subject the drama critics”
: Steven Suskin,
Second Act Trouble
(New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2006), p. 54.