Mary Tyler Moore spent decades as “America’s Sweetheart,” starring in popular shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But behind her Hollywood success, her life was filled with family tragedies. Here is the story of Mary Tyler Moore.
Mary Tyler Moore was born on December 29, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, to George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and Marjorie Hackett Moore. She was the oldest of three children in a Catholic family, raised in a home her father called “impoverished nobility.”
Mary Tyler Moore – Childhood
Brooklyn was a diverse place during Mary’s childhood. As an English-Irish Catholic, she grew up in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Though it was different from what she was used to, Mary found it exciting. “My background is exciting,” she said. “We integrated ourselves, fought each other, called each other names, but through it all we were friends.”
Mary loved dancing as a young girl. When she was five, her family moved to Los Angeles, bringing her closer to her dream of being in show business. After World War II, the Moore family settled in Los Angeles, where Mary’s successful uncle, Harold Hackett, encouraged the move.
Moving to Los Angeles
Starting at the bottom, Mary worked hard to achieve her dream. She attended grammar school in Hollywood and later went to a Catholic school. She wasn’t the best student and struggled with self-confidence, especially with a father who was an expert on movie classics.
However, Mary knew that if she was going to make it in show business, LA was the place to be. She focused on singing and dancing and worked in the mailroom of a Hollywood company in 1953. Although it wasn’t glamorous, it was a step toward her dream. But Mary wasn’t meant to stay in a mailroom.
Mary would often sit in on radio show rehearsals, and she eventually took dance classes, which her aunt paid for. By the time she graduated high school, Mary was well on her way to a career in show business.
Mary Tyler Moore – Dancer
In 1955, Mary got her first on-screen role as a dancer in TV commercials for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. She played “Happy Hotpoint” in 39 segments, earning $6,000. At just 17 years old, Mary was now a professional dancer. But soon, she found out she was pregnant, which changed everything.
Mary had married Richard Carleton Meeker in 1955, and they had a son, Richard “Richie” Meeker Jr., in 1956. She wrote in her memoir how difficult it was to continue working as an actress while pregnant. She even had to squeeze into a costume that became tighter as her pregnancy progressed.
Mary Tyler Moore – Comedy Shows
After her pregnancy, Mary’s career took off. She appeared in several TV shows, and although she was often hired for her “beautiful dancer legs,” she soon proved she had real talent. In the early 1960s, she was cast as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. The show became a huge success, known for its clever humor. Mary won two Emmys and a Golden Globe for her work on the show.
After the show ended in 1966, Mary took a break to focus on family and movies. However, she found her true calling in comedy shows. In 1970, she got her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where she played the role of Mary Richards, a single woman working as a producer at a fictional news station. The show was groundbreaking and became an instant hit.
Mary’s show ran for seven seasons and 168 episodes, earning her many awards. But it wasn’t all easy. Before the pilot aired, both Mary and the writers were worried. They had a terrible first run-through, and Mary cried herself to sleep. But the writers made changes, and the show became a huge success.
Mary Tyler Moore – Awards
The show was filmed in front of a live audience, which made it nerve-wracking for Mary, who often had to perform dance routines perfectly. “It was do or die,” she said. Mary won several awards for her role, including three Emmys and a Golden Globe, proving her talent.
However, behind the success, Mary faced personal struggles. Both she and her mother battled alcoholism. Mary’s sister passed away from a combination of alcohol and painkillers, and Mary’s own son also faced addiction and tragic loss.
Alcohol Abuse
Mary’s alcoholism worsened during her marriage to Grant Tinker. She would drink to cope with unhappiness, even playing “Russian roulette” with her car. After their divorce in 1980, Mary’s drinking continued until she checked into the Betty Ford Center for help. She managed to stop drinking and found strength during her recovery.
Tragic Passing of Son Ritchie Meeker
Mary’s son, Richie Meeker, tragically passed away in October 1980 after accidentally shooting himself with a gun. Richie had struggled with addiction, and his death was devastating for Mary. She later spread his ashes in the Owens River in California and wrote about her grief in her memoir.
Mary Tyler Moore – Academy Award
Despite the heartbreak, Mary continued to find success. In 1980, she starred in Ordinary People, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She also won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in Whose Life Is It Anyway?.
Mary married Robert Levine in 1983, and they stayed together until her death in 2017. In her later years, Mary battled complications from diabetes, including heart and kidney problems. She also lost her vision, and in 2011, she had a benign tumor removed from her brain.
Mary Tyler Moore passed away on January 25, 2017, at the age of 80 due to cardiopulmonary arrest, following a battle with pneumonia. Her death was met with tributes from fellow celebrities, including Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey.
Mary Tyler Moore had a tough life behind the scenes, but she will always be remembered for her talent, grace, and kindness. She will be missed, but her legacy lives on.
Jennifer Grey felt ”invisible” after facial transformation – her ”nose job from hell” made her ‘anonymous’
The actress who played “Baby” in the beloved movie Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey, was expected to see a significant boost in her career possibilities.
That was not to be, though. Instead, a terrible accident changed everything and forced her to give up the movie industry forever.
The terrible period in her life that left Jennifer Grey severely traumatized was finally discussed by the sixty-two-year-old Jennifer Grey after many years.
It’s a low-budget movie without a big name director or celebrity cast.
But when Dirty Dancing opened in theaters in August 1987, the actors and producers realized they had accomplished something truly great.
The primary actor, Patrick Swayze, achieved quick success. He became well-known as a sex icon and teenage hero before going on to appear in big-budget films like Donnie Darko and Ghost.
But when the movie first came out, his co-star Jennifer Grey wasn’t feeling well, so she swiftly disappeared from sight. Jennifer Grey disappeared amidst the chaos and celebrations just as quickly as she had appeared.
In addition, the actress spent a considerable amount of time away from the spotlight.
Nonetheless, in a recent interview with People Magazine, she revealed every detail of the accident that changed her life.
First, let’s take a look at Jennifer Grey’s life leading up to the tragic event that happened in the summer of 1987.
Jennifer Gray began taking dancing classes at a young age. Her father most likely urged her to seek a career in entertainment when she was born in New York in 1960. Her father, Joel Gray, was an actor, director, photographer, dancer, and vocalist.
Jennifer attended the Dalton School to study dancing and acting. After graduation in 1978, she began seeking acting roles, and she went on to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. But it wasn’t a rose-colored dance in her life. Jennifer had to work as a waitress to pay the bills.
She did, however, manage to get a couple of TV commercials, including one for Dr. Pepper. Her first motion picture role was in 1984’s “Reckless.” A few years later, she had an incredible breakout role in “Dirty Dancing,” where she played Frances “Baby” Houseman.
The cherished film’s narrative is based on scriptwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s early years. Jennifer became well-known overnight and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
Sad event
Unfortunately, she was never able to enjoy the enormous success.
Just before the movie’s August 1987 premiere, Grey and her then-boyfriend Matthew Broderick were residing in Ireland.
But Broderick was driving on the wrong side of the road when he struck another car, and the pair was involved in a horrifying auto accident. A woman and her daughter were killed instantly when they were in the other car.
Eventually, Broderick’s charges of careless driving were withdrawn. In contrast, Jennifer Grey only suffered minor bumps and bruises, but her psychological scars remained.
A few days later, Dirty Dancing had its premiere. Nevertheless, Grey was unable to enjoy the success of the film.
In the middle of such severe sadness and survivor’s guilt, it just didn’t feel right to be heralded as the next big thing. “It didn’t feel good to be the toast of the town,” Grey reportedly said, according to the Daily Mirror.
The actress’s anguish from the accident will never fully go away.
“My ambition and my head were never the same,” she told People.
The most awful nose job ever
Her struggle with survivor’s guilt caused her to disappear for a while in the early 1990s, but she reappeared in a single Friends episode in 1995.
By then, she had undergone plastic surgery, and her face was radically altered.
“I entered the operating room as a celebrity and left anonymous,” she said in 2012.
It was like being undercover or covered by witness protection. The worst nose job I’ve ever seen. I’ll always be this once-famous actress that nobody knows about because of a nose job.
Jennifer’s Hollywood career was sporadic after that.
By 2010, Jennifer had made a successful comeback to the mainstream media. She was a hit with the public once more after winning “Dancing with the Stars.” She said that was something that was important to her.
I feel like I’ve starved myself out of concern for what people may think of me. “This is like having a delicious steak after 23 years on a diet,” the actor said to People.
In 2018, Grey took another step toward the limelight she had previously left behind. She is expected to star in the upcoming motion picture Untogether and comedy Red Oaks.
Jennifer, we’re so happy to see you back to your passionate, happy self!
Who else has a strong need to go back in time to 1987 at this point? Watch the classic scene from Dirty Dancing down below. What beautiful memories!
Please share this news with your friends on Facebook. Like me, they probably watched Dirty Dancing and wondered what happened to the gorgeous Jennifer Grey!
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