Her vision has declined because of her diabetes, and she has had to give up her hobbies, like ballet and horseback riding.
In an interview, she stated that her famous "Oh, Rob!" as "Laura Petrie" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) was based on the acting style of Nanette Fabray. On "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970), Nanette Fabray played her mother.
Is mentioned by name in Peanuts comic strip by Snoopy [9-25-77].
Kent cigarettes was one of the sponsors of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) and would regularly hand out free cartons of Kents to the cast and crew. During an interview with David Letterman, Mary confessed that she didn't like Kents, so she'd always take her share of the cartons and trade them in at the local store for her preferred brand.
Left dancing for acting because it "lacked the spotlight," and she "really wanted to be a star."
Mary Tyler Moore portrayed the first Sam, who was in charge of the answering service on CBS Television's "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957). Only her voice and her legs were known to the viewer.
Met her husband, Robert Levine, when she took her mother to the hospital and he was the doctor.
MTM's mascot is a cute orange-striped kitten named Mimsie.
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992.
She recently testified before Congress (along with actors Kevin Kline and Jonathan Lipnicki and former astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13) calling for an increase in funding for diabetes research and support embryonic stem cell research, which she called "truly life affirming." Also present in the hearing room were about 200 children with diabetes and their families, who were in town for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Children's Congress 2001. [2001]
She won Tony Awards in 1980 and in 1985. She won in 1980 after taking over the lead in the play "Whose Life Is It Anyway?". She was so good that she was given a special Tony because she was not eligible for a traditional nomination due to being a replacement performer. She won in 1985 when her company, MTM, backed the revival of the play "Joe Egg".
Son Richie's death in 1980 considered accidental, not suicide (hair trigger on gun went off - gun later removed from market for same reason).
Strong animal rights activist.
The kitten that was the mascot for Mary's company, MTM Enterprises, would meow at the end of all MTM shows. In addition, it would even "wear costumes" reflecting the theme of the MTM show: At the end of each "St. Elsewhere" (1982) episode, the kitty is seen wearing a surgical mask and it had a policeman's hat tilted on its head at the end of "Hill Street Blues" (1981) and Sherlock Holmes' trademark deerstalker hat and pipe at the end of "Remington Steele" (1982).
Though Moore would become inseparable from Edward Asner's character Lou Grant on the TV sitcom "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970), both actors first co-starred in Elvis Presley's final feature Change of Habit (1969).
Told David Letterman that her (and others') nickname for Dick Van Dyke when they did the "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) together was Penis Von Lesbian, a play on his real name.
Vegetarian.
Walked out of the Neil Simon play "Rose's Dilemma" in December, 2003, citing problems with the playwright. Reportedly he sent her an insulting note prior to an appearance regarding her failure to memorize lines. The problem was that he had kept rewriting her lines and expected her to learn them on the spot. She was replaced by actress Patricia Hodges, but the play closed two months later to poor reviews.
Was a heavy smoker during the time "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) was in production. Has since quit. She was trying to quit smoking during filming directed by Carl Reiner when she discovered that she was going to be off-screen for the majority of the episode.
Was named as "Queen of Brooklyn" at the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival in 1996