Naomi Weisman is a Canadian, Australian and mother of three, who loves to ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Mary Tyler Moore reminds me so much of spending time with my mom. We loved watching reruns of the Dick Van Dyke show, and her character Laura Petrie seemed like the most relatable person. She was funny, cute, and a good dancer- all things my young mind could appreciate.
My mom was easy to manipulate when it came to staying up past my bedtime. All I had to do was massage or brush her hair to distract her from the fact that I was still up and watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show with her. We would laugh at all the funny antics in the newsroom, and when something more adult was happening at Mary’s apartment, my mom would say, “Nomi dear, you should be in bed.”
The last season of the show was in 1976-1977. My mom and I watched every episode together. I was only nine years old, but my mom understood this was our thing. The final episode was accompanied by a bowl of popcorn and a tissue box. I will never forget the final scene in the newsroom when they had a big group hug before shutting out the lights forever. Mom and I were half a box of Kleenex in when we shut the TV off.
So, when I stumbled upon Being Mary Tyler Moore the other day, I watched it.
I learned so much about her life in this documentary that I didn’t know. For example, her mother was a severe alcoholic who did not have very maternalistic tendencies, and as a result, Mary was exceedingly close to her father, and the fact that she was married at 18 years of age and divorced by 26.
But the most revealing was her ability not to be belittled. In her interview with David Susskind in the early 1960s, she was fielding questions that would be considered offensive by today’s standards. She stood up for her feminist beliefs by saying she agreed with Betty Friedan, one of the founders of the women’s movement, that the ideal was being “a human first, a woman second, and wives and mothers third.” This, of course, made me shout out loud to the TV, “YES!”.
Mary Tyler Moore suffered an extraordinary amount of loss throughout her life. Her younger sister died of an overdose at 21, and her son Richard died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head at 24. She also suffered from diabetes and alcoholism. She was galvanized by these hardships to do good for society by raising awareness, especially for diabetes and alcoholism, and fundraising for research.
Although this documentary lags in some parts leaving information gaps, on the whole, it enlightens us about a woman whose influence on our generation cannot be disputed. I love knowing more about this person who meant so much to my mom and me. This documentary had me revisiting those moments, and that is a gift.
Let me know what you think of it in the comments.
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