1970: 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Debuts on CBS
September 19, 2020
| By TV WW
On this day in 1970, CBS introduced one of television's most memorable sitcoms, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The series starred Moore as Mary Richards, a single career woman working as an associate producer at a Minneapolis television station.
The show's cast included Ed Asner as news director Lou Grant, Gavin MacLeod as newswriter Murray Slaughter, Ted Knight as anchorman Ted Baxter and, later in the series' run, Betty White as show host Sue Ann Nivens. Georgia Engel portrayed Gerogette Franklin, Baxter's girlfriend and eventual wife. Outside the newsroom, Mary's circle included landlord Phyllis Lindstrom and neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern, played by Cloris Leachman and Valerie Harper, respectively.
The Emmy award-winning series is often credited with changing the face of television sitcoms, thanks to its sophisticated ensemble comedy and focus on workplace and adult issues. The series ran seven years and spawned three other shows: Rhoda, Phyllis and Lou Grant.
Here's one of the show's most beloved episodes, "Chuckles Bites the Dust":