The Mary Tyler Moore Show Cast & Crew

Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) is a thirty-something single woman who settles in Minneapolis, Minn. after breaking up with a boyfriend. She lands a job as an associate producer of the evening news at WJM, Channel 12. It happens to be Minneapolis' lowest-rated station. Her boss, Lou Grant (Edward Asner) hates her spunk but often looks to her to solve newsroom (or even personal) problems. Mary's other coworkers include news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin McLeod), Ted Baxter (Ted Knight), the egomaniacal anchorman, and "Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White). Mary's home is a modest studio apartment -- and her upstairs neighbor, Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), quickly becomes a good friend. Later in the series, Mary moves to a plush high-rise apartment before leaving Minneapolis, and WJM, for good. In it's seven-year run, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" spawned two spin-offs: "Rhoda," starring Valerie Harper (her character leaves Minnesota to go back to her native land, New York City) and "Phyllis" starring Cloris Leachman (Phyllis had been Mary and Rhoda's landlord in Minneapolis). The character of Lou Grant also went on to carry a series, entitled (appropriately enough) "Lou Grant." The series finale of "Mary Tyler Moore" is widely considered to be among the best television ever produced -- as is the episode entitled "Chuckles Bites the Dust." "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants."