The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening sequence is an element of the American television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The theme song, "Love Is All Around", [1] was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening sequence is an element of the American television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The theme song, "Love Is All Around", [1] was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
The sequence, which was filmed in March 1970, [2] was created by Reza Badiyi who had also done the opening sequence for Hawaii Five-O . Badiyi came up with the idea for the final shot, which Entertainment Weekly ranked as the second greatest moment in 1970s television. [3]
The original opening title sequence for the show begins with the name of its star across the screen in the Peignot font, which then multiplies both upward and downward vertically in a number of colors, followed by a montage of Mary driving towards Minneapolis towards her new home, and walking in her new neighborhood.
In the final shot, she gleefully tosses her tam o' shanter in the air in the middle of the street; a freeze-frame captures her smiling face and the hat in mid-air. An older woman can be seen in the background, obviously puzzled by the sight of a young woman tossing her hat in the air. This unwitting "extra" was Hazel Frederick, a lifelong Minnesota resident who happened to be out shopping the day the sequence was shot. Frederick finally met Moore in 1996 when she was on a book tour for her autobiography, After All. Moore introduced Frederick as "my co-star". [4] Even though many people thought that the scowling woman in the opening sequence was grumpy-looking, she actually had just been concerned for Moore's safety. In 2002, on Good Morning America, Moore said, "It was so cold, I couldn't protest. The words weren't forming," she said. "So I did as I was told, and dear Hazel Frederick, who was frozen forever in the background, looking with what appears to be a scowling face at me, and she told me later, because I did meet her, that it was just that she had no idea what was going on, never saw a camera. She just thought there was a lunatic about to lose her life." [5]
The theme visuals were changed significantly after Season 1, and were usually "tweaked" every season thereafter. In later seasons, David Davis is given a credit for "Title Visualization". The "driving to Minneapolis" sequence was dropped, and the theme then featured brief shots of Mary, mostly engaging in everyday activities around Minneapolis as well as interacting with the newsroom staff. In a brief sequence set in the newsroom, Mary hugs Lou, Murray and Ted, accidentally crushing Ted's fedora in the process, before straightening it out. This was a scene from the end of the Season 1 episode "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid", although the producers eventually re-shot this sequence for use in the opening credits from Season 4 onward.
Also seen during Season 2 and Season 3 were shots featuring Mary and Rhoda in Mary's apartment, as well as a shot of Mary and Phyllis, which was inserted into episodes in which Phyllis appeared. (Her portrayer, Cloris Leachman, was a semi-regular, and did not appear in every episode.) During Season 4 and Season 5, the interior shot of Mary and Rhoda was replaced with a brief shot of Mary and Rhoda walking down a Minneapolis street, laughing. This shot remained until Valerie Harper left the series in late 1974, although it also appeared in two 1975 episodes. The characters of Sue Ann and Georgette, both semi-regular characters after Season 4, never appeared in the opening credit sequence.
No matter what other changes were made from year to year, however, the iconic final hat-tossing shot (including Hazel Frederick) was retained in every iteration of the theme.
Other clips used in later versions of the theme:
| "Love Is All Around" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Sonny Curtis | |
| from the album Love Is All Around | |
| Released | July 1970 |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Length | 2:44 |
| Label | Elektra Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Sonny Curtis |
The theme song, "Love Is All Around", was written and performed by Sonny Curtis, but is often mistakenly attributed to Paul Williams; Pat Williams wrote the show's music. The first season's lyrics are words of encouragement directed to the character, referring to the end of a previous relationship and making a fresh start, beginning with "How will you make it on your own?" and concluding with "You might just make it after all." [9] The more familiar version of the song used in seasons 2–7 changed the lyrics to affirm her optimistic character, beginning with the iconic line "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" and concluding with a more definitive "You're gonna make it after all." [10] An instrumental version of the tune was used for the show's closing credits featuring a saxophone on lead in Season 1; a new version of the closing was usually recorded each season, sometimes with only minor changes. A different instrumental version of the song was later used for the opening of Moore's 1979 variety series, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour .
Sonny Curtis recorded two full-length versions of the song, both with significantly different arrangements from the TV versions. The first was released as a single on Ovation Records in 1970, while the second was included on Curtis' Elektra Records album of the same name in 1980. The latter recording, which featured a country arrangement, reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
The song has been covered by artists such as Ray Conniff, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Christie Front Drive, Sammy Davis Jr., and Twin Cities-based Hüsker Dü, the latter who also reproduced several scenes of the opening on location for their music video. It was sampled in the Urge Overkill song Night and Grey. The song was also featured in a long-running commercial for Chase bank in the mid-2000s, and was sung in the TV series 7th Heaven in the episode "In Praise of Women" during the birth of the Camden twins. A dance version was featured in the 1995 Isaac Mizrahi documentary Unzipped . The 2000 TV movie Mary and Rhoda started with the original version of the song and then switched to the Joan Jett cover.
During the ending scene of the 2016 film Christine , about a TV reporter/newscaster, the song is heard playing on the TV, and sung along to by one of the characters.
Many of the outdoor scenes in the opening sequence were filmed along Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. In 2001, The New York Times stated that it is not unusual for people walking along the mall to be so reminded of the show that they toss their hats in the air, as Mary did at the end of the sequence. [11]
The iconic hat toss was filmed at the intersection with 7th Street. On May 8, 2002, cable TV network TV Land dedicated an 8-foot (2.4 m) tall bronze statue of Moore tossing her hat near that intersection. [12] Many in the press were skeptical of TV Land's motive at first, some claiming it was a marketing strategy, and one Macalester College professor stating that it was "like honoring a unicorn." [13] Moore herself unveiled the statue, where 3,000 tams were distributed to the crowd of onlookers so they could participate in a commemorative hat toss. [12]
The Dayton's department store is in the background of some of those downtown scenes (later Marshall Field's and Macy's, now a new development, "The Dayton's Project"). The exact spot where the cap toss occurred has been debated extensively, because the layout along Nicollet has changed substantially since the early 1970s; the actual backdrop of the toss, the Donaldson's department store diagonally across the street from Dayton's, was destroyed in 1982 by the Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire.
The IDS Center was under construction when the original opening sequence was filmed. For an updated sequence used during the fourth season, Mary visited the completed building and was seen riding up the escalator in the Crystal Court. This exposure on prime-time television predated, by two months, the official presentation by architect Philip Johnson of the completion of the project in Architectural Forum. [14] Another scene from the same building showed Mary dining with a man (her then-husband, Grant Tinker) at what was until 2017 the Mary Tyler Moore Table at Basil's Restaurant. [15] The manager of Basil's said in 2006 that his customers still frequently requested the table where Mary sat. [16] The IDS Center is located across the street from RSM Plaza, which was used for establishing shots of Mary's workplace. [17]
Scenes showing Mary driving a white 1970 Ford Mustang toward Minneapolis in the first-season sequence were supposedly filmed on Interstate 494 (the Doubletree by Hilton Bloomington, at the time a Radisson, can be seen in the background) and approaching downtown Minneapolis on the Trunk Highway 65 spur from northbound I-35W. Furthermore, an aerial shot that prominently features the Basilica of Saint Mary features US 12 (now Interstate 394) heading west away from the city near the exit to Lyndale Avenue. I-94, which now runs behind the Basilica from the aerial's vantage point, was not yet completed in the area at the time the aerial film was shot.
Some of the scenes with Mary walking in front of lakes and with school children were shot around Lake of the Isles at different times of the year. A scene with school children and a crossing guard was shot at the north end of the lake at Franklin facing south. [18] [19] In season 6 she is seen walking in the winter with the bridge over the Cedar Lake channel passageway in the background. [20] The image transitions to summer and we see Mary walking along the Northeast shore passing joggers. The images in this clip are mirror-image flipped (with a left-right transposition), probably for the continuity of walking direction with the previous clips.
In 1997, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the sequence one of the best in history. [21] In 2010, TV Guide ranked the sequence #3 on its list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers. [22] In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the show's opening sequence #15 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time. [23]
The sequence has been referenced and parodied numerous times. Oprah Winfrey recreated the entire opening sequence of the show in Chicago, with herself in the role of Mary. The All New Alexei Sayle Show parodies the opening credits in its opening sequence, with Alexei Sayle dancing through the streets of London to the theme song 'Life's a Big Banana Sandwich'. In the "Saturdays of Thunder" episode of The Simpsons (also produced by Mary Tyler Moore creator James L. Brooks), Homer criticizes his sister-in-law Patty's Mary Tyler Moore style hairdo, to which her sister Selma insists he be ignored, retorting, "You can turn the world on with your smile," in reference to the theme song's opening lyric. [24]
A 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live included a sketch that quoted the theme. Guest-host Ed Asner (who had played Lou Grant on Mary Tyler Moore) reprises the character as hiring mercenaries to "rescue" Mary from "syndicated reruns". Two of the mercenaries, played by Rich Hall and Jim Belushi, ask about the objective:
Mercenary #1: Is it true what they say about her?
Lou Grant: What?
Mercenary #1: She can turn the world on with her smile.
Lou Grant: [ sentimental ] Yeah... yeah, she could...
Mercenary #2: And could she really take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Lou Grant: No, of course not! Don't be stupid! [25]
Often, the hat toss is the main focus of the parody. During the closing credits of the spin-off Rhoda , she also tries to fling her hat in the air while in the middle of Times Square, but it just falls to the ground and she must sheepishly pick it up. In the episode "And Maggie Makes Three" of The Simpsons, while working at a bowling alley, Homer spins around singing, "I'm gonna make it after all!", and tosses a bowling ball in the air, denting the hardwood floor when it falls. In the first episode of Suddenly Susan , Brooke Shields' character hears the theme song from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and throws her remote control in the air. It hits her in the head. [26] Peter Griffin wins a piano competition in the Family Guy episode "Wasted Talent" by playing "Love Is All Around". Afterwards, during the audience's applause a girl throws her hat in the air and freezes, while those around her look perplexed as to why she and the hat are not moving. On the series Girlfriends , Maya throws her hat in the air after arriving in New York City to meet with a book publisher; the hat is caught by someone walking nearby, who runs off with it. Adam Carolla parodied the twirl and freeze-frame hat toss at the end of the opening credits for his home improvement series The Adam Carolla Project . In sixth season All in the Family episode "Mike's Move", when Edith learns that Mike was offered a teaching job in Minneapolis, she asks, "Isn't that the place where Mary Tyler Moore keeps losing her hat?"
In the Scrubs season one episode, "My 15 Minutes", Elliot takes a cab downtown at night. The Mary Tyler Moore theme plays as Elliot emerges from her cab. She twirls around and tosses her hat into the air and the music stops with a jolt when a young man bumps into her. He grabs the hat and sticks it on his head and keeps walking. The Latest Buzz twice parodies the hat toss: in the pilot "The First Issue", Rebecca (one of the new teen writers of Teen Buzz magazine) throws her hat up before leaving the office, which fails to come down; this is revisited in the series finale "The Final Issue" (which involves the staff's firing, similar to the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show), as one of the replacement teen writers, Lucy, does the toss with the same result, down to Rebecca giving the same advice to Lucy that her boss DJ gave to her during her first week on the job after the hat toss mishap.
In 2006, Canadian singer Serena Ryder pays homage to the title sequence of the Mary Tyler Moore show in her video for "Good Morning Starshine".
Mary Tyler Moore was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), which "helped define a new vision of American womanhood" and "appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence". Moore won seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Ordinary People. Moore had a supporting role in the musical film Thoroughly Modern Millie. Moore was an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism and diabetes awareness and research.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 19, 1977. Moore portrayed Mary Richards, an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer of a news show at the fictional local station WJM in Minneapolis. Ed Asner co-starred as Mary's boss Lou Grant, alongside Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Betty White, Valerie Harper as friend and neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern, and Cloris Leachman as friend and landlady Phyllis Lindstrom.
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was the news director at fictional television station WJM-TV in Minneapolis. A spinoff series, entitled Lou Grant (1977–1982), was an hour-long serious dramatic series that frequently engaged in social commentary, featuring the same character as city editor of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune. Although spin-offs are common on American television, Lou Grant remains one of a very few characters played by the same actor to have a leading role on both a popular comedy and a popular dramatic series.
Rhoda is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to May 18, 1979. It was the first spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in which Harper reprised her role as Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky and flamboyantly fashioned young woman seen as unconventional by the standards of her Jewish family from New York City. The series was originally distributed by Viacom Enterprises.
Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director. During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on McMillan & Wife and Ida Morgenstern, who first appeared on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later became a prominent recurring character on the spinoff series Rhoda.
The IDS Center is an office skyscraper located at 80 South 8th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Completed in 1973, it is the tallest building in Minneapolis, and the tallest building in the state at a height of 792 feet (241 m). It originally stood 775 feet 6 inches (236.37 m), though a 16-foot (4.9 m) garage for window washing equipment was added between 1978 and 1979. The structure rises to 910 feet (10,900 in) when including communications spires on the roof, indisputably the highest points in the city. The IDS was constructed as the headquarters of Investors Diversified Services, Inc.—now Ameriprise Financial. It also housed the headquarters of Dayton Hudson Corporation from 1972 until 2001.
Phyllis is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 8, 1975, to March 13, 1977. Created mainly by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, it was the second spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary Tyler Moore Show producer James L. Brooks was also involved with the show as a creative consultant. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' friend, neighbor, and landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
"Wasted Talent" is the 20th episode of the second season of the American animated television series Family Guy. This episode marks the first time that Chris Griffin has had no speaking lines in an episode. This episode is rated TV-PG-D in the United States and 15 in the United Kingdom.
Rhoda Faye Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a fictional character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The character was spun off to the show Rhoda, in which she was the protagonist.
In film and video, a freeze frame is when a single frame of content shows repeatedly on the screen—"freezing" the action. This can be done in the content itself, by printing or recording multiple copies of the same source frame. This produces a static shot that resembles a still photograph.
Sue Ann Nivens is a fictional character portrayed by Betty White on situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the lead character of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Mary and Rhoda is a 2000 American made-for-television comedy-drama film starring Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper reprising their roles as Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern from the 1970–1977 sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
"The Last Show" is the 168th episode and series finale of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and it was written by Allan Burns, James L. Brooks, Ed Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd, and Bob Ellison. Internationally, it was first aired in Canada on CBC Television, March 18, 1977 at 8 p.m. In the U.S., it was one day later on Saturday, March 19, on CBS.
RSM Plaza is a 320-foot (98 m) tall skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Formerly known as McGladrey Plaza, it was completed in 1969 and has 20 floors. In October 2015, the building was renamed RSM Plaza after its largest tenant, McGladrey, changed its own name to RSM. It is the 30th-tallest building in the city and is located on Nicollet Mall. At the time of its completion, the building was the fifth-tallest structure in Minneapolis and the city's second-tallest post-World War II high-rise, behind Canadian Pacific Plaza. The building is skyway connected to The Metro Apartments, the Medical Arts Building and the IDS Center.
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The Hogan Family is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It was produced in association with Lorimar Productions (1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1988), and Lorimar Television (1988–1991).
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Gillen was an American sculptor and artist. Her best known works include a bronze sculpture of actress Mary Tyler Moore tossing her Tam o' shanter hat into the air as a homage to the final scene of opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Gillen's life-size sculpture of Moore, dedicated in 2002 on the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks and a "symbol of Minneapolis". Her other well known pieces include a 4-foot bronze sculpture of Gertie the Duck, which was installed on the Wisconsin Avenue bridge in Milwaukee in 1997.