Dick Van Dyke Produced a TV Special to Show That Mary Tyler Moore Wasn’t Just ‘The Wife on a Sitcom’
The Dick Van Dyke Show may have been named after its titular, ottoman-plagued star, but it surely wouldn’t be the classic it is today if not for the entire cast, specifically, Van Dyke’s co-star Mary Tyler Moore.
Moore, of course, played Rob Petrie’s wife Laura. As the nearly one-century-old Van Dyke recently told People, the show’s creator, Carl Reiner, auditioned 100 actresses trying to find the right person for the part.
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“He said what caught him about Mary (was) she had a pang in her voice,” Van Dyke explained. “He said there was a pang there that got his attention. He took her by the head, took her in to the producers and said, ‘This is the new Laura.’”
“From the first show she was on, the first word she spoke, she was perfect,” he continued. “There was no breaking her in. I mean, she was working with three people who had done a lot of comedy. She had never done comedy. She was unbelievable! She was great from day one, it was just meant to be, I think.”
But the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star was also aware that Moore was boxed in by the part’s constraints. To casting directors and others, “She was the lady who played ‘the wife’ on the sitcom,” Van Dyke said. “That was her image. They didn’t realize how much talent there was there. So we put together a special called Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman.”
The special aired in 1969, three years after The Dick Van Dyke Show ended, and found Van Dyke and Moore reuniting for a color variety show. They performed sketches, songs and shared clips from the sitcom.
The hour-long program was clearly meant to highlight Mary Tyler Moore’s talents. “We showcased everything she did,” Van Dyke recalled, “singing, dancing, everything. We really showcased her and, bang, after that she got the series.” It’s true, the special’s success is reportedly what “led CBS to offer Mary Tyler Moore her own show,” the aptly-named The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
“We had a crush on each other,” Van Dyke admitted. “We just loved each other.” What a lovely story from the 99-year-old, who is hopefully staying the hell away from any rooms containing ottomans.