Dick Van Dyke has had a long and storied career and he's worked with a lot of big names in the business. However, one leading lady who really stood out to the actor was Mary Tyler Moore, who first worked with Van Dyke on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He later helped Mary Tyler Moore to get her own CBS comedy, and the rest is history. This week, we learned that Mary Tyler Moore died at the age of 80. Her longtime pal and coworker has decided to speak out about her life in the time since, and recently shared what he remembers best about Mary Tyler Moore. Here's what he had to say:
I got to be on hand and watch her grow into the talent she became. She was just the best. I don't know what made her comic timing so great. On Dick Van Dyke, we had Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie, both of whom were old hams and had razor-sharp timing, and mine wasn't bad either. But Mary just picked it up so fast. She had us all laughing after a couple of episodes. She just grabbed onto the character and literally turned us into an improv group, it was so well-oiled. That show was the best five years of my life.
In an editorial penned over at THR, it's clear that Dick Van Dyke shared a lot of warm memories with the comedy icon. Beyond talking about Mary Tyler Moore's talent, he also brought up the time that The Dick Van Dyke Show finally won a coveted Emmy--around the time it got cancelled. He also shared a lot of fond memories about seeing the young actress grow into a seasoned comedic tour de force. It's a great read in full, but this part about seeing Mary Tyler Moore land the role on his show and then make a career out of it is a personal favorite.
Mary Tyler Moore touched a lot of people during her long career. A lot of them spoke out after her untimely death on Wednesday, including Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman and more. When well-known celebrities die, there are often a lot of famous people whose lives they have touched, but Mary Tyler Moore was in the business for decades. She touched a wide variety of sitcoms, from shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and Rhoda earlier in her career to That '70s Show and Hot in Cleveland later on. She's a legendary TV comedienne and it is very clear that she will be missed.
In his own career, Dick Van Dyke is not slowing down. He's expected to be a part of Mary Poppins Returns, which is scheduled for 2018. You can learn more about that project here.
