Mary Tyler Moore dies, had ties to local area

NEW YORK —  Mary Tyler Moore, the actress of stage, film and television who could turn the world on with her smile died on Wednesday. She was 80.

Her longtime rep issued a statement: “Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine.

The actress was a descendant of Lt. Col. Lewis Tilghman Moore, commander of the 31st Virginia Militia. He offered his home at 415 North Braddock Street, Winchester, Virginia,  to serve as the headquarters for Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.

Jackson lived in the home from November 1861 to March 1862, and was joined by his wife, Mary Anna, in December 1861. Jackson arrived shortly after taking command of the new Valley District of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was from the home that Jackson planned his Shenandoah Valley defenses and campaigns starting with the Romney Expedition.   

Mary Tyler Moore helped pay for restorations of the home for the museum and visited Winchester and the museum several times.

 Moore is perhaps best remembered for her role as Mary Richards in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970–77), in which she played a single woman working as a local news producer in Minneapolis.  She first became nationally known in another series named for its primary character, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”(1961–1966).  There, she played Laura Petrie, a former dancer turned Westchester homemaker, mother and wife of comedian Van Dyke’s central character.

In movies, two of her biggest roles were in 1967’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and 1980’s “Ordinary People”.  Her part in “Ordinary People”, a harder-edged dramatic role than the lighter, comedic roles that had propelled her into the national spotlight, gained her a Best Actress, Academy Award nomination.

However, her TV sitcom roles of the 1960s and 1970s were later acknowledged as helping break then-stereotypical images of women.  Particularly her role as Mary Richards in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” has been credited in helping popularize the notion of women as the professional equal of men in the workplace.  Consequently, she eventually was acknowledged as a cultural icon and inspiration for many younger actresses, professional women and feminists who came after her.

Roger Bianchini contributed to this story.