5he starred in the two best of all time. She's Jattled alcoholism and diabetes. But it wasn't until \'Iary Tyler Moore took control of her career with the !lew TV movie, Mary and , that she finally real­ ized what the rest of us have always known . ..

By MICHAEL GIL -.I!I Marr ~Ier M.. ~ Is a Widow, Valerie Harper a divorcee, bolh willi grown daughlers - Joie I.enz ('ar leII) and _ l iIJARYrl· T~' I('r ~toore rdurn!'! to her mQ~t bclnn-d chRr:'lcler in the TV mO\' jc M.arlsa ~ra'l.--:: ~d '!"lIIlooldng to Ii~ happiness In a w.orld obses58d ~11h youth. • . ' - . M· Mary end RhodR .~ nirinlt nt'xl Monda\' on ABC. The surprise? WhAt ~ound ~' ''kc a no-brAiner for any network creative production company that t~i~ ~~~n;' h:v~:~rr:~ me w:"" nctul\l1y a fl lruJ!glc to make...... •• nam('d an.er her - "but ' W8& that Jim Brooka and the other It WI''' plnnned all ~ . then O~ ill n,vu a part. o( il. 1\·(' "1 ...... ,\'111 laid writers wanted to go on to other 1V mo\'ic that mil;ht lead to a ~c ri cil And lea· husband I Grant Tinker y,'Il. II was always too the one who ran thal company projeocL8: admi18 Moore, who aaid thB~lthf:rW~h!e R~{CCl~~eOi~d I~: ~:~}~S' and did it bcRuti(uliy. I was al­ all of th('m - induding herself - ....·e re young and wanted to see WK)'I too ACared or jultt rell inl'pl scared or just felt sional carecr. thr 63·year-old Emm)' win- . what was around lhe comf'r. ncr look control of the situation, "howing . t.o l!: Lt'p into 8ny olhrr role bl'Mid~l" the s;) mc dctcnllintltion that Mnry Rich· Rctre88." "Out it ...... hard for me. I didn't inept to step into want let il go beeDUIe • had al­ IUds always did when something !"cRlly lronicaliy. her willingne"a to let t.o othenc make the important deci­ lowed it t.o become my family. the mattered. . (amily I'd (('It I n('ver had when I ~I thought. 'There'. nobody else who ~s • !ionl played a key role in Moor(". any other role WIU growin~ up - \.he place going t.o do thiS: R 80)'S Moore . .. 'And If . "ucce,." She initiHlly re(u!\ed t.o where you (eel cnmfortable. rou want it done. you better alan hold· audition for "The Show" - another sent'I "I would hav(' kf'pl it on for .n· besides actress.' olher couple o( yean. But I "u ~d It(o~~id~t ~~~i1;~~~nfui: ':J:~nt:~~ ~ that always mnb" lhe short list or thf' best ~itcoml" or all time. - Rhoda " ' ") turned it down : remembf'rll f!~n ,:~:eIJ~ ~';:1n :~::~ cl~~.:en~1:'~;~;1ss:t!~iTo~g~"nd enough t.o have th06e (eelings M ()(Irt', " ) said to my aswnt. "No I've had my henrt broken ~ and !!:lOnd up (or them," :n~it:thi~tJ~hg ~t~nfh~~p~::~hit~r: In.!'kad, IIh(' movf'd on lind "1lle many lime, this w~k , I'm 'wi h(' .!It.ecn.>d mc down the hllllway t.n world oMessed with youth. Mory a l ~ re­ Mary Tylf'r Moore Sho...... ~ . ~oing . " Sheldon Leonard'lIi office." . tumll to TV journalism, a world thafl" mAined one of those rare TV l'e­ much ~die r nnd more tabloid-y than it She Wilt: drpres5t'd llecaulle of two An.cr live seosons, Rf'int'r pulled riu lhat almo!!ot Of'ver had a partJt sh,,'d ju!'t Iittli Hut her agent ..... during her dnys at WJM. lhe pluK on 1'he Dick Van Dyke weA k f'pi5Otle. much lellJl a \10'(,&11. Moore - who wrote her Butohio~r8phy pcTllistcd: thi" wnf; Carl R<'iner from Show: knowing thnt they would in· )'f':1 r, ye ... r ~ ago - plans to return to writing ns . thf' I('~cndary "Your Show of wt'U . inl"pir('d by how hnppy ~hc \\'a1' to Show!''' ..... hn SI)('clfical\v wanlrd h,r r~:~I ~~~o:~a~~ ar:r:; ~"~n::alt~~=i lit!~~~i~~~I~rhn~et i ~F~~~~c~ be callinJ: the "hols alj nn active pro· In read ror th(' purt or Laura Petrie. and commc rcial I'UC('CSJI si m pl~' "lop­ Cry: A film ah(lut hrt'''l''t c.ncer. du«r. Shc hnd lo go, ping bccaullc ill creator w ~'"t"tI 10 !-iht, had memurahll" tum1' in fea­ "t didn't ht'p a journal (during the Mnore rt'!t'nh'd ,md - 3cCflrding to gel while lhe going was good. hlr" film.!', pl:,,\; nF: an ici ly no­ The girts are back UI townl making of thi ~ movlel, hUl I have very RI 'ilH' r - !' hr unly h:ld 10 re"d Iwo VirtuAlly every olher clIIS~IC !' il· mOVl'

ILII'I {rom Pag' 109 She haAanother film in lie can - "'Labor P:linl!l,- C&.tl;t.(­ Yo'''5 • -Carol Burndt~ ·like sketch comed.v called rine Rob ).fOrTOW - and iii "Mary," It lasted three epi­ etCing other projects. -Sh"'s sodel. The other was a .it­ com about people mounting he': ~ ::toYnda l:;:f::fuo: A variety ~ries. a show _within_a_t;how concept ~~~d:~:V~ i,; hC~;;~ lif" fur years, . ~ I .. ~l1ed ibe Mary Tyler "Ar\cr Grant. Tinker and t Moore Hour," It lasted divorced and I came to New three months. Surpr isingly. York, ll:M!gan to rea~ nu. Ellen DeGenercs willlry the Ji(e. I ~gan to .ee that: It· same idea with ber nex.t only could I hrlndle 1"', . ' project. my own but that I rould:.J -, wish her bclt..er luck handle life m arried~' than 1 had with mine,"' younger man. not to pi, - . laugh. MoorT. who jok.ingl.Y • man who wou ld en raTe '- . -', :

The way Ihey -.: Maty Trte< M-. InsIsb Uvn wiI not be , .._ Mory ,nd Rhoda TV ..ries - jusllhe TV mcme. . ,

caUslhe genre a ",ilvar." me to do thines ind~ 1bough it didn't 100 st long, dently," ; the show did give career The ~.ull ia "Mary I and booetA to Michel Keaton, Rhoda," If it'a ,ua:e.(ul, Oav;d Letterman and Doria Moore ia toying with \heide. Roberts, " 'ho now has • 0( other TV movies cOn~inu - plum role on "Everybody Lovee Raymoad: one 0( in.\~~e~r;o~il "01 be !m ~~e . Moo...e's favorite shows cur­ into' eeries," insist.. Moore. ...entlyon lht! air. "What I moatl,r like about ~a: '::~dmthe~~':;:! ~~E it i, the "'nting: uy. Moore. "It', fresh and it's ~:? .:~a~on:u~ti~lf~ honeat. together that I would, not "1 a150 like Rly Romano in want to live with oN;' p.u1icular," she aays. "And I we-ekly ba.i"," think i. out- And (rom t.h