Mary Tyler Moore passes away at the age of 80
She was a comedy legend, an actress, and a groundbreaker. Mary Tyler Moore is dead at the age of 80, and she has passed away just hours after the announcement of her “grave” condition in a Connecticut hospital.
The New York Daily News was the first to break the news that Mary Tyler Moore is dead at the age of 80. She was on a respirator for more than a week, the outlet has revealed. To say the news was shocking was an understatement, even though the legendary actress was well advanced in her years, and had been suffering with a variety of ailments for a while.
Her publicist, Mara Buxbaum, released a statement to the press lauding Mary’s commitment to finding a cure for juvenile diabetes.
"“A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.”"
Best known for her roles as Laurie Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and the titular Mary in her eponymous Mary Tyler Moore Show, in later years, she’d become better known for her activism and her treatment for a variety of illness, especially later in life.
However, in 1980, she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the maudlin film, Ordinary People. In 2011, she successfully underwent brain surgery. In her two memoirs, and in later interviews, she would talk about how she was coping with her Type 1 Diabetes.
"“I shoot myself right through my clothes there at the table, right here in my thigh. I seldom wear white as a result.”"
However, her compromised vision — despite having surgery to correct it — due to complications from diabetes meant that, in her later years, she couldn’t do her beloved ballet or horseback riding.
Our thoughts are with Moore’s family and friends, who are undoubtedly in mourning now that Mary Tyler Moore is dead.