Talent moving on

Yesterday brought news of the passing of two people who would seem to have little in common but both of whom were loved and admired by many people.

The first was Mary Tyler Moore, who died yesterday. Who did not love Laura Petrie or Mary Richards, the roles for which she was most well known? We first met Laura Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” the CBS sitcom which aired 158 half-hour episodes from 1961 to 1966. Watching those old episodes now they seem rather quaint, but there is no denying the immensely talented cast. On the surface, Laura and Robert Petrie (Van Dyke) had a fairly traditional 1950s marriage, but even now when you watch these old episodes you cannot help but notice that Rob and Laura really did respect one another’s strengths.

Ms. Moore then went on to portray Mary Richards on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970 to 1977. Although her attempts at feminism may seem quaint by today’s standards, I suspect she was quite an influence on women, encouraging us to pursue our goals both personally and professionally. After all, there she was, bright, capable, stylish, beautiful, and single! There was no lack of men interested in her, but she was never willing to sacrifice her independence. I think of it as a pendulum that had to swing fairly far before we started to understand that it is possible to play more than one role, to be both a loving wife and mother and a successful professional woman. Mary Tyler Moore helped us on that road.

I was surprised to learn yesterday that Carole King had a small part in an episode of the MTM Show back in 1975. Fast forward to 22 minutes into this attached video to see that very young Carole King. 

This was not Ms. King’s only foray into the world of acting; we saw her in a play in New York years ago, but try as I might I have not been able to find out what that was. In any case, had I known Ms. King personally, I would have advised that she should not give up that music career. Although she has occasionally played roles on stage and screen, she obviously made the right choice!

The second person who died Tuesday (24 January) at the relatively young age of 69 was the drummer Butch Trucks, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band.

We did see one movie last week that I never got around to writing about: “Hidden Figures.” This movie tells the story, with which I was completely unfamiliar, of a group of black women who were brought in to do various jobs in the space program in the early 1960s. Included in this group were three extremely bright and talented women who are the focus of this movie, which is based on a true story. Like all Hollywood versions of such stories, it is a bit sugar-coated, but all in all does a very good job of capturing just how difficult life was for blacks and for women during that time. The movie is rated PG, and Barry and I think it would be a good one to watch with our grandchildren.

We had a little fun this week when our furnace stopped working. Two things were fortunate. First, the weather has been unseasonably warm the past couple of days. And second, we were able to have it fixed, albeit after quite expensive repairs, and right now the house is quite comfortable.

Keep warm!

Love,

Rebecca