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Marlo Thomas on Mary Tyler Moore and their Effect on Feminism: “We were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together”

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EXCLUSIVE I don’t know where the new fly by nights stars go for dinner. But walk into Ralph Lauren’s Polo Restaurant on East 55th St. these days and it’s like a throwback to Elaine’s or the original Russian Tea Room.

So there, at the hot table in the corner of the main room was like a dream come true: Marlo Thomas, Elaine May, Kathie Berlin, Letty Pogrebin. They are stars from the 60s and 70s who’ve lasted, thrived, and made an impact on all our lives. (Plus Marlo and Letty helped Gloria Steinem start the women’s movement and the Ms. Foundation. FYI. The smart, attractive girls.)

And then, as if Elaine Kaufman herself had phoned in the reservation list, came Brenda Vaccaro and a producer friend looking like it was 1977 and everyone was heading to Studio 54. When Brenda and Marlo’s eyes met, there was shrieking and introducing.

Did I mention Elaine May? One of the great writers, humorists, directors, performers in history? Director of one of my favorite movies of all time, “The Heartbreak Kid.” Mother of Jeannie Berlin, who just killed it as the prosecutor in “The Night Of.” Mike Nichols’ best friend and performance partner? Who lives with legendary director Stanley Donen? That Elaine May.

Kathie Berlin, PR extraordinaire, working on the Oscar campaign for “La La Land.” One of the legends. “Did we get enough nominations?” Kathie asked, quite rhetorically. “Oh,” she added, “I agree with you, I liked “Lion” a lot.”

And Letty Pogrebin, feminist author of world renown. No slouch. Mother of NY Times writer Robin.

And Marlo, dear Marlo, the sweetest person in the world, still looking like “That Girl,” out on a girls’ night without Phil Donahue.

I did ask Marlo about Mary Tyler Moore. They were not close friends but knew each other professionally their whole lives. Marlo’s “That Girl” was the single girl in the city in 1966 four years before Mary Richards moved to Minneapolis. (Before Mary used to say, “Oh, Mr. Grant” and after she’d say “Oh, Rob” it was Marlo as Ann Marie who used to exclaim, “Oh, Donald!”)

“We were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together,” Marlo said, “in how we affected women’s lives.” Did they ever talk about it? “Oh, yes, a lot,” she said. “But I know she suffered the last few years. I feel for her husband. He is wonderful.”

And Brenda? She’s a voice in the newly Oscar nominated “Kubo and the Two Strings.” She’s here to co-star with Naomi Watts in the Netflix series “Gypsy.” She doesn’t stop!

Neither does Marlo. She, by the way, was just featured in the New York Times for her clothing line, “That Woman.”

So what were they doing at dinner?

“We’re solving all the world’s problems,” Marlo said.

“Right after dessert,” said Elaine, with the timing of an Andy Murray backhand over the net up close.

Donald Trump, beware.

Peter Fonda Stars in Joel and Ethan Coen’s First Ever Super Bowl Commercial (Watch)

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Peter Fonda stars in Joel and Ethan Coen’s first ever Super Bowl commercial, for Mercedes. (There’s also talk he might be in their first TV series — I hope so.)

This Mercedes AMG Roadster costs around $112,500. Not too shabby. Much more expensive than the cars for sale on the lot in “Fargo.”

The title is “Easy Rider,” and it’s an ode to Fonda’s “Easy Rider,” a groundbreaking iconic film of 1969. Rock on! The song is from Steppenwolf, in case you’re very young.

Valerie Harper on Mary Tyler Moore: “She was ahead of her time with a keen awareness and sense of responsibility”

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Valerie Harper hasn’t commented yet on the death of her pal Mary Tyler Moore. I suspect she’s grieving. They were very, very close for 47 years.  Harper was so upset that she even cancelled a Facebook announcement scheduled for Wednesday night about a short film she made that’s going to film festivals.

A few years ago, Harper wrote a terrific memoir called “I, Rhoda,” which is on amazon and elsewhere and worth a read.  Here’s what she wrote about the day she met Mary at her audition for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”:

Mary had just come from a ballet lesson (like me, she first trained as a dancer). She wore a pale rose Helanca turtleneck over white trousers. After I gushed about how wonderful she was on The Dick Van Dyke Show, I took a step back and looked her over. She was as thin as a reed. “Look at you in white pants without a long jacket to cover your behind,” I said. (Hell would have to freeze over before I would go out with my top tucked in and my butt in white.) The guys in the room burst out laughing. I had already become Rhoda the Self-Deprecating.

On Mary at work: She was always on time and always knew her lines. She was a remarkable leader but never acted like “the star.” As Mary Richards, Mary was always “straighting” for the rest of us, who played more flamboyant characters. She would suggest to the writers, “Why don’t you give that joke to Val? It’s more of a Rhoda line.”

On breaks between scenes, Mary often did needlepoint. A real expert, she turned out beautiful pieces for her home: pillows and chair seats. When she sewed, she wore tiny reading glasses that made her look like a glamorous young granny. The first year of the show, she needle pointed each of the cast members a lovely rectangular pillow with our initials and the signature Mary Richards beret dangling off one of the letters. She must have used up all of her weekends sewing these surprise gifts. Another treasured gift from Mary was a long gold latchkey with the inscription 119 Wetherly, our fictitious address on the show. Ever the generous girl.

While Mary imbued her on-screen alter ego with much of her own personality, Mary Richards was truly a created character. The real-life Mary was droller, wittier, and much more sophisticated. Mary Tyler Moore’s humor was dry. Mary Richards’s was sweet and slightly square. Although Mary smoked, she refused ever to smoke on the show. She was adamant that she not pass along her bad habit to anyone in the audience. “I’m hooked,” she’d say. “I don’t want to help hook anyone else.” She was ahead of her time with a keen awareness and sense of responsibility.

 

 

 

 

Iranian Actress Taraneh Alidoosti Says She’s Boycotting Oscars Instead of Coming Here and Protesting

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Taraneh Alidoosti made a big splash this morning. The Iranian star of “The Salesman,” nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, decided to boycott the Oscars because of Donald Trump’s immigration ban.

It’s a mistake. First of all, she should have waited until she was banned, and turned the whole business into a real controversy.

Second, if she was able to come, she would have had more of an impact if she’d come to the Oscars and spoken on behalf of the Iranian people. Alidoosti would have had the ear of the international media.

Now she’ll stay in Iran, and her absence will mean very little. Taraneh, you missed a golden opportunity. The Academy Awards are at least a forum for people from all the world. They may be one of the last forums as we get further into the Trump mess.

It is hoped that the filmmaker Asghar Farhadi will still be able to come to the US for the show. He won the Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation.”

Stephen Colbert’s Great Interview with Billy Joel: “I told Elton John to put out less albums”

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Stephen Colbert had a great interview with Billy Joel last night. Billy named his top 5 songs– “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” was number 1. Colbert sings a medley of Billy Joel songs in two minutes. And Billy is just as charming as ever. I loved his anecdote about Paul McCartney scaring his daughter Alexa when she was a little girl.

Colbert asked Billy why he hasn’t made a new album since 1993. He said, “Elton John says you should put out more albums.” Billy replied: “I told him to put out less albums!”

Good work! Long live Billy!

and Billy performed “Miami 2017”

Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue: Diverse, Pregnant, and A Pair of Siblings!

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Vanity Fair’s new Hollywood issue– diverse, pregnant, and siblings! Another Annie Leibovitz instant classic, with a very pregnant Oscar winner Natalie Portman, winner Lupita Nyong’o, five-time nominee Amy Adams, and two-time nominee Emma Stone on the front panel.

Then comes new star Ruth Negga, plus knockout sister Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Dakota Johnson, Greta Gerwig, Aja Naomi King, and Janelle Monáe.

Check out the video of the shoot at VanityFair.com !

vanity fair

Three of the Best MTM Episodes: “Veal Prince Orloff,” “Lou’s First Date,” and “Lou’s Birthday Party”

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Seven seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore Show– and they’re just about all A episodes. So much to choose from. But these are three of my favorites. Lou’s Birthday Party, Veal Prince Orloff, and Lou’s First Date. In the latter, Lou gets set up with a 90 year old by accident. She doesn’t watch the news because she doesn’t have a TV. What do you for entertainment? she’s asked. “I have a fireplace.”

The best show ever, and don’t think that Mary wasn’t responsible for that as much as the writers, producers, directors and the cast. And once you watch these, you’ll be up all night watching them. Mary Tyler Moore Show is like a box of chocolates.

By the way, in “Veal Prince Orloff,” that is Henry Winkler pre-Fonzi.

Lou’s Birthday Party:

Veal Prince Orloff aka The Dinner Party

Lou’s First Date

Mary Tyler Moore Remembered by Her Cast Members: “She was America’s Sweetheart” Says Cloris Leachman

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Twitter and Facebook are full of memorials and toasts to the great and beloved Mary Tyler Moore. Some people have yet to weigh in including Valerie Harper and Betty White, but that may be because they are grieving in private. (Can you imagine people still do that?)

Rose Marie, who’s 93, played Sally Rogers on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She gave an interview to Scott Feinberg, and said she was in touch with Mary regularly until four or five months ago.

When I ran into Ed Asner during Golden Globe week, I’d asked if he’d heard anything new about Mary. He said from what he’d been told, she was in bed and in decline, but that was all.

Indeed, not much had been heard from or about Mary recently which was a bad sign. She and husband Robert Levine had moved to Greenwich, Connecticut to be near doctors and the very good hospital there. They’d long ago given up their farm in Millbrook, upstate New York, and an apartment in the city.

Mary’s casts, particularly from her own show, had longevity in real life. Carl Reiner is 93, Dick van Dyke is 91, Betty White is 95. The only member of the “MTM” cast who passed before Mary was Ted Knight. Everyone else is still alive and kicking.

What you may not remember: the first year of the “MTM” show, Mary was nominated for an Emmy Award but didn’t win. Valerie Harper and Ed Asner each won Best Supporting honors. They took out an ad in the trades that read: “Without her, it would just be called The Show.”

From Twitter today:

Cloris Leachman: The picture that we all have of Mary, that’s how she was—sweet, kind, so tender, so delicate. She was America’s sweetheart. We loved you.

Ed Asner: A great lady I loved and owe so much to has left us. I will miss her. I will never be able to repay her for the blessings that she gave me.

Dick van Dyke: There are no words. She was THE BEST! We always said that we changed each other’s lives for the better. I…

Mary Tyler Moore Has Died At Age 80 After a Long Illness– Beloved Actress

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mtmMary Tyler Moore has died at age 80. According to TMZ, she’d been moved to a Connecticut hospital. Everyone loves Mary, this column especially. Condolences to her family.

The beloved MTM hasn’t really been seen in five years, since she won her SAG Life Achievement Award. She’s suffered from diabetes and a bunch of illnesses. Mary turned 80 last month. Her last TV appearance was an “MTM” reunion on “Hot in Cleveland” in 2013 in which she didn’t say much, but glowed listening to her old friends.

She’s lived quietly in Connecticut with her husband, Dr. Robert Levine, since moving out of Manhattan and giving up her farm in Millbrook, New York. Her ex husband, Grant Tinker, who produced her famous TV show and ruled her TV empire in the 70s and 80s, passed away last year as well.

Despite her perky presence on the screen, Mary had a lot of tragedy in her life. Her only child, Richie, died in 1980 after playing with a sawed off shotgun. Two years earlier, Mary’s sister committed suicide in 1978 at age 21.

Of course, Mary’s career includes mostly great moments– her own show, “The Dick van Dyke Show,” plus an Oscar nomination for “Ordinary People.” She appeared on Broadway seven times in the 1980s, garnering several nominations. In 1980, she won a special award from the Tonys. Earlier in her career she was in the never-opened first Broadway production of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

During the 80s and 90s Mary and Robert lived in New York, on Fifth Avenue, in a grand and spacious apartment that became famous for falcons that landed on the precipices. The apartment was big enough that it had a dining room table that could seat 20, Mary told me, when I was over there one day for an interview. She said she wasn’t sure she knew 20 people whom she could invite! I’ll never forget that.

She was the classiest lady, Mary Tyler Moore.  We were lucky to know her.

Alec Baldwin’s Memoir Will Be Published in April by His Longstanding Foe, Rupert Murdoch

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neverthelessAlec Baldwin was just announced as host of “Saturday Night Live” next month. It’s not like Alec hasn’t been on “SNL” in a while– he’s been killing it playing Donald Trump the way David Frye used to imitate Richard Nixon on “Laugh In.” Sheer genius.

But Baldwin’s hosting of the show is a walk up to publicity for his memoir, called “Nevertheless,” coming on April 4th. And guess who’s publishing that book? Why, Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins, cousin of Alec’s two favorite media outlets, Fox News and The New York Post.

The publicity campaign for “Nevertheless” should be interesting. The book covers Alec’s showbiz career from his debut on NBC’s soap “The Doctors” in 1983 to his hit run on “30 Rock.” But it’s likely it also covers this past year, his Trump imitation, his long interest in politics as a Democrat and possibly his notorious feud with the Post and Page Six.

For years — decades, it feels like– Page Six dubbed Baldwin “The Bloviator.” He fought with the paper and their paparazzi on dozens of subjects, many of which landed on the front page. The Post surely won’t ignore the Baldwin book, but then again, they’re also likely to use anything he’s written against him. Prepare for war, Rupert Murdoch style!