Mary Tyler Moore, 1936-2017

Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, and Donald Sutherland (from left to right) in Ordinary People (1980)

Oh my goodness I just read about the death of Mary Tyler Moore at the age of 80. Of course, Moore is going to be best remembered for her TV sitcoms, especially the eponymous one from the 1970s. That earned her a bunch of awards and even a statue in Minneapolis recreating the iconic moment from the end of the opening theme in which she throws her hat up into the air.

But Moore was also nominated for an Oscar, for playing the ice-cold mother in 1980's Ordinary People. She of course lost to Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter, and as I think I mentioned earlier it's esy to understand why. Spacek does a great job and has an obviously flashy role. Moore has the much more difficult role. (Actually, all three leads in Ordinary People have difficult roles to play, and all three pull their roles off spectacularly.)