88-624: Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks , and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (the original incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise, 1969–1970), All in the Family (1971–1979), The Waltons (1972–1981), and Charlie's Angels (1976–1981), as well as
176-443: A "programming service" which primarily carries acquired programming. Pax TV , a venture of Paxson Communications , debuted on August 31, 1998, as an attempted seventh broadcast network to compete against UPN and The WB; although Pax carried a limited schedule of first-run programs in its early years, its schedule otherwise was composed mainly of syndicated reruns. Pax TV later rebranded to i: Independent Television in 2005, before it
264-527: A 25-percent stake, split at nominal 12.5-percent stakes for both companies. Under Nexstar, The CW also began to broaden its programming to include national news (primarily via collaborations with Nexstar-owned cable news channel NewsNation ) and sports programming, Fox launched MyNetworkTV at the same time as The CW, with a lineup of English language telenovelas ; it later shifted toward unscripted programs and movies, though its persistent lack of ratings success led News Corporation in 2009 to convert it to
352-558: A Break! . Silverman also pioneered entertainment reality programming with the 1979 launch of Real People . His contributions to the network's game show output included Goodson and Todman's Card Sharks and Password Plus , both of which enjoyed great success in the morning schedule, although he also canceled several other relatively popular series, including The Hollywood Squares and High Rollers , to make way for The David Letterman Show (those cancellations also threatened Wheel of Fortune , whose host, Chuck Woolery , departed
440-410: A Sunday night lineup for all but its first half-season on the air. In 1998, Tribune launched The WB 100+ Station Group in 1998, a programming service primarily intended for smaller markets. Both networks mainly aired only prime time and children's programming. The latter was the only form of weekday daytime programming offered by either one, although UPN discontinued its children's lineup in 2003 at
528-485: A bachelor's degree from Syracuse University , where he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and then earned a master's degree from Ohio State University . His 406-page masters thesis analyzed ten years worth of ABC programming and led to his hiring at WGN-TV in Chicago. At WGN, Silverman pioneered the concept of airing family-friendly feature films in prime time with Family Classics , which later inspired
616-474: A broken engagement. She applies for a secretarial job at fictional television station WJM, but the position is already taken. She is instead offered the post of associate producer of the station's six o'clock news. She befriends tough but lovable boss Lou Grant ( Ed Asner ), newswriter Murray Slaughter ( Gavin MacLeod ), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter ( Ted Knight ). Mary is later promoted to producer of
704-463: A cameo role, becoming the first First Lady to appear on a television sitcom. The show's final seasons explore death in " Chuckles Bites the Dust " and juvenile offenders in "Mary's Delinquent"; Ted suffers a heart attack; Ted and Georgette contend with intimate marital problems, deal with infertility, and adopt a child; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills. Mary dates many men on and off over
792-464: A day more than a decade after production ended. In January 2017, the house was marketed for a price of $ 1.7 million. The opening title sequence features many scenes filmed on location in Minneapolis in both summer and winter, as well as a few clips from the show's studio scenes. The sequence changed each season, but always ended with Mary tossing her hat into the air in front of what was then
880-763: A few local television stations, but they quickly affiliated with other stations to cover almost the entire U.S. by the late 1950s. Several of these stations affiliated with all three major networks and DuMont, or some combination of the four, in markets where only one or two television stations operated in the early years of commercial television; this resulted in several network shows, often those with lower national viewership, receiving scattershot market clearances, since in addition to maintaining limited broadcast schedules early on, affiliates that shoehorned programming from many networks had to also make room for locally produced content. As other stations signed on in larger cities, ABC, NBC, and CBS were eventually able to carry at least
968-647: A few markets. In the 21st century, the "Big Four" have controlled only a relatively small portion of the broadcasting market in the United States. By 2007, their collective share was estimated at a combined 32%. The Big Three's market share has declined considerably as a result of growing competition from other broadcast networks such as Ion Television, The CW, and MyNetworkTV; Spanish language networks such as Univision , UniMás , and Telemundo ; national cable and satellite channels such as TNT , ESPN , and AMC ; and streaming channels such as Netflix . Each of
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#17327828159131056-482: A groundbreaking series in the era of second-wave feminism ; portraying a central female character who was neither married nor dependent on a man was a rarity on American television in the 1970s. The show has been celebrated for its complex, relatable characters and storylines. The Mary Tyler Moore Show received consistent praise from critics and high ratings during its original run and earned 29 Primetime Emmy Awards , including Outstanding Comedy Series three years in
1144-406: A holding deal after the morning show which kept the unemployed Letterman from going to another network (NBC gave Letterman a $ 20,000 per week [$ 1,000,000 for a year] to sit out a year). However, Silverman nearly lost his then-current late night host, market leader Johnny Carson , after Carson sued NBC in a contract dispute; the case was settled out of court and Carson remained with NBC in exchange for
1232-477: A list of TV's Top Ten credit sequences, as selected by readers. In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the show's opening sequence No. 15 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time. Sonny Curtis wrote and performed the opening theme song, " Love Is All Around ". The lyrics changed between the first and second seasons, in part to reflect Mary Richards having become settled in her new home. The later lyrics, which accompanied many more episodes at
1320-499: A mix of programs from both predecessors, as well as some newer shows after the launch. The last surviving series of The CW's predecessors — Supernatural , from The WB — continued until its finale on The CW in 2020. Nexstar Media Group acquired a 75-percent ownership stake in The CW on October 3, 2022; former joint owners Paramount Global ( successor to CBS Corporation) and Warner Bros. Discovery (successor to Time Warner) retained
1408-484: A new FM Radio Division, with competitive full-service stations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington. During his NBC tenure, Silverman also brought in an entirely new divisional and corporate management, a team that stayed in place long after Silverman's departure. (Among this group was a new Entertainment President, Brandon Tartikoff , who would help get NBC back on top by 1985.) Silverman also reintroduced
1496-410: A primetime show, Silverman and MGM/UA successfully sold We Got It Made to NBC in 1983. It didn't catch on and was gone after one season, although it did see a one-year revival in syndication for the 1987 season. In 1984, Silverman secured a deal with Walt Disney Pictures to produce theatrical motion pictures, with the first release slated by late 1985, but it never happened. Silverman also produced
1584-427: A revival of Match Game . On Saturday mornings, Silverman commissioned Hanna-Barbera to produce the series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! , and the character Fred Jones is named after Silverman. The success of Scooby-Doo led to several other Hanna-Barbera series airing on CBS in the early 1970s. Silverman was named president of ABC Entertainment in 1975, putting him in the ironic position of saving Happy Days ,
1672-478: A row (1975–1977). Moore received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series three times. The series also launched three spin-offs : Rhoda , Phyllis , and Lou Grant . The series has been universally regarded as one of the best television shows of all time. Mary Richards ( Moore ) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis on the heels of
1760-546: A sizable portion of their programming on one station. Of the four original networks, only DuMont did not have a corresponding radio network. Ironically, the fourth major radio network of the Golden Age of Radio era, the Mutual Broadcasting System , which maintained a long time extensive news reporting unit up to the 1980s, had briefly considered the idea of transitioning with expansion and launching
1848-552: A stake in the Overmyer Network in 1967 (resulting in a branding change to "The United Network"), but other than a single late-night talk show, The Las Vegas Show , which lasted one month, that network never made it to its full launch. For most of the history of television in the United States, the Big Three dominated, controlling the vast majority of television broadcasting. DuMont ceased regular programming in 1955;
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#17327828159131936-629: A television network , with consideration being made to have film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer supply programming talent. In fact the former Bamberger Broadcasting 's local stations WOR-TV (currently in Secaucus, New Jersey , serving metropolitan New York City ) and WOIC (later WTOP-TV, now WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. ) - both stations affiliated with Mutual, the latter with a Washington, D.C. video outlet - maintained stationery letterhead with " Mutual Television " decorating their identifications. It
2024-435: A third hour of prime time , or late-night talk shows . Other networks eventually launched in an attempt to compete with the Big Three as well as Fox, although these "netlets" have been unable to ascend to the same level of success. The WB and UPN launched in 1995; like Fox, they both added nights of prime time programming over the course of a few years, although The WB was the only one that aired any on weekends, carrying
2112-411: A time when the show's popularity was at a peak, are more widely known, and most covers of the song use these words. For season 7, there was a slightly new musical arrangement for the opening theme, but the lyrics remained the same as seasons 2–6. No supporting cast members are credited during the show's opening (though from the second season on, shots of them appear). The ending sequences show snippets of
2200-478: A trial week in January 1987, but was cancelled after DEG went bankrupt just before production was set to resume. Silverman and Farr also produced the sitcom California Girls , with DEG and Viacom as distributor, but it failed to sell. It was around that time that InterMedia was renamed The Fred Silverman Company. Also later that year, NBC had reached a deal with syndicator MGM Television to revive We Got it Made for
2288-403: A way that Silverman took very personally.) Even in daytime, the network struggled as the expansion of Another World from 60 to 90 minutes drove away not only viewers, but longtime head writer Harding Lemay , while Regis Philbin 's talk show proved to be nowhere near as popular as his later syndicated talk show would prove to be. Compounding this was the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott costing
2376-730: Is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore . The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 19, 1977. Moore portrayed Mary Richards , an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer of a news show at the fictional local station WJM in Minneapolis . Ed Asner co-starred as Mary's boss Lou Grant , alongside Gavin MacLeod , Ted Knight , Georgia Engel , Betty White , Valerie Harper as friend and neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern , and Cloris Leachman as friend and landlady Phyllis Lindstrom . The Mary Tyler Moore Show proved to be
2464-524: Is not considered part of the Big Three. Among Fox's differences with the Big Three is its reduced weekday programming. It lacks national morning and evening news programs; Fox has a news division consisting of cable and radio operations, but does not provide content for the broadcast television network other than a weekly news analysis program , limited special breaking news reports and an affiliate news service for its stations called Fox News Edge. Fox does not feature any daytime programming on weekdays,
2552-528: The NTA Film Network , unusual in that its programming, all pre-recorded, was distributed by mail instead of through communications wires, signed on in 1956 and lasted until 1961. From 1961, and lasting until the early 1990s, there were only three major networks. Every hit series appearing in the Nielsen top 20 television programs and every successful commercial network telecast of a major feature film
2640-575: The TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland , which aired on September 4. Katie Couric interviewed the cast on Katie as they celebrated acting together for the first time in more than 30 years. It would be their final time on-screen together, as Mary Tyler Moore died in January 2017. The show has remained popular since the final episode was broadcast in 1977. Several songs, films and other television programs reference or parody characters and events from
2728-585: The Will Ferrell comedy film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy , the name of Burgundy's dog, Baxter, refers to the character Ted Baxter, and the head of the newsroom staff is named Ed, honoring Ed Asner. In the 1997 film Romy & Michele's High School Reunion , the characters argue with each other while exclaiming "I'm the Mary and you're the Rhoda." Frank DeCaro of The New York Times wrote that this
Fred Silverman - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-508: The peacock as NBC's corporate logo in the form of the proud 'N' (which combined the peacock with the 1975 trapezoid 'N' logo) in 1979; the logo was used until 1986. In 1981, Silverman left NBC and formed The Fred Silverman Company (formerly Intermedia Entertainment) to produce shows to sell to television. The company would generate several hits including the Perry Mason TV movie series (1985–1994), Matlock (1986–1995), Jake and
2904-418: The wiping of video-taped programs under Silverman's tenure in 1978, as CBS had done while he was at that network. Although Silverman's tenure at ABC was very successful, he left to become president and CEO of NBC in 1978. In stark contrast with his tenures at CBS and ABC, his three-year tenure at NBC proved to be a difficult period, marked by several high-profile failures such as the sitcom Hello, Larry ,
2992-575: The " Big Three ". The three networks' dominance was interrupted with the launch of Fox (the Fox Broadcasting Company, "the Searchlight Network") in 1986, leading it to join them as one of the expanded " Big Four ", while the viewership shares of all the major broadcast networks declined over the following years. The National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting System were both founded as radio networks in
3080-612: The " rural purge " of 1971, which eventually eliminated many popular country-oriented shows, such as Green Acres , Mayberry R.F.D. , Hee Haw , and The Beverly Hillbillies from the CBS schedule. In their place, however, came a new wave of classics aimed at the upscale baby boomer generation, such as All in the Family , The Mary Tyler Moore Show , M*A*S*H , The Waltons , Cannon , Barnaby Jones , Kojak , and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour . Silverman had an uncanny ability to spot burgeoning hit material, especially in
3168-521: The 1920s, with NBC eventually encompassing two national radio networks, the prestige Red Network and the lower-profile Blue Network . They gradually began experimental television stations in the 1930s, with commercial broadcasts being allowed by the Federal Communications Commission on July 1, 1941. In 1943, the U.S. government determined that NBC's two-network setup was anticompetitive and forced it to spin off one of
3256-536: The 1987–88 season in syndication. Silverman also produced One of the Boys for NBC, in association with Stefan Phillips, Blake Hunter, Martin Cohan and Columbia Pictures Television. During the game-show revival that followed the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , Silverman resurrected the 1950s game show Twenty One for NBC in 2000. A few years later, he returned to ABC in an advisory capacity. In 1995, he
3344-480: The Big Four (to Five) networks is now owned by a media conglomerate , providing corporate synergy with various cable channels, a major film studio , a companion streaming service, and other sibling media assets. NBC is owned by NBCUniversal , a Comcast company (whose assets include Universal Pictures , Peacock , Universal Destinations & Experiences , E! , MSNBC , and Golf Channel ), since 2004, CBS and
3432-780: The CW are owned by Paramount Global (who also owns Paramount Pictures , MTV , Showtime , Nickelodeon and Paramount+ , among other units; The CW and The CW Plus is jointly owned with Warner Bros. Discovery and Nexstar Media ) since 2019, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company (whose assets consist of, but not limited to, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products , Disney Channel , Walt Disney Pictures , 20th Century Studios , ESPN , Disney+ and Hulu ) since 1996, and Fox and MyNetworkTV are owned by Fox Corporation (who assets include Fox News , Tubi , Fox Sports , and others) since 2019. The Mary Tyler Moore Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known simply as Mary Tyler Moore )
3520-826: The Fatman (1987–1992), In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995), Father Dowling Mysteries (1987–1991), and Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001). Most of these continue to run in syndication . Most of these series were co-produced with Dean Hargrove and Viacom Productions . After he quit NBC, Silverman formed his own production company in order to sign a deal with MGM and United Artists , who had specialized in film and television production, with George Reeves as Silverman's partner. Shortly afterwards, he named his production company InterMedia Entertainment Co. In 1982, Silverman had sixteen development projects, but none of them got to series. It
3608-579: The United States at a time, according to Robert S. Alley, the co-author of a book about the series. In the fall of 1992, Nick at Nite began broadcasting the series nightly, launching it with a week-long "Mary-thon", and it became the network's top-rated series. It is available on Hulu and through Pluto. It was a longtime staple of Weigel Broadcasting 's MeTV network dating back to its 2003 launch in Chicago , expanding nationwide in 2011, but has since moved to Decades , partly owned by Weigel. The series
Fred Silverman - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-482: The award-winning miniseries, Roots . These moves brought ABC's long-dormant ratings from third place to first place. However, Silverman was criticized during this period for relying heavily on escapist fare (it was Silverman who conceived the infamous The Brady Bunch Hour with Sid and Marty Krofft in late 1976) and for bringing T&A or " jiggle TV " to the small screen with numerous ABC shows featuring buxom, attractive, and often scantily-clad young women (such as
3784-450: The beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis move away (providing a premise for two spinoffs), Mary relocates to a one-bedroom apartment in a high-rise building; Minneapolis's Riverside Plaza was used for establishing shots. From the beginning, issues such as workplace discrimination against women figured into episode stories. In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are woven into
3872-527: The birth of Ted and Georgette's baby. When Moore was approached about the show, she "was unsure and unwilling to commit, fearing any new role might suffer in comparison with her Laura Petrie character in The Dick Van Dyke Show , which also aired on CBS, and was already cemented as one of the most popular parts in TV history". Moore's character was initially intended to be a divorcée, but divorce
3960-407: The cast, as well as any major guest stars in that episode, with the respective actors' names at the bottom of the screen. Other on-location scenes are also shown during the closing credits, including a rear shot of Mary holding hands with her date, played by Moore's then-husband, Grant Tinker , and Moore and Valerie Harper feeding ducks on the bank of a pond in a Minneapolis park (this shot remained in
4048-459: The conclusion of a content deal with Disney, and UPN aired sports programming via the short-lived XFL , as well as WWF SmackDown! . While The WB and UPN each had a few popular series during their existences, they struggled for overall viewership and financial losses. This led their respective parent companies, Time Warner and CBS Corporation , to shut them down and jointly launch The CW and The CW Plus in 2006. The CW initially featured
4136-664: The credits, even after Harper left the show). Many of the opening shots were filmed at Lake of the Isles . The ending sequence music is an instrumental version of "Love is All Around". The ending finishes with Mimsie the cat meowing within the MTM company logo. In 2007 Time put The Mary Tyler Moore Show on its list of "17 Shows That Changed TV". Time stated that the series "liberated TV for adults—of both sexes" by being "a sophisticated show about grownups among other grownups, having grownup conversations". The Associated Press said that
4224-470: The development of an animated series based on The Smurfs ; the animated series The Smurfs ran from 1981 to 1990, well after Silverman's departure, making it one of his longest-lasting contributions to the network. In other areas of NBC, Silverman revitalized the news division , which resulted in Today and NBC Nightly News achieving parity with their competition for the first time in years. He created
4312-550: The entire program department at CBS. Silverman was promoted to bring a change in perspective for the network, as it had just forced out the previous executive in that position, Michael Dann ; Dann's philosophy was to draw as many viewers as possible without regard to key demographics , which the network found to be unacceptable, as advertisers were becoming more specific about what kind of audience they were aiming for. To boost viewership in demographics that were believed to be more willing to respond to commercials, Silverman orchestrated
4400-469: The finale of Friends . The show spun off three television series, all of which aired on CBS: the sitcoms Rhoda (1974–78) and Phyllis (1975–77), and the one-hour drama Lou Grant (1977–82). In 2000, Moore and Harper reprised their roles in a two-hour ABC TV-movie, Mary and Rhoda . Two retrospective specials were produced by CBS: Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show (1991) and The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion (2002). On May 19, 2008,
4488-577: The first Perry Mason telemovie, which came out in 1985, and marked the first writing-producing collaboration partnership between Silverman, writer Dean Hargrove and production company Viacom Productions . Silverman also produced, with Earl Hamner , the drama Morningstar/Eveningstar , which was produced by Lorimar Productions and debuted on CBS in 1986. Later that year, he reunited with We Got It Made producer Gordon Farr and movie studio De Laurentiis Entertainment Group to produce Isabel Sanford's Honeymoon Hotel for access syndication, which aired
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#17327828159134576-431: The flagship Donaldson's department store at the intersection of South 7th Street and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The hat toss was ranked by Entertainment Weekly as the second greatest moment in television. On May 8, 2002, Moore was in attendance when basic cable network TV Land dedicated a statue to her that captured her iconic throw. In 2010, TV Guide ranked the show's opening title sequence No. 3 on
4664-488: The following fall. In other dayparts, Silverman also reintroduced game shows to the network's daytime lineups in 1972 after a four-year absence; among the shows Silverman introduced was an updated version of the 1950s game show The Price Is Right , which remains on the air over five decades later. After the success of The Price Is Right , Silverman established a working relationship with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman and most of their game shows appeared on CBS, including
4752-470: The form of spin-offs , new television series developed with characters that appeared on an existing series. For example, he spun off Maude and The Jeffersons from All in the Family , and Rhoda from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (as well as The Bob Newhart Show from MTM's writers). In early 1974, Silverman ordered a Maude spin-off titled Good Times ; that series' success led Silverman to schedule it against ABC's new hit, Happy Days ,
4840-507: The last episode's "final curtain call", broadcast only once on March 19, 1977 (March 18 in Canada), was included at the request of fans. However, some of the season 7 sets did not include the curtain call; a replacement disc is reported to be available from the manufacturer. On Rotten Tomatoes , season 1 holds an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 10.00/10. Critics consensus reads: “An exceptional ensemble and
4928-405: The longer-established networks, becoming the second most-watched network behind CBS during the 2000s. During the 2007–08 season, Fox was the highest-rated of the major broadcast networks, as well as the first non-Big Three network to reach first place, but it lost the spot in the 2008–09 season and dropped to a close second. From 2004 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021, Fox also dominated American television in
5016-443: The lucrative and viewer-rich 18–49 age demographics, in large part due to the success of its NFL coverage and its top rated prime time program, American Idol . Given the network's success in its prime time and sports offerings, it has been occasionally included with the Big Three, in which case the phrase "Big Four" is used. Although Fox has firmly established itself as the nation's fourth major network with its ratings success, it
5104-402: The major networks to do the same. This was followed by positions at WPIX in New York, and then at CBS . His first job at CBS was to oversee the network's daytime programming. Silverman married his assistant, Cathy Kihn, and they had a daughter, Melissa, and son, William. In 1970, Silverman was promoted from vice-president of program planning and development to vice president, Programs, heading
5192-675: The miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Roots (1977), and Shōgun (1980). For his success in programming such successful shows, Time magazine declared him "The Man with the Golden Gut" in 1977. Silverman was born in New York City , the son of Mildred, a homemaker, and William Silverman, a radio and television service repairman. His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic . He grew up in Rego Park, Queens , and attended Forest Hills High School . He graduated with
5280-525: The network millions in lost ad revenue, and multiple industry strikes pushing back the premieres of new shows . Despite these failures, there were high points in Silverman's tenure at NBC, including the launch of the critically lauded Hill Street Blues (1981), the epic mini-series Shōgun , and The David Letterman Show (daytime, 1980), which would lead to Letterman's successful Late Night with David Letterman in 1982. Silverman had Letterman in
5368-513: The network. During Silverman's time at ABC, he overhauled the network's Saturday-morning cartoon output, dumping Filmation (which had produced the failed Uncle Croc's Block ) and replacing it with content from Hanna-Barbera, including a continuation of Scooby-Doo . He also oversaw the creation of Ruby-Spears Productions , poaching two of Hanna-Barbera's lead writers, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears , to produce their own content in hopes of keeping Hanna-Barbera from becoming complacent. ABC abandoned
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#17327828159135456-626: The networks; NBC chose to sell the Blue Network operations, which eventually became the American Broadcasting Company. All three networks began regular, commercial television broadcasts in the 1940s. NBC and CBS began commercial operations in 1941, followed by ABC in 1948. A smaller fourth network, the DuMont Television Network , launched in 1944. The three networks originally controlled only
5544-405: The news", said Fey. Entertainment Weekly also noted that the main characters of 30 Rock mirror those of The Mary Tyler Moore Show . When the writers of the sitcom Friends were about to create their series finale, they watched several other sitcom finales. Co-creator Marta Kauffman said that the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the "gold standard" and that it influenced
5632-583: The popular Battle of the Network Stars ). ABC Daytime had mediocre ratings, so in order to increase them, Silverman hired Gloria Monty to produce the ailing General Hospital . He gave Monty thirteen weeks to increase the serial's ratings or it would be cancelled. He later expanded General Hospital , All My Children , and One Life to Live to a full hour, and created a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour afternoon serial block. Among game shows, Silverman introduced Goodson and Todman's Family Feud to
5720-448: The rights to his show and a reduction in time on air, along with a deal with Carson Entertainment Group that eventually resulted in the hit TV sitcom Amen as well as the TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes series and specials along with a handful of shows that proved short-lived. Silverman also developed successful comedies such as Diff'rent Strokes , The Facts of Life , and Gimme
5808-407: The rules allowed Fox affiliates to force their way onto cable lineups, and the network's affiliation deal with New World Communications , which it later purchased in 1996, and the acquisition of National Football League broadcast rights brought a wave of new Fox affiliates. Since its founding, Fox has surpassed ABC and NBC in the ratings during the early primetime hours in which it competes against
5896-440: The series discovered where exterior shots had been taken, the house became a popular tourist destination. According to Moore, the woman who lived in the house was "overwhelmed" by people showing up and "asking if Mary was around". To discourage crews from filming additional footage of the house, the owners placed an "Impeach Nixon" sign beneath the window where Mary supposedly lived. The house continued to attract multiple tour buses
5984-471: The show "took 20 years of pointless, insipid situation comedy and spun it on its heels. [It did this by] pioneer[ing] reality comedy and the establishment of clearly defined and motivated secondary characters." Tina Fey , creator and lead actress of the 2006-debut sitcom 30 Rock , explained that Moore's show helped inspire 30 Rock ' s emphasis on office relationships. "Our goal is to try to be like The Mary Tyler Moore Show , where it's not about doing
6072-400: The show in a payment dispute during Silverman's tenure, although the show survived). Silverman also oversaw the hiring of Pat Sajak as the new host of Wheel of Fortune in 1981, a position that Sajak would hold for 43 years, although Silverman himself objected to Sajak's hiring. On Saturday mornings, in a time when most of the cartoon output of the three networks was similar, Silverman oversaw
6160-405: The show's comedic plots. In season four, marital infidelity and divorce are explored with Phyllis and Lou, respectively. In the fifth season, Mary refuses to reveal a news source and is jailed for contempt of court . While in jail, she befriends a prostitute ( Barbara Colby ) who seeks Mary's help in a subsequent episode. In the highly rated sixth-season episode "The Seminar", Betty Ford appears in
6248-417: The show, including the memorable "can turn the world on with her smile" line from the title song. Parodies were done on shows such as Saturday Night Live , MadTV , and Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which was produced in Minneapolis ). Musical artist Barbara Kessler and groups The Hold Steady and Relient K have all referred to the show in their songs. The show has also been mentioned in film. In
6336-529: The show, though her duties remain the same. Mary rents a third-floor studio apartment in a 19th-century house from acquaintance Phyllis Lindstrom ( Cloris Leachman ); Mary and upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern ( Valerie Harper ) become best friends. Characters introduced later in the series include the acerbic, man-hungry hostess of WJM's Happy Homemaker show, Sue Ann Nivens ( Betty White ), and soft-voiced, sweet-natured Georgette Franklin ( Georgia Engel ), as Ted Baxter's girlfriend (and eventual wife). At
6424-499: The surviving cast members of The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunited on The Oprah Winfrey Show to reminisce about the series. Winfrey, a longtime admirer of Moore and the show, had her staff recreate the sets of the WJM-TV newsroom and Mary's apartment (seasons 1–5) for the reunion. In 2013, the women of The Mary Tyler Moore Show – Cloris Leachman , Valerie Harper , Mary Tyler Moore , Betty White , and Georgia Engel – reunited on
6512-478: The variety shows The Big Show and Pink Lady , the drama Supertrain (which also was, at the time, the most expensive TV series produced; its high production costs and poor ratings nearly bankrupted NBC), and the Jean Doumanian era of Saturday Night Live . (Silverman hired Doumanian after Al Franken , the planned successor for outgoing Lorne Michaels , castigated Silverman's failures on-air in
6600-716: The very show that Good Times had brought to the brink of cancellation. Silverman succeeded in bringing Happy Days to the top of the ratings and generating a hit spin-off from that show, Laverne & Shirley (another spin-off, Mork & Mindy , was also a ratings winner initially ending its first season at number three but the ratings quickly free fell). At ABC, Silverman also greenlit other popular series such as The Bionic Woman (a Six Million Dollar Man spin-off), Family , Charlie's Angels , Donny & Marie , Three's Company , Eight Is Enough , The Love Boat , Soap , Fantasy Island , Good Morning America , long-form pioneer Rich Man, Poor Man , and
6688-406: The years but remains single throughout the series. One of the show's running gags is Mary's inability to throw a successful, problem-free party. Various disasters throughout the seasons include the break-up of two of Mary's closest friends; an insufficient amount of food due to unexpected guests; a power failure while attendees await the arrival of a high-profile guest of honor ( Johnny Carson ); and
6776-838: Was 82. Big Three television networks History of: From the 1950s to the 1980s, during the network era of American television, there were three commercial broadcast television networks – NBC (the National Broadcasting Company, "the Peacock Network"), CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System, "the Eye Network"), ABC (the American Broadcasting Company, "the Alphabet Network") – that due to their longevity and ratings success are informally referred to as
6864-412: Was Mary's apartment. The fictitious address was 119 North Weatherly, but the exterior establishing shots were of a real house in Minneapolis at 2104 Kenwood Parkway. In the real house, an unfinished attic occupied the space behind the window recreated on the interior studio set of Mary's apartment. Minneapolis architect Edward Somerby Stebbins designed the 1892 residence for S. E. Davis. Once fans of
6952-601: Was aired by one of the Big Three networks. A viable fourth television network in the commercial sense would not again become competitive with the Big Three until Fox was founded in October 1986 from some of the assets and remnants of the DuMont network, which had become Metromedia after DuMont folded, and were acquired by News Corporation earlier in 1986. Fox, which began as a distant fourth network, rose to major network status in 1994 after must-carry rules took effect;
7040-638: Was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. In 1999, Silverman was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame . Silverman died from cancer on January 30, 2020, at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He
7128-521: Was broadcast on BBC1 from February 13, 1971, to December 29, 1972. The BBC broadcast the first 34 episodes before the series was dropped. Beginning in 1975, a number of ITV companies picked up the series. Channel 4 repeated the first 39 episodes between January 30, 1984, and August 23, 1985. The full series was repeated on The Family Channel from 1993 to 1996. The entire series was released on DVD in Region 1 between 2002 and 2010. Originally, season 1
7216-458: Was even speculated at the time that WOR & WOIC were being considered by Mutual as possible flagship stations for a Mutual-branded TV network if one were ever launched. Beyond this, there is no confirmation, however, that a cooperative video service was ever seriously considered by the radio service, although Mutual's individual component stations themselves launched television outlets in their home cities. Some of Mutual's component stations bought
7304-413: Was housed in a multi-panel fold-out digipak in a slipcase, while seasons 2-4 were issued in a slipcase, with each disc being housed in its own slim case. Starting with season 5, each season was issued in a standard 3-disc DVD keepcase, and seasons 1-4 were reissued in the same style of DVD packaging. The discs from each of these releases were repackaged in 2018 as a complete series set. On the season 7 DVD,
7392-616: Was renamed to Ion Television in 2007. Likewise, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which has existed since 1970, is not considered to be a "Big" network. PBS operates as a noncommercial service with a very different distribution form compared to the major networks; its member stations basically own the network instead of the traditional mode of a network owning some of its stations and affiliating with additional stations owned by other broadcasters, and it maintains memberships with more than one educational station in
7480-472: Was reported that the company was working on The World of Entertainment with Gene Kelly . In 1982, his InterMedia Entertainment Company had partnered with Marvel Productions to create a joint venture. In 1983, he partnered with Alan Thicke , along with Metromedia Producers Corporation for a syndicated late night show Thicke of the Night , which was designed to compete against The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . After several failed attempts to sell
7568-658: Was selected for the show's location after "one of the writers began talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the Vikings ". A television newsroom was chosen for the show's workplace because of the supporting characters often found there, stated co-creator James Brooks. Aside from establishing shots and the title sequence, the show was filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles. In 1995, Entertainment Weekly said that "TV's most famous bachelorette pad"
7656-538: Was still controversial at the time. In addition, CBS was afraid viewers might think that Mary had divorced Rob Petrie , Laura's husband on The Dick Van Dyke Show, so the premise was changed to that of a single woman with a recently broken engagement. Notably, Van Dyke never guest-starred in any episode, although his brother Jerry Van Dyke guest-starred in a couple of episodes during the third and fourth seasons. (Jerry had also regularly appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show. ) According to co-creator Allan Burns, Minnesota
7744-464: Was the highlight of the film. The show's Emmy-winning final episode has been alluded to many times in other series' closing episodes, such as the 1988 finale of St. Elsewhere (including the group shuffle to the tissue box). For most of its broadcasting run, the program was the lead-in for The Bob Newhart Show , which was also produced by MTM Enterprises . The show did not do well initially in syndication, never being shown in more than 25% of
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