Mary Tyler Moore Got 'Real Rebirth' From Husband Of 33 Years Who Stood Beside Her Till The End

Nov 16, 2021 by apost team

Mary Tyler Moore was an American actress, and producer. A pure American gem, Moore first shot to fame as Laurie Petrie in “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She then became known for her own self-titled sitcom, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The talented actress earned seven Primetime Emmy Awards throughout her career, as well as three Golden Globe Awards.

While she was known mostly for her work on television, Moore also appeared in several successful films. These include, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Ordinary People” for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Moore was known internationally for her success as a comedic actress and in 1987 she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy by the American Comedy Awards.

In her later life, the actress would star in more Broadway shows, sitcoms, and films. She began focusing on activist work as well, becoming an advocate for diabetes awareness, vegetarianism, and animal rights as well. The star is also credited with challenging gender norms and stereotypes with her roles on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”  It is said she helped define a new vision for womanhood in America. 

Moore was married three times in her life. Her first marriage was to Richard Meeker. After their divorce, Moore married Grant Tinker and was with him until 1981. She then married her third husband, Robert Levine, in 1983, with whom she stayed until her death. Moore passed away in 2017, aged 80, following a cardiopulmonary arrest and a bout with pneumonia. Read on to learn more about Moore’s happy marriage to Levine and their lasting love.

Born December 29, 1936, Mary Tyler Moore spent her early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, with her parents, George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and Marjorie Hackett, a housewife, and her two younger siblings, John and Elizabeth. At just eight years old, Moore left her native New York at the recommendation of her uncle, who worked at MCA Inc. at the time. Even as a young child, Moore knew she wanted to be a star. 

In 1953, Moore landed her first job in Hollywood – in the mailroom, that is – to support herself as she auditioned for both acting and modeling parts. Two years later, she made her acting debut on the small screen as the dancing "Happy Hotpoint" elf for Hotpoint home appliances ads, which would air during the 50s sitcom, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.” In that same year, Moore married her "boy-next-door" sweetheart, Richard Carleton Meeker.

Moore began landing more small TV roles, which she credited to her "beautiful dancer legs," until she was cast as Laurie Petrie in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in the 1960s. The show would prove to be a huge success and shot Moore to fame, even earning her Emmys for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series and one Golden Globe win for Best TV Star - Female. In 1970, she got her very own show: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

In the meantime, Moore married her second husband, Grant Tinker. While things were looking up for Moore career-wise, tragedies at home meant her life had taken a dark turn. Behind the scenes, the actress struggled with alcohol addiction, just as her mother and sister had. Her deteriorating marriage only worsened her alcohol abuse. The couple divorced in 1981.

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Moore met her third husband after her mother, Marge, had fallen ill with a severe case of bronchitis. Robert Levine was the doctor on call when Moore contacted the hospital about her mother’s illness. “After I’d seen her mom the second time, I said to Mary, ‘If there’s an emergency, just get in touch with me,’” Levine told People in 1984. “And Mary said, ‘Does acute loneliness count?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’”

The couple fell in love quickly and some said the experience was transformative for Moore. A friend of hers told People, “She fell really in love. It’s been a real rebirth.” 

The couple was married the night before Thanksgiving in 1983, and despite this being her third marriage, it is said that Moore could not have been giddier. “You’d never know this is her third wedding. All she talks about is her dress and how excited she is,” said a friend of Moore’s at the time.

Emanuel Azenberg, the producer of “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” which Moore starred in on Broadway in 1980, also had good things to say about the star and Levine’s relationship. “He’s genuinely caring,” said Azenberg. “There’s no question they’re in love. They both have too much integrity to stay with the relationship if they weren’t.”

Moore faced many hardships in her life, and Levine was there beside her through it all. “My husband has always been very good at getting me out of myself when I get down and depressed and all of that — never seriously,” the actress said to Entertainment Tonight in 2013. “So, I am basically a very happy person.”

Moore passed away in 2017, at the age of 80, and Levine was with her the entire time.

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