The show was such a hit that three of its stars got their own spinoff series.

What happened to the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? All about the stars’ lives after the show

The show was such a hit that three of its stars got their own spinoff series.

By Maggie Fremont

Maggie Fremont

Maggie Fremont is a writer at **.

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June 23, 2026 6:00 p.m. ET

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The cast of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' in season 6. Credit:

Many take it for granted now that TV shows can focus on single, career-focused women, but when James L. Brooks and Allan Burns pitched the idea as a vehicle for Mary Tyler Moore in the late 1960s, it was groundbreaking.

*The Mary Tyler Moore Show* ran for seven seasons from 1970 to 1977, with Moore starring as Mary Richards, a thirty-something working her way up in a Minneapolis TV newsroom. The show and its ensemble cast were hits with both fans and critics.

It launched careers and three separate spinoff series, earned a shelf full of Emmys, and helped reshape the cultural conversation. Below, we revisit the careers of the iconic cast before and after their time on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show*.

Mary Tyler Moore (Mary Richards)

Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards; Moore on the set of 'Hot in Cleveland'.

If any television legend deserves a celebratory beret toss, it's Mary Tyler Moore. She, of course, has two Hall-of-Fame TV characters to her name. The first is Laura Petrie, wife of Dick Van Dyke's Rob, on *The Dick Van Dyke Show*. Moore took a typical "wife" role and turned it into an unforgettably original character, picking up two Emmys in the process.

Four years later, Moore dove into *The Mary Tyler Moore Show*, shedding the wife role entirely to focus on a single woman building her career in a TV newsroom. The series was a massive success for all involved — including Moore, who won three additional Emmys.

Although Moore's next few attempts at TV series didn't last long — including the variety series *The Mary Tyler Moore Hour* and the sitcom *Mary* — she did earn an Academy Award nomination for Robert Redford's Oscar-winning drama *Ordinary People* (1980). Her other notable film work includes supporting roles in *Thoroughly Modern Millie* (1967) and *Flirting with Disaster *(1996).

Throughout her career, the Connecticut native also made waves behind the camera. In 1969, she and then-husband Grant Tinker founded MTM Enterprises, a production company that produced *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* and its three spinoffs, as well as hit series like *The Bob Newhart Show*, *WKRP in Cincinnati*, *St. Elsewhere*, and *Hill Street Blues*.

The company also produced several Broadway shows, including *Noises Off* and *A Day in the Death of Joe Egg*, the latter earning Moore one of her two Tony Awards.

Moore died in 2017 at 80 years old. She was survived by her husband of 34 years, Robert Levine.

Valerie Harper (Rhoda Morgenstern)

Valerie Harper as Rhoda; Harper filming 'Hot in Cleveland' in 2013.

*The Mary Tyler Moore Show* was such a hit that it led to three successful spinoffs. Chief among them was *Rhoda*, which followed the adventures of Valerie Harper's Rhoda, Mary's friend who left Minneapolis for New York City after season 4 of the mothership series.

Harper won three Emmys for her MTM performance — and another for her lead role in the spinoff. She later headlined another sitcom, *Valerie*, which premiered in 1986. After a salary dispute, she was fired two seasons into its run. (The show continued as *The Hogan Family* until 1991.)

Later in her career, Harper could be found both on stage, earning a Tony Award nomination for 2010's *Looped*, and on the dance floor, competing on *Dancing with the Stars* in 2013.

Harper died in 2019 at 80 years old after an extended battle with cancer. She was survived by her husband, Tony Cacciotti, and daughter Cristina.

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Ed Asner (Lou Grant)

Ed Asner as Lou Grant; Asner in 2019.

Like Valerie Harper, Ed Asner led a spinoff series based on his *Mary Tyler Moore Show* character, the gruff but softie-at-heart producer Lou. (He walked so that Ron Swanson could run.)

In Asner's case, *Lou Grant* feels like an even greater feat: It wasn't another sitcom but an hour-long drama. That's right — Asner traded TV station hijinks for serious L.A. newspaper business. What a fun fact to say you won five Emmys for portraying the same character — but three in comedy and two in drama.

Asner was a fixture on television throughout his career. He won another Emmy for the miniseries *Rich Man, Poor Man* (1976) and yet another for *Roots* (1977). In fact, his seven Emmy wins remain an all-time record for a male performer. Beyond those decorated performances, he appeared in everything from *Gunsmoke* to *Cobra Kai*.

No slouch on the big screen either, Asner had key supporting roles in *El Dorado *(1966), *They Call Me Mister Tibbs! *(1970), *Fort Apache the Bronx *(1981), and *JFK* (1991). Later in his career, you could see him as Santa Claus in *Elf *(2003) or as the voice of Carl in *Up* (2009).

Asner was married twice and had four children. He served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild. He died in 2021 from natural causes at age 91.

Ted Knight (Ted Baxter)

Ted Knight as Ted Baxter; Knight at the Emmys in 1981.

In a bit of foreshadowing for what would become his signature role, Ted Knight returned from serving in the U.S. Army during World War II and worked at several local news stations as a children’s TV show host and a radio announcer.

After booking commercials and minor screen roles during the ’50s and ’60s, he was cast as the vain but rather dim TV news anchor Ted Baxter in 1970. Knight remained on the series for its entire run and was nominated for six Emmys, winning twice.

In 1980, the same year he appeared as the unforgettably antagonistic Judge Smails in *Caddyshack*, Knight began what would be his final role as the lead of the ABC sitcom *Too Close for Comfort*.

The series, which was eventually retooled and renamed *The Ted Knight Show*, ended in its sixth season after Knight’s 1986 death from colon cancer. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1948, and their three children.

Gavin MacLeod (Murray Slaughter)

Gavin MacLeod as Murray Slaughter; MacLeod in 2018.

Gavin MacLeod played the TV station's news writer Murray, a close and highly protective friend of Mary who also harbored a crush on her.

Born Allan See, MacLeod was a military veteran who followed his service by taking a job at Radio City Music Hall (he even married a Rockette) while pursuing an acting career.

Though he landed small television roles — including a guest spot on *The Dick Van Dyke Show* in 1961, which put him in Moore's orbit — his big break didn't come until he joined the cast of *McHale's Navy* in 1962. The native New Yorker didn't gain national recognition, however, until his seven-year run on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show*.

The veteran actor may actually be better known for his next major role: Captain Stubing on *The Love Boat*, which he starred in for all nine seasons.

MacLeod was married three times — to two women. After he and Patti Kendig divorced in 1982, they remarried a few years later. The two converted to evangelical Christianity, and MacLeod found success as a Christian TV host and writer. He also had four children from his first marriage.

MacLeod died in 2021 at the age of 90.

Betty White (Sue Ann Nivens)

Betty White as Sue Ann; White on the set of 'Hot in Cleveland'.

Even before she arrived on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* as TV host and double-entendre enthusiast Sue Ann Nivens, Betty White was a bona fide TV star. Not only did she host her own variety shows in the 1950s, but she also became a staple of the game-show and talk-show circuit.

This classic sitcom, however, catapulted her to a new level of fame when she joined the cast in season 4. Case in point: She won back-to-back Emmys for her performance in 1975 and 1976.

She later cemented her status as a television icon thanks to *The Golden Girls*. As the ditzy Rose Nylund, White not only earned a boatload of laughs but also widespread critical acclaim. She was Emmy-nominated for all seven seasons and won once.

Beyond those two signature roles, her staying power was impressive, to say the least. One could argue she was just as beloved — and ubiquitous — at the end of her career as she was during the height of her classic hit shows.

In later years, she was a regular guest star on the small screen and a welcome presence on the big screen, particularly thanks to her scene-stealing turn in Sandra Bullock's rom-com *The Proposal*. She even headlined one last successful sitcom, *Hot in Cleveland*, for six seasons.

That career resurgence eventually led to a grassroots campaign to get White a hosting gig on *Saturday Night Live*. It worked, and she won an Emmy for her performance.

The legendary comedian was married three times, including for more than 20 years to Allen Ludden, who died in 1981.

White continued working almost until her death in 2021 at age 99.

Georgia Engel (Georgette Franklin)

Georgia Engel as Georgette; Engel in 2018.

Georgia Engel joined the cast during season 3 as Ted Baxter’s ditzy girlfriend (and later wife), Georgette. She stayed with the series for the rest of its run and earned two Emmy nominations.

Engel first gained attention on stage, making her Broadway debut in 1969. But it was during a Los Angeles production of* The House of Blue Leaves *in 1971 that Moore and Tinker took notice of her.

A year later, the D.C. native was a TV star. After the show wrapped up its run a few years later, Engel joined castmate Betty White on her short-lived sitcom *The Betty White Show*. She remained a familiar face to TV viewers in subsequent decades, including a recurring part on *Coach*, in addition to continued work in theater.

Many might remember Engel from her three-time Emmy-nominated guest turn as Robert Barone’s (Brad Garrett) mother-in-law on *Everybody Loves Raymond*. One of her final TV appearances was yet another team-up with White in 18 episodes of *Hot in Cleveland*.

Engel died in 2019 at the age of 70.

Cloris Leachman (Phyllis Lindstrom)

Cloris Leachman as Phyllis; Leachman at Ed Asner's birthday party in 2019.

As Phyllis, Mary and Rhoda’s landlord, Cloris Leachman spent a little over five seasons on the show, stealing scenes and raking in Emmys.

In fact, that was kind of her thing. Over the course of more than seven decades in showbiz, Leachman garnered 22 Emmy nominations and eight wins, tying Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most Primetime Emmy acting wins.

Additional Emmy recognition came from her *Mary Tyler Moore* spinoff *Phyllis* (which ran for two seasons), as well as her turns as Grandma Ida on *Malcolm in the Middle* and Maw Maw on *Raising Hope*.

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Leachman was a big-screen legend, too. After early career roles in such classics as *Kiss Me Deadly *(1955) and *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid *(1969), she won an Academy Award for her poignant dramatic performance in Peter Bogdanovich’s *The Last Picture Show *(1971).

But she never lost her comedy fastball, from her collaborations with Mel Brooks — in particular *Young Frankenstein *(1974) as the iconic Frau Blücher — to hilarious performances in *The Muppet Movie *(1979), *Bad Santa *(2003), and *Spanglish *(2004). She also reprised her Oscar-winning role in *Texasville *(1990).

The Iowa native and her ex-husband, George Englund, had five children before divorcing in 1978. Leachman died in 2021 at age 94 after a stroke.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”