The cast of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show captivated television audiences every Saturday night for seven seasons. No one had ever seen a character like Mary Richards on television before when the show hit the airwaves in 1970. She was a modern, independent, career-driven, 30-something single woman trying to make it on her own.
Mary Richards and her friends inspired Oprah to live the life she always imagined. "The show was a light in my life, and Mary was a trailblazer for my generation. She's the reason I wanted my own production company," Oprah said. "It's the reason there is a Harpo because that was the inspiration."
With help from a legendary cast of characters—Ed Asner, Valerie Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Betty White, Ted Knight, Cloris Leachman and Georgia Engel—television history was made. After seven award-winning seasons, the lights went out at WJM-TV.
Then, in May 2008, history was made once again when the hilarious cast
reunited on Oprah's stage!
