In memory of Mary Tyler Moore

I was very sorry to learn of Mary Tyler Moore's passing today.  For the last few hours, I've been watching various "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Dick Van Dyke Show" excerpts.  Three of my favorite memories involving Moore from those shows:

• An especially humorous episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," to me, is "All About Eavesdropping."  Van Dyke and Moore display great comedic synchronicity as Rob and Laura Petrie in the episode.  Laura's anger-fueled clues during the charades game with their neighbors, Jerry and Millie Helper, is hilarious, and Rob's correctly guessing a song title that doesn't look remotely obvious still elicits longer laughs from me than almost any other punchline.
• The first season "Mary Tyler Moore Show" episode, "Christmas And The Hard Luck Kid," is one of its most heartwarming.  It's easy to feel sad for Mary for having to work Christmas Day and then having Fred, a fellow WJM employee, guilt her into working Christmas Eve, as well.  The chemistry between Mary, Rhoda, and Phyllis is particularly strong in this episode, as well as the chemistry between Mary, Murray, Lou, and Ted.
• "Ted's Change Of Heart" is one of my "Mary Tyler Moore Show" seventh season favorites.  After WJM news anchor Ted Baxter suffers a heart attack, he starts to appreciate life more and vows to "treat every person like (he's) never going to see them again."  Ted's new attitude eventually rubs off on Mary, Murray, and Lou.  Lou spots a beautiful sunset through a WJM window and urges Mary, Murray, the station crew, and finally, Ted to view it with him.  When Ted reacts indifferently, Lou and Murray realize that their current euphoria will eventually wear off and become deflated.  Mary rallies them, reminding them, "...So it wears off.  That's no reason not to appreciate it when it's here."  With their spirits rejuvenated, the three of them rush back to watch the sunset, turning off the WJM newscast after hearing the day's depressing headlines.  The episode's final shot of Mary, Murray, and Lou staring out the window at the sunset is still one of the best pick-me-up endings of any sitcom I've seen.

I also watched the curtain call from the final "Mary Tyler Moore Show" episode.  Moore's enthusiastic, choked up proclamation, "The best cast ever," while introducing Ed Asner, Ted Knight, Gavin MacLeod, Betty White, Georgia Engel, Valerie Harper, and Cloris Leachman still moves me each time I see it.  Moore left this world with a lot of endearing, enduring performances, and I look forward to watching a lot of them in the days to come.