Television and film actress Mary Tyler Moore died Wednesday at the age of 80, and as news of her passing spread, famous friends, entertainers and media personalities took to social media to share their condolences.
Moore’s extraordinary comedic timing and role as a career woman in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” earned her legions of fans and, as a number of contemporary broadcasters shared Wednesday, served as an inspiration to women in the journalism field.
Ed Asner, who played opposite Moore on the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom, wrote on Twitter, “my heart goes out to you and your family. Know that I love you and believe in your strength.”
In the 1960s, Moore played a housewife on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and she would eventually go on to play more dramatic roles after her run on her own sitcom. She won a Tony and an Emmy for such roles, and received an Oscar nomination in 1980.
Moore played a spunky Minneapolis local news producer on her eponymous show, a beloved character embraced by the city in real life; it erected a statue of Moore’s Mary Richards.
On social media, several notable figures shared what Moore meant to them, and their grief at her passing.
Larry King: “#MaryTylerMoore was a dear friend and a truly great person. A fighter. Rest in peace, MTM.”
Ellen DeGeneres: “Mary Tyler Moore changed the world for all women. I send my love to her family.”
George Takei: “She turned the world on with her smile. RIP, Mary Tyler Moore. You were a role model in so many ways.”
Andrea Mitchell: “I agree w/ Oprah #MaryTylerMoore influenced my career more than any other tv role model. She indeed turned on the world with her smile”
Michael Keaton: “Mary(MTM) was a gem. She was iconic, my boss, cast mate and a friend and I will miss her”
Marlee Matlin: “TV Icon and groundbreaker #MaryTylerMoore has passed. She broke through our TV screens and showed that a powerful woman can be funny. RIP.”
Hoda Kotb: “who could turn the world on with her smile.. who could take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile” RIP Mary Tyler Moore”
Ashley Tisdale: “You paved the way. #MaryTylerMoore #rip”
Pat Sajak: “Hard to think of Mary Tyler Moore in the past tense. Happily, Mary Richards will always be with us.”
Josh Gad: “That shift in the Earth you just felt? That crater that is left behind? That is the legacy of the incomparable #marytylermoore RIP 2 an icon”