Mary Tyler Moore Remembered as Pioneer for Women on TV

Before The Mary Tyler Moore Show debuted in 1970, the character of a young working woman was a rarity on TV. Moore's portrayal of television news producer Mary Richards introduced the image of a competent young career woman whose life wasn't solely defined by her relationship to a man.

Moore died on January 25 at the age of 80.

Her television career began in the 1960s when she played the wife of television writer Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966. Her character on that show was very much the traditional TV wife, but her performance was much loved. She won two Emmys for her work on the series.

It was, however, her self-titled series that became her true defining work. Set in Minneapolis, The Mary Tyler Moore Show presented its lead character as a Midwestern everywoman, smart but quirky, who makes her way to the big city in order to pursue her personal dreams. Moore won four more Emmys for the role.

According to her family, Moore died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut,