Mary Tyler Moore Dances & Sings "Proud Mary"

From her short-lived Variety Show

It is BEYOND embarrassing - go 31 minutes into video for the segment

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by Anonymous

reply 39

February 1, 2021 1:26 AM

Buck would have never done a Tina Turner / CCR song!

by Anonymous

reply 2

January 31, 2021 9:26 PM

Are you proud, Mary, of humiliating our Mary?

by Anonymous

reply 3

January 31, 2021 9:33 PM

[quote] Are you proud, Mary, of humiliating our Mary?

That is the thing about video - it lasts forever

by Anonymous

reply 4

January 31, 2021 9:35 PM

I preferred life before I saw this video. Why did she try to perform in Tina's style? Why do this song at all??

Oh, Mary. I'll always adore you, and your legs looked fantastic. Now I need to close my eyes and dream of a world where no one thinks a variety show is a good idea.

by Anonymous

reply 5

January 31, 2021 10:07 PM

Perhaps because she was a fan of hers.....

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by Anonymous

reply 6

January 31, 2021 10:11 PM

The truth is Mary would trade her Oscar nomination, her Emmys and her two TV sitcoms

for Angela Lansbury's Musical Theater Career

Her dream was to be a Broadway star

That never happened

by Anonymous

reply 7

January 31, 2021 10:12 PM

There was an episode of MTM Show where Mary performed, for Lou, "One for my baby & one more for the road" in a really stiff, unsexy, hilarious style. Lou was saying stuff like: "Bring it home!" Really horrible rendition. This reminds me of that.

by Anonymous

reply 8

January 31, 2021 10:17 PM

She killed variety shows. Was Burnett still on the air when Mary(!) debuted?

by Anonymous

reply 9

January 31, 2021 10:21 PM

It's the singing equivalent of Elaine's dancing.

The 70's was a frightening mix of art and schlock.

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by Anonymous

reply 10

January 31, 2021 10:22 PM

Variety shows killed themselves, r9. And c'mon, what performer *doesn't* have some misfires on their resumes?

by Anonymous

reply 11

January 31, 2021 10:24 PM

Here's Mary's scorching version of "One for My Baby."

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by Anonymous

reply 12

January 31, 2021 10:25 PM

OK OP, that made me laugh. She gave it the college try! Sheboygan Conservatory.

by Anonymous

reply 13

January 31, 2021 10:26 PM

R8, that was supposed to be intentionally bad.

I saw the few episodes of both of Mary Tyler Moore's post sitcom variety shows when they were originally on in 1978/79. The first, "Mary," was taken off after THREE airings. Really pathetic stuff. R7 is right. I will says Mary looked healthy in these awful shows, she'd gained weight and the modest breast implants helped. Even though I loved the Mary Tyler Moore sitcom it's hard to look at it today - Mary was sickly and anorexic.

by Anonymous

reply 14

January 31, 2021 10:33 PM

R14, I realize Mary's "One for My Baby" was intentionally bad. However, IMO, even if she had tried her hardest, MTM could not have made that song sexy.

by Anonymous

reply 15

January 31, 2021 10:43 PM

Now this number is not too bad - Mary plays "Leading Player" from Pippin' and sing the opening song "Magic To Do"

Go 8:40 into video to see

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by Anonymous

reply 16

January 31, 2021 10:47 PM

There go my hopes for 2021 being better than 2020.

by Anonymous

reply 17

January 31, 2021 10:48 PM

Mary was a dancer first, before she was an actress. She was never really a singer. A lot of performers want to do it all.

Case in point, my beloved Lindsay Wagner:

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by Anonymous

reply 18

January 31, 2021 10:51 PM

[quote] Mary was a dancer first, before she was an actress.

Here she is doing a very complicated dance number to impress Gene Kelly

Go 10:15 into video

R14 what do you think of Mary's dancing in this video?

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by Anonymous

reply 19

January 31, 2021 10:55 PM

Seeing Mary on the screen is always a treat. It’s everyone around her and some schlocky writing. I cannot criticize Mary. I have a mental block.

by Anonymous

reply 20

January 31, 2021 10:58 PM

Some performers can do it all.

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by Anonymous

reply 21

January 31, 2021 10:59 PM

I watched this expecting to be horrified, but I found it sort of fun. She can sing, but it might not be the song for her. She's clearly having a ball though and that won me over in the end. Performers like that always make me smile. It's like Carol Channing. Was she a great singer? No, but she could hold the audience in the palm of her hand.

On another note, Mary looks kinda hot in this number. Great legs and hot body. I always think of her as sort of buttoned up and repressed, so it was nice to see her tarted up.

by Anonymous

reply 22

January 31, 2021 11:00 PM

Mary looked fantastic singing Proud Mary. Pretty, sexy, hot body, legs for days, nice boobs and a pretty good voice.

by Anonymous

reply 23

January 31, 2021 11:02 PM

[quote] Some performers can do it all.

R21 I have one better for you - Bonnie was a guest on MTM show and does a tap dance routine and sings!

Go 9:40 into video below

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by Anonymous

reply 24

January 31, 2021 11:04 PM

It suddenly occurred to me while watching this that Mary would have made a great Phyllis in the DL musical classic, Follies.

by Anonymous

reply 25

January 31, 2021 11:07 PM

Mary always elevated a scene, great presence and delivery. But her fellow cast members were awful, or the writing for them was awful. The wit and comedy of Phyllis and Rhoda of Mary’s classic MTM fell flat with Dody Goodman and Joyce Van Patten in this variety series. The men in the variety series were dreadful. Just goes to show that it’s very difficult for lightening to strike twice.

by Anonymous

reply 26

January 31, 2021 11:09 PM

Mary was a fine dancer...

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by Anonymous

reply 27

January 31, 2021 11:11 PM

Paul Williams looks like a short little Oompa Loompa. God, he's almost creepy. High as a kite! Her Tina Turner is pretty good for a white woman. craptastic is the perfect term. I'm actually more impressed with the tall black guy's Chuck Berry-esque guitar dancing. That's showmanship!

by Anonymous

reply 28

January 31, 2021 11:13 PM

One of my favourite showbiz experiences!!

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by Anonymous

reply 29

January 31, 2021 11:19 PM

R12 Thank you for the clip. I will always adore Mary.

by Anonymous

reply 30

January 31, 2021 11:29 PM

"Paul Williams looks like a short little Oompa Loompa. God, he's almost creepy."

No. Paul Williams was always 100% creepy. In the 1970s you could not escape him.

by Anonymous

reply 31

January 31, 2021 11:32 PM

Granted she was no Julie Harris, but Mary had suitable pipes for Broadway musicals. With her dancing and engaging personality added to the mix, she could have had a Broadway career. If only her first foray into the medium hadn't been...

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by Anonymous

reply 32

January 31, 2021 11:32 PM

Not a dance video, but a lovely interview with Mary as a palate cleanser for those who watched the Bonnie Franklin clips.

The boy interviewing her is a college student who met her a few times, and she was gracious in granting him the interview. I love how reassuring she is to him in the beginning.

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by Anonymous

reply 33

January 31, 2021 11:47 PM

R24 Good Lord, Bonnie! Yelling rather than singing, completely devoid of charm-why was she foisted on us?

I can't be the only one who feels irrational anger toward her, can I? Maybe it's from being subjected to her prominent nipples during my formative years, but that certainly didn't turn me off of Farrah Fawcett.

by Anonymous

reply 34

January 31, 2021 11:52 PM

Bonnie Franklin knows only one emotion: anger.

by Anonymous

reply 35

February 1, 2021 12:00 AM

I’ve lost a little bit of respect for Mary...for having Bonnie Franklin as a guest on her show.

by Anonymous

reply 36

February 1, 2021 12:24 AM

Letterman was a regular on the first show.