Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
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Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted
And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made the Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic

Author: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Narrator: Amy Landon

Unabridged: 11 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/13/2013

Synopsis

Mary Tyler Moore made her name as Dick Van Dyke's wife on the eponymous show; she was a cute, unassuming housewife that audiences loved. But when screenwriters James Brooks and Allan Burnes dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, network executives replied: "Americans won't watch television about New York City, divorcees, men with mustaches, or Jews." But Moore and her team were committed, and when the show finally aired, in spite of tepid reviews, fans loved it.

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong introduces listeners to the show's creators; its principled producer, Grant Tinker; and the writers and actors who attracted millions of viewers. As the first situation comedy to employ numerous women as writers and producers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show became a guiding light for women in the 1970s. The show also became the centerpiece of one of greatest evenings of comedy in television history, and Jennifer Keishin Armstrong describes how the television industry evolved during these golden years.

About Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She writes about pop culture for several publications, including the New York Times Book Review, Fast Company, Vulture, BBC Culture, and Entertainment Weekly. She grew up in Homer Glen, Illinois, and now lives in New York City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mediaman on August 25, 2013

I love the MTM show but this is one of those books written by a know-it-all young pop culture writer who knows nothing about what she’s writing. She apparently wasn’t around when the original Mary Tyler Moore Show aired and has no sense of the cultural context in which to put it. To me the show was......more

Goodreads review by Richard on July 21, 2013

Before I spent some years in show business I used to think show business was interesting. It's not. And neither is this book. The author is a fan, and not a dumb one, and she makes all the expected dull arguments for this show as feminist statement (an argument deployed with great wit and insight by......more

Goodreads review by Brian on May 20, 2020

Between books on history and explicitly biblical subjects, my palate cleanser is typically a book on sports or one focusing on the behind-the-scenes of the creative process. Usually I expect a three-star satisfaction of some curiosity. This work was unusually good. The creative team behind The Mary T......more

Goodreads review by Fergie on February 27, 2017

A must read for any fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This book is packed with countless behind the scene details into what went into making the classic T.V. show. Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong covers all her bases, focusing not only on the actors who brought the characters we've come to love to......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on November 10, 2022

My rating: 3.5......more

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