Mary Tyler Moore

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, the ladies of Lipstick Jungle whipped up their own feast on Friday night. Of course, like all family gatherings on TV, it was something of a disaster, with dead dogs, sobbing babies, and a wedding dress interfering with the calm Thanksgiving Wendy had planned. Want to chat about it? Just read more

Well-known for her role as a stay-at-home mother in 1960s comedy classic, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore is probably most widely recognized for the program with her namesake: the Mary Tyler Moore show. The image of her spinning then carefreely tossing her knitted cap in the air comes to mind — capturing the essence of her sassy character, Mary Richards, who she portrayed on the show.

As Richards, Moore brought the notion of a successful 30-something single working woman making it on her own into the forefront of thinking. To distinguish between her early wholesome image, producers wanted Moore to sport a hairstyle a little "spunkier" for her character. While her chin-length flip stayed the same underneath, Moore's hair was transformed to the iconic long and volumized style through use of a fall (a half-wig). Moore wasn't a fan, and once her show proved to be a hit, she unveiled her natural look once again.

The willowy actress with the wide smile is now in her 70s. Moore, a vegetarian, is actively involved in the rights of animals. As a diabetic herself, she devotes much of her time lobbying for diabetes research, and is currently the International Chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. Set your TiVo — she will soon be appearing on Lipstick Jungle as Brooke Shields' character's mother.

To see some more pictures of Moore and a nifty video from the Mary Tyler Moore show, read more

I was thinking recently that Lipstick Jungle was just starting to get good at the end of its short Spring season, and it was a shame the show wouldn't have much buzz going into the Fall. Well, hello, instant buzz: TV legend Mary Tyler Moore is joining the show as a guest star, playing the mother of Wendy Healy (Brooke Shields).

Moore will make her first appearance in the show's Sept. 24 premiere playing Joyce, a high-powered businesswoman who — now retired — pushes Wendy to reconsider her work-life balance. According to NBC:

Having blazed a trail for working women back in the 1970s and 1980s, Joyce challenges Wendy's idealistic notion of "having it all" — leaving her overachieving daughter in a tailspin.

Few people know working women on TV better than Moore, who said in NBC's press release that "It's been great fun to watch the strong female characters of Lipstick Jungle go at it week after week." Granted, if I would have picked one NBC character who could be Moore's daughter, it would have been 30 Rock's Liz Lemon — but that might have been a little too on-the-nose.

Lipstick didn't quite live up to my expectations in the Spring, but a lot of that could have been blamed on the writers' strike, so I'd love for the show to come out strong in the Fall. This casting news seems like one step in that direction. What do you think?

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