Mary

1 9 8 5 – 1 9 8 6 (USA)
13 x 30 minute episodes

This CBS comedy presented Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Brenner, a divorced fashion writer who loses her job with quality high-fashion magazine Women’s Digest and is forced to take a job writing a consumer advice column for a third-rate Chicago newspaper.

Outspoken and temperamental Mary was immediately at odds with her handsome managing editor, Frank DeMarco (James Farentino), and had to contend with a near-sighted copy editor (David Byrd) and fight off the advances of eccentric theatre critic “LaSalle . . . Ed LaSalle” (John Astin), who wrote the column “Stepping Out with Ed LaSalle”.

Katey Sagal (the future Peg Bundy) appeared as Mary’s chain-smoking co-worker, Jo Tucker, who penned the column “The Mainline Reporter”.

The (fictitious) newspaper was originally called the Chicago Post but NBC and production company MTM received a “cease and desist” order from the real Vice Mayor of Chicago, Richard Mell – it seems he published a small free community newspaper under that name in partnership with Chicago entrepreneur James Boratyn. The name was changed in the series to the Chicago Eagle.

Mary Brenner
Mary Tyler Moore
Frank DeMarco
James Farentino
Ed LaSalle
John Astin
Vincent Tully
David Byrd
Jo Tucker
Katey Sagal
Lester Mintz
James Tolkan
Susan Wilcox
Carlene Watkins