Mary Tyler Moore -That woman could rock a neck scarf

This week Bottom of The News is a toast to Mary Tyler Moore — an actress, producer and an advocate for equality, whose career started in 1952 and ended with her last appearance on TV, in 2013 — in a few appearances on Hot in Cleveland. But we know her best for her role as Mary Richards on the Mary Tyler Moore show.

I was a little kid when this show was on the air, but I caught plenty of it in reruns, and while as a young girl, I just thought she was a cool lady who really knew how to wear a scarf, I probably absorbed a lot more about women in the workplace than I knew.

I hadn’t watched the show in years, so I decided to binge watch a few episodes — from the moment the music came on, and as she tossed her blue hat in the air, it was like putting on a old familiar comfortable sweater — except there were a whole lot of sex jokes in that sweater that I didn’t understand in 1979.

Mary Richards tackled discrimination in the workplace and the workforce pay gap as these issues were coming to a head in offices all over the United States. She played the first professional woman on television. In the pilot she applies for a secretary job at the news station, only to find out that it had been filled. She learns of another job — associate producer — to which Lou Grant, played by Ed Asner, says “I think I’ll hire a man for it!”

When Mary Richards discovers she gets paid less than her male counterpart because he’s a “family man,” she argues that if that’s the case, the man with three kids should be paid more than one with two. And he should be paid more than a bachelor — a message that many women needed to hear at that time — and today.

The show was so cleverly written, and on top of the powerful messages of equality, Mary also taught us to smile and laugh at ourselves, even through changing and uncertain times.

Her optimism was infectious, her character was lovable, and her personality was strong, even when she couldn’t land a date for the awards show. And then there’s, the best episode of all, where Mary completely loses her composure during a funeral as the pastor quotes a recently deceased station employee and local celebrity, “Chuckles the Clown” as saying: “a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down the pants.”

So this morning it’s Cheers to Mary Tyler Moore. Thanks to her creativity and talent, we’re all going to make it after all.