The last time Carl Reiner saw Mary Tyler Moore

Larry King: Tell me about the loss of Mary Tyler Moore.

Carl Reiner: Oh my god. Mary Tyler Moore was a force of nature, I mean, the first time I ever met her, I knew that—by the way, that’s a lovely story. She had the best and the worst life ever. As a young child, it was melodrama, her mother was an alcoholic, died of alcohol, her father never talked to her. She told me once, the only compliment she ever got from her father, she was dressed to go to a prom, put on a lovely dress, and her father looked at her and said, “Mary, you look very handsome.” That’s the only time he ever complimented, that’s what she came from. Then she married somebody that was not a good marriage. Her child, son, he shot himself accidentally with a rifle, sitting on a couch—misery—then she became the girl who threw her hat in the air and made—women’s liberation started with this Mary Tyler Moore.

Larry King: Did you see her later in her life?

Carl Reiner: I saw her once or twice. As a matter of fact, the last time I saw her was at a big event, Director’s Guild, and she had childhood diabetes, so she was losing her eyesight, and I said hello to her and she said, “Who is it?” I was this close to her, I said, “It’s me, Carl,” “Oh.” We hugged and kissed, she couldn’t see me, it was so sad. The last years of her life were not happy.

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