Mary Tyler Moore Dances & Sings "Proud Mary"

Craptastic!

Buck would have never done a Tina Turner / CCR song!

Are you proud, Mary, of humiliating our Mary?

[quote] Are you proud, Mary, of humiliating our Mary?

That is the thing about video - it lasts forever

I preferred life before I saw this video. Why did she try to perform in Tina's style? Why do this song at all??

Oh, Mary. I'll always adore you, and your legs looked fantastic. Now I need to close my eyes and dream of a world where no one thinks a variety show is a good idea.

Perhaps because she was a fan of hers.....

The truth is Mary would trade her Oscar nomination, her Emmys and her two TV sitcoms

for Angela Lansbury's Musical Theater Career

Her dream was to be a Broadway star

That never happened

There was an episode of MTM Show where Mary performed, for Lou, "One for my baby & one more for the road" in a really stiff, unsexy, hilarious style. Lou was saying stuff like: "Bring it home!" Really horrible rendition. This reminds me of that.

She killed variety shows. Was Burnett still on the air when Mary(!) debuted?

It's the singing equivalent of Elaine's dancing.

The 70's was a frightening mix of art and schlock.

Variety shows killed themselves, r9. And c'mon, what performer *doesn't* have some misfires on their resumes?

Here's Mary's scorching version of "One for My Baby."

OK OP, that made me laugh. She gave it the college try! Sheboygan Conservatory.

R8, that was supposed to be intentionally bad.

I saw the few episodes of both of Mary Tyler Moore's post sitcom variety shows when they were originally on in 1978/79. The first, "Mary," was taken off after THREE airings. Really pathetic stuff. R7 is right. I will says Mary looked healthy in these awful shows, she'd gained weight and the modest breast implants helped. Even though I loved the Mary Tyler Moore sitcom it's hard to look at it today - Mary was sickly and anorexic.

R14, I realize Mary's "One for My Baby" was intentionally bad. However, IMO, even if she had tried her hardest, MTM could not have made that song sexy.

Now this number is not too bad - Mary plays "Leading Player" from Pippin' and sing the opening song "Magic To Do"

Go 8:40 into video to see

There go my hopes for 2021 being better than 2020.

Mary was a dancer first, before she was an actress. She was never really a singer. A lot of performers want to do it all.

Case in point, my beloved Lindsay Wagner:

[quote] Mary was a dancer first, before she was an actress.

Here she is doing a very complicated dance number to impress Gene Kelly

Go 10:15 into video

R14 what do you think of Mary's dancing in this video?

Seeing Mary on the screen is always a treat. It’s everyone around her and some schlocky writing. I cannot criticize Mary. I have a mental block.

Some performers can do it all.

I watched this expecting to be horrified, but I found it sort of fun. She can sing, but it might not be the song for her. She's clearly having a ball though and that won me over in the end. Performers like that always make me smile. It's like Carol Channing. Was she a great singer? No, but she could hold the audience in the palm of her hand.

On another note, Mary looks kinda hot in this number. Great legs and hot body. I always think of her as sort of buttoned up and repressed, so it was nice to see her tarted up.

Mary looked fantastic singing Proud Mary. Pretty, sexy, hot body, legs for days, nice boobs and a pretty good voice.

[quote] Some performers can do it all.

R21 I have one better for you - Bonnie was a guest on MTM show and does a tap dance routine and sings!

Go 9:40 into video below

It suddenly occurred to me while watching this that Mary would have made a great Phyllis in the DL musical classic, Follies.

Mary always elevated a scene, great presence and delivery. But her fellow cast members were awful, or the writing for them was awful. The wit and comedy of Phyllis and Rhoda of Mary’s classic MTM fell flat with Dody Goodman and Joyce Van Patten in this variety series. The men in the variety series were dreadful. Just goes to show that it’s very difficult for lightening to strike twice.

Mary was a fine dancer...

Paul Williams looks like a short little Oompa Loompa. God, he's almost creepy. High as a kite! Her Tina Turner is pretty good for a white woman. craptastic is the perfect term. I'm actually more impressed with the tall black guy's Chuck Berry-esque guitar dancing. That's showmanship!

One of my favourite showbiz experiences!!

R12 Thank you for the clip. I will always adore Mary.

"Paul Williams looks like a short little Oompa Loompa. God, he's almost creepy."

No. Paul Williams was always 100% creepy. In the 1970s you could not escape him.

Granted she was no Julie Harris, but Mary had suitable pipes for Broadway musicals. With her dancing and engaging personality added to the mix, she could have had a Broadway career. If only her first foray into the medium hadn't been...

Not a dance video, but a lovely interview with Mary as a palate cleanser for those who watched the Bonnie Franklin clips.

The boy interviewing her is a college student who met her a few times, and she was gracious in granting him the interview. I love how reassuring she is to him in the beginning.

R24 Good Lord, Bonnie! Yelling rather than singing, completely devoid of charm-why was she foisted on us?

I can't be the only one who feels irrational anger toward her, can I? Maybe it's from being subjected to her prominent nipples during my formative years, but that certainly didn't turn me off of Farrah Fawcett.

Bonnie Franklin knows only one emotion: anger.

I’ve lost a little bit of respect for Mary...for having Bonnie Franklin as a guest on her show.

Letterman was a regular on the first show.

When Mary wanted to do a variety show after MTM, Grant Tinker said no. But she didn't listen.

Letterman and Keaton reminisce about the variety show as Dave’s late night career comes to an end. The conversation starts around 16:15.