Mary Tyler Moore (Getty)
Mary Tyler Moore has died at the age of 80 from cardiopulmonary arrest after contracting pneumonia, her family said. She had been battling diabetes for decades and had also undergone unrelated brain surgery. She leaves behind a legacy that started with a family who loved her immensely. However, her family life was marred with tragedy and grief that was difficult to escape.
Here’s everything you need to know about Mary Tyler Moore’s family.
1. Mary Tyler Moore’s Parents, George and Marjorie, Supported Her Career
Young Mary with her parents and younger brother, John. 👨👩👧👦❣#marytylermoore
Mary Tyler Moore’s parents were George and Marjorie Tyler Moore. They supporter her career, but she sometimes had a strained relationship with her parents. Although she was born in Brooklyn, New York, she and her parents moved to California when she was eight. When she was born, her dad worked as a clerk, but later moved up the career ladder. George was a retired executive with the Southern California Gas Company by the 1980s, according to an announcement about her wedding to Robert Levine. Levine was a doctor who had treated her mom when her mom was ill.
Her parents raised Mary in the Catholic faith. Mary has said that her mom was an alcoholic and her dad was emotionally distant. She’s said that he was very different with her younger sister, who was about 19 years younger than her and died at only 21.
2. Mary Tyler Moore’s Sister, Elizabeth Ann, Died of a Drug Overdose
#MaryTylerMoore with her son Richie and her sister Elizabeth💖
Mary Tyler Moore’s younger sister, Elizabeth Ann, died of a drug overdose in 1978. Ann was only 21 at the time and 19 years younger than Mary. A coroner had ruled the death a suicide, but Moore said it was accidental. Moore’s younger sister was so much younger than her that she was actually closer in age to Moore’s son.
3. Mary Tyler Moore Tried To Help Her Terminally Ill Brother, John Moore, Commit Suicide
Young Mary with her younger brother, John! #marytylermoore #johnmoore
Mary Tyler Moore’s brother, John Moore, was seven years younger than her. He battled kidney cancer and at one time, Mary tried to help him commit suicide by feeding him ice cream laced with drugs, The Chicago Tribune reported in 1995. The attempt didn’t work and he ultimately died three months later of kidney cancer when he was only 47.
4. Mary Tyler Moore’s Son, Richie Meeker, Died at 24 From an Accident Gunshot Wound
Mary at home with her son, Richie, and husband, Grant!💖#marytylermoore #granttinker #richiemeeker
According to Mary Tyler Moore’s biography, her son Richard Meeker died in 1980 from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the time it was rumored that it might have been suicide, but Moore said he was a gun collector and the death was accidental while he was cleaning his guns. He had been attending the University of Southern California when he died at 24.
A comparison of Mary and her son, Richie around the same age. See any resemblance? 😄 #MaryMylerMoore #RichieMeeker
She was only 19 when she gave birth to Richard — she got pregnant just a few weeks after her marriage to Richard Carleton Meeker. She has said that she wished she was around her son more when he was growing up, rather than working so much.
5. Despite Being Married Three Times, Mary Tyler Moore Has No Living Children or Grandchildren
Mary Tyler Moore and her husband Dr. Robert Levine at the American Screenwriters Associations’ “2002 Screenwriting Hall of Fame Awards.” They were still married when she passed away. (Getty)
Mary Tyler Moore was married three times, but she died without any living children. She married Richard Carleton Meeker in 1955 at the age of 18 and was pregnant with Richard Jr. within six weeks. They divorced in 1961. She married Grant Tinker in 1962 and they divorced in 1981, the year after her son died. In 1983, she married Dr. Robert Levine. He was by her side when she passed away.
Mary Tyler Moore’s son, Richard, was only 24 when he died and had not had any children when he passed away. Moore did not have any other children of her own.
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Mary Tyler Moore’s Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know