Hola!

Not to sound cruel of troll, I would like to know how MTM went from beautiful figured hot babe in 1965 to skinny, unattractive MTM in 1970. She aged quick in five years. She was only 34 when MTM started, but she looked 10 years older.

I asked this on another board, and they said it was due to alcohol abuse and being an undiagnosed diabetic. Any other reasons?

Senor

I didn't think Mary looked bad at all in 1970. When she wore tight outfits she did look a little too skinny to me, almost but not quite anorexic.

I once met an agent for a major modeling company here in Chicago who told me that no matter how pretty the girl was, he wouldn't represent her if he knew she either smoked, drank alcohol, did drugs, or had a chronic illness. Mary unfortunately fit all categories. This agent believed, since it takes many months of hard work to get a model's reputation up to where he could start earning real money from her, it would all be wasted if she started to age too early. He believed those things aged girls twice as fast.
If you look at Mary from 1961 to 1971, you'll see that he was right.

Steve

Originally posted by SawgrassSteve
I once met an agent for a major modeling company here in Chicago who told me that no matter how pretty the girl was, he wouldn't represent her if he knew she either smoked, drank alcohol, did drugs, or had a chronic illness. Mary unfortunately fit all categories. This agent believed, since it takes many months of hard work to get a model's reputation up to where he could start earning real money from her, it would all be wasted if she started to age too early. He believed those things aged girls twice as fast.
If you look at Mary from 1961 to 1971, you'll see that he was right.

Steve

Unfortunately, you are all too correct there, Steve.

I thought Mary looked fairly nice during the first year of TMTMS, but quickly "aged" after that. And even then, I'll always believe she was much more attractive during her Dick Van Dyke Show years than at any point during the MTMS.

B&W "of course, that's just my opinion" fan

When I first saw TMTMS in 1970
I thought Mary wasn't as nearly
as attractive as on TDVDS.
Although still a very nice
looking woman. Then I liked
her shorter hair in the third
season because it was more like
Laura. I now disagree with that.
Mary's face and hair were just
beautiful those first two seasons
on the show. What a great looking thirty something woman. God,
wouldn't you love to meet that
woman at this stage in your life?
She was never again as sexy as
Laura but her weight did jump
up again and she got sexier
again. But Laura was the top.
But her weight bounced around
on the Van Dyke show too. I
suspect it was later mainly due to
being a diabetic. If you ever
saw the movie "Run a Crooked
Mile" from 1969 probably just
after becoming diabetic, Mary
looked very rough for her age.
Skinny, tight skin, and wrinkled.
While in 1968 she looked fine.
So Mary did bounce back from
1969 to the 70s. But it was a
lot to overcome. And I imagine
none of us are nearly as
impressive as Mary was during
all of those years. She was
just so attractive and sexy
as Laura that it couldn't be
topped. But while that peak did
pass quickly, nothing lasts
forever. Which we all learn
ourselves too. Plus we do have
reruns to laugh at and enjoy.
And, yes, Laura was hot. And
funny, and likeable, and
basically a fantasy...

Originally posted by Samme
She was
just so attractive and sexy
as Laura that it couldn't be
topped. But while that peak did
pass quickly, nothing lasts
forever. Which we all learn
ourselves too.
Good points, Samme.
Frankly, MTM is now an attractive sixty-something woman. She's long since broken her bad habits, started watching her diet and exercising, and I think it shows. Of course, that exposes my bias, since fitness and nutrition are disciplines of mine.
To this day, I'd give anything to get a hug from her!

Steve