I'm sure you trivia buffs know this, but as the opening credits end and there is a freeze-frame of Mary throwing her hat up in the air, the elderly woman that is staring directly at Mary recently passed away - sometime in 2000 I believe.

On a seperate note, does anyone know where the opening scenes were filmed? Were they filmed in Minneapolis on the streets? Is the mall-scene opening also from a mall in the Minneapolis area?

Originally posted by michael_r_kozlowski:
I'm sure you trivia buffs know this, but as the opening credits end and there is a freeze-frame of Mary throwing her hat up in the air, the elderly woman that is staring directly at Mary recently passed away - sometime in 2000 I believe.

On a seperate note, does anyone know where the opening scenes were filmed? Were they filmed in Minneapolis on the streets? Is the mall-scene opening also from a mall in the Minneapolis area?

Yes, the entire opening was filmed in Minneapolis. I've always considered a credit to the show that they shot the opeining to a show set in Minneapolis IN Minneapolis, as opposed to passing off Los Angeles as the Twin Cities or something! LOL



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(After Mary's famous job interview)
Lou Grant:You know what? You've got spunk!
Mary Richards:Well, yes.
Lou Grant:I HATE SPUNK!!!
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Visit www.mtmshow.cjb.net (http://www.mtmshow.cjb.net)

I've seem that elderly lady. I've always noticed her in that opening scene. I'm suprised she lived that long which is good.

What is the name of the street in Minneapolis where the opening shot takes place?

Is my memory playing tricks or did Marlo Thomas toss her hat in the opener of That Girl in the 60s? I remember her tossing her hair with her hands.

I've never seen the opening of 'That Girl'. I think Mary Richards was a better example for the independent woman.

Thanks for the answer MTM Fan, but that wasn't my question. I really just wanted to know if Marlo tossed her hat as well, but since you opened up the topic....
If you never saw the opener of That Girl, I assume you never saw the show which makes me wonder how you know MTM was a better example for the independent woman.
Marlo was playing the working independent woman a few years before MTM. She had a good career and apartment. The MTM show was a better show, and I enjoyed it more myself. It was more modern due to the fact that it was done in the enlightened 70s. However, Marlo Thomas paved the way, and one has to give credit where credit is due.

Well, I remember someone calling Marlo Thomas's Ann Marie an airhead. I think it was one of the writers for the MTMS.

I read that there putting a statue on the same exact spot Mary threw her hat. of her throwing her hat

Ann Marie wasn't an airhead. Her character was just younger and more naive than Mary's. You certainly can't expect the writers of the MTM show to lavish praise on a show that preceeded theirs--a show that clearly was ahead of it's time--and particulary a show so similar in premise. The similarities are obvious--beautiful, ambitious gals with brunette flips making their way in the big city. The openers showing them strolling through the city streets are almost mirror images.
The MTM show is a great show--no argument here. I watch it every night. It's a superior show to That Girl.
I'm just making the point that That Girl, and the show Julia for that matter, were trailblazers for the *single woman making it on her own* concept.
Still wondering if Marlo Thomas tossed that hat in the air--wonder if the writers ripped that off too...kidding.

I completely agree with you that 'That Girl' was the first show for the independent woman. I'm just saying that I think Mary Richards was a better example. BTW, you've got me wondering about the hat throwing scene,too...

[This message has been edited by MtM fan (edited 08-19-2001).]

Okay, I went to some chats and almost everyone had a different answer. Then one woman told me that she has some episodes on tape and sometimes Marlo throws her hat up and sometimes she doesn't.

Thank you for researching this out MTM Fan. I really appreciate it. I agree with you that Mary Richards is a better example of the independant woman. While That Girl had a certain charm of it's own, it was a lightweight compared to the MTM show. It didn't have the character development nor the emotional dynamics that the MTM show had either.
Thanks again for solving the hat mystery for me. If I had a hat, I'd toss it in the air myself because this subject is finally put to rest, lol.

Ok, the hat drama continues. A friend told me that Valerie Harper threw her hat in the air in the opener of Rhoda as well. It rings a vague bell, yet I believe it was done as a flattering spoof of the MTM show. There was an awful lot of hat-tossing going on back in those days. Anyone remember Rhoda doing this?

Hi! Yep Rhoda does throw her hat into the air. When she tried to catch it she missed and it landed in the street. She gets a little flustered, picks it up, puts it on and walks away. I believe it was a fun spoof of Mary.