Mary Tyler Moore on her first Emmy: ”I’d bet on Irene Ryan”
There’s a false modesty in a lot of Hollywood award ceremonies. It wouldn’t be polite for a star to proclaim “I always knew my performance was the best.” So, these award-winners usually seek to downplay their accomplishments, faking that they’re surprised by their acclaim. Worse, some even hide behind other nominees, saying they “share” the award with their peers.
However, there was nothing insincere about Mary Tyler Moore’s reaction to her 1964 Emmy win for her role as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. However, Moore forecasted a different outcome entirely.
In an interview with The Akron Beacon Journal, Moore shared her prediction for the 1964 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
“I’d bet on Irene Ryan,” she said, praising one of the stars of The Beverly Hillbillies. As Granny Clampett, Ryan was at the center of many of that show’s biggest laughs. However, Moore’s opinion was not in line with that of the Emmy voters. Although The Beverly Hillbillies was nominated for seven Emmys over its run, the show and its actors never won. That show may have been #1 in the ratings, but it was not a favorite amongst critics.
Turning her attention toward The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore heaped loads of credit onto the program’s writer and creator, Carl Reiner. She was a very talented actor, but even Moore acknowledged how important Reiner’s scripts were to the high-quality episodes The Dick Van Dyke Show consistently churned out.
“He’s a genius,” Moore proclaimed. “Carl comes up with a lot of unlikely comedy ideas, but he always makes them funny.
“I trust him so much that if he were to have me get a divorce on the show and marry a member of the Ku Klux Klan, I’d say ‘Great idea!” because I know somehow he’d make it amusing.”
