Tuesday, January 04, 2022

The Mary Tyler Moore Show & the Age of Celebrities Dying

A few days ago I mentioned the sad plethora of stars from The Mary Tyler Moore showing dying in 2021, and today there's an article about it (6 major players from the show died in 2021!!!):

The coincidental timing of the losses of these legends underscores the passage of time for the network television business. “Mary Tyler Moore,” “All in the Family,” “MASH” and other early 1970s shows ushered in the era of big ensemble comedy hits destined to endure as classics of the form.

As massive as the television industry is today, network television in its modern form is only now getting to the age of seeing its longest-lived practitioners pass as they reach their 80s and 90s. “Mary Tyler Moore” ran for seven seasons on CBS from 1970-1977 and remains a cultural touchstone.

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “didn't you point this phenomenon out over a dozen years ago?"

Sigh. Yes I did, faithful readers, YES I did:

We need to get used to our celebrities dropping dead at a high rate from now on as thousands of the very people who came of age at the exact right time to be a part of the advent of TWO major celebrity industries, rock 'n roll AND television, having been born between 1930ish and 1940ish, are now of "dying age." We're at a perfect storm of both timing and sheer number of celebrities dying over the next decade or so; we should be surprised when a week goes by when someone really famous DOESN'T croak. 

As I mentioned over the past year I spent some of 2021 doing a deep dive on The Mary Tyler Moore Show...I'm not saying I jinxed the damn show, but....I am the almighty Xmastime...

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