That Time "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Advanced LGBTQ+ Representation

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is often praised for its atthetime groundbreaking portrayal of a single 30something career woman who liked men and even spent the night with a few of them but did not need one to make her life complete This had been an unheardof concept in the stillyoung medium of television In another first one for which it rarely receives credit it was the first sitcom to feature a character of color Gordy the weatherman played by John Amos who never came across as a stereotype or comic relief of any kindAnd then there39s this In the 17th episode of season three which premiered January 13 1973 TMTMS quietly but quite literally challenged every preexisting obstruction that had largely eliminated LGBTQ characters from television narratives Gay characters had been seen of course but not directly identified as such and even when it seemed rather obvious they were usually included as comic relief or as somehow miserable menacing and almost always lonelyIn this landmark episode though Mary meets Ben played by Robert Moore the brother of her friend and landlady Phyllis Cloris Leachman Ben is a smart cultured successful composer of music in commercials He comes to Minneapolis from New York City to visit his sister who immediately sets out to fix him up with MaryTo Phyllis39 horror Ben prefers to hang with her frenemy Rhoda Valerie Harper Mary doesn39t mind but Phyllis can39t cope Rhoda on the other hand has a great time with her new pal and takes great delight in ribbing Phyllis about it at one point calling her quotsisquotIf it isn39t the climactic sequence which plays out in one of Mary39s legendarily problematic parties should be known as one of the most memorable in television history The party is going just fine until a distraught Phyllis finally confronts Rhoda demanding to hear the brutal awful truth about her quotrelationshipquot with Ben Rhoda tries to explain that they are just friends but Phyllis is so certain that they are lovers that she doesn39t let up Rhoda finally shuts her up by telling her that they are planning to be marriedMinutes later Phyllis dissolves into tears her sobs bringing Mary39s party to an abrupt halt Everyone clears out including Ben who heads downstairs to Phyllis39 apartment to fix her quotthe biggest slowgin fizz she ever sawquot and Mary who follows him leaving Rhoda and Phyllis aloneIn an effort to calm Phyllis Rhoda gently asserts that she isn39t going to marry Ben quotHe39s not my typequot she saysA stunned Phyllis suddenly turns defensive quotWhat do you mean he39s not your typequot she demands quotHe39s witty He39s attractiveamp160 He39s successful He39s singlequotquotHe39s gayquot Rhoda replies This prompts one of the loudest and longest laughs ever from any of the show39s studio audiencesIt takes Phyllis a minute to compose herself Then she says quotHe39s whatquotquotHe39s gayquot Rhoda repeats in a very matteroffact manner quotI thought surely you knew We39re not getting marriedquotquotOh Rhodaquot Phyllis exclaims quotI39m so relievedquotThis exchange was startling at the time but it was also very funny and not at all condescending or offensiveI consider every episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show to be essential viewing but this one sits high up on the list and true standoutsFun fact No 1 This episode randomly introduced the character Georgette Franklin Georgia Engel who would go on to date marry and have a family with pompous anchorman Ted Baxter Ted KnightFun fact No 2 Ben had never before been mentioned and was never mentioned again not even when Phyllis became a widow two years later and relocated to San Francisco the setting of the second TMTMS spinoff PhyllisAll seven seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show are available to stream on HuluClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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That Time "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Advanced LGBTQ+ Representation

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Ed Martin

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That Time "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Advanced LGBTQ+ Representation

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