The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening sequence
| "Love Is All Around" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Sonny Curtis | |
| from the album Love Is All Around | |
| Released | July 1980 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | 1980 |
| Length | 2:44 |
| Label | Elektra Records |
| Writer(s) | Sonny Curtis |
The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening sequence is an element of the American television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In 1999, Entertainment Weekly picked Mary Richards' hat toss at the end of the sequence as the 1970s' second-greatest television moment. The theme song, "Love Is All Around", was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
The original opening title sequence for the show begins with the name of its star across the screen in Peignot font, which then multiplies both upward and downward vertically in a number of colors, followed by a montage of Mary driving towards Minneapolis towards her new home, and walking in her new neighborhood. In the final shot, she gleefully tosses her Tam o' Shanter in the air in the middle of the street; a freeze-frame captures her smiling face and the hat in mid-air.
The sequence was created by Reza Badiyi who had also done the opening sequence for Hawaii Five-O. Badiyi came up with the idea for the final shot, which Entertainment Weekly ranked as the second greatest moment in 1970s television. An older woman can be seen in the background, obviously puzzled by the sight of a young woman tossing her hat in the air. This unwitting "extra" was Hazel Frederick, a lifelong Minnesota resident who happened to be out shopping the day the sequence was shot. Mrs. Frederick finally met Moore in 1996 when she was on a book tour for her autobiography, After All. Moore introduced Frederick as "my co-star".
The theme visuals were changed significantly after Season 1, and were usually 'tweaked' every season thereafter In later seasons, David Davis is given a credit for "Title Visualization". The "driving to Minneapolis" sequence was dropped, and the theme now featured brief shots of Mary, mostly engaging in everyday activities around Minneapolis as well as interacting with the newsroom staff. In a brief sequence set in the newsroom, Mary hugged Lou, Murray and Ted, accidentally crushing Ted's fedora in the process, before straightening it out. This was a scene from the end of the Season 1 episode "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid", although the producers eventually re-shot this sequence for use in the opening credits from Season 4 onward.
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