Mary Tyler Moore’s widower reveals he didn’t recognize her when they met

Widowed Mary Tyler Moore’s husband has been candid about their three-decade marriage, saying he didn’t realize she was a star actress when they first met, as he prepares for the release of a new documentary about her life.

“She’s with me every day. The pain of her loss is unforgiving, but I feel her love all around me,” Dr. Robert Levine at the Today show on Wednesday from Moore, who died in 2017 at the age of 80.

Moore was best known for her breakthrough comedic roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but Levine says he remembers her as “someone with (an) enormous heart, great grace” and “exceedingly generous and kind.” . ‘

Moore was twice divorced when she married Levine in 1983, and battled an alcohol addiction that she later candidly described in her memoir, recounting how she got clean in rehab at the Betty Ford Center the year after their marriage.

Levine, a cardiologist, recalled meeting the star by chance when her mother, Marjorie Hackett Moore, was sick and needed to see a doctor.

Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Levine are seen together in 1993. She was divorced twice before marrying Levine in 1983, but later described him as her first true love.

“As I was about to leave, I said what you would expect from a doctor: ‘Mary, if you have any concerns or questions, give me a call,'” he said in the interview with Today.

‘And she turns to me and says, ‘Is acute loneliness a good reason to call?’ the doctor said.

And I said, ‘I can’t think of a better reason to call at 3am,’ he added, saying he was ‘absolutely shocked’ when she called him at 3am a few days later .

Levine said that due to his busy schedule in college and medical school, he almost never watched The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired from 1970 to 1977, and that he didn’t recognize the starlet when they first met.

Levine is an executive producer of a new documentary, Being Mary Tyler Moore, due out Friday on HBO and streaming service Max.

The documentary features never-before-seen photos and archive footage found in Moore’s own basement, showing intimate moments from her life away from the spotlight.

“I suggested calling the movie Being Mary Tyler Moore,” Levine told Today. “The point was, being Mary, because everything Mary did was authentic. She was herself.’

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was ranked seventh on TV Guide’s 2013 list of the greatest TV shows of all time

The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from 1961 to 1966, was also wildly popular at the time

Moore’s eponymous show and The Dick Van Dyke Show were both among the most popular sitcoms of their time, with the former ranked seventh and the latter No. 20 at TV Guide’s 2013 list of the best TV shows of all time.

But off-screen, Moore’s life was filled with challenges and heartbreak.

In her early thirties, Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and suffered from health problems for much of her life.

With her husband, she founded the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative philanthropy to search for better cures for complications of diabetes.

In 1980, her son from her first marriage Richie Meeker, who struggled with drugs and alcohol, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound that was officially ruled an accident.

And Moore was candid about her struggles with alcohol after her second divorce in 1980, writing in her memoir, “I numbed myself at the end of the day.”

Levine, a cardiologist, recalled meeting the star by chance when her mother was sick and needed to see a doctor. They are seen together above in 1991

In 1984, shortly after her marriage to Levine, she spent five weeks in rehab at the Betty Ford Center, where she later wrote that she had “grown up a little.”

“If you look at her from a physical challenge, from a health challenge, but also from an emotional standpoint, she never shied away from it,” Levine told Today.

He said he hoped the new documentary would inspire a new generation to draw inspiration from Moore’s life and the challenges she overcame.

“I wanted to reflect on Mary’s life, remind people of her importance and impact, and encourage them to be a Mary too. Stand up for what you believe and always present the world with a smile, but don’t shy away from the fight.’