Pop culture icon Mary Tyler Moore died at the age of 80 Wednesday. Fans paid respects at her statue in Minneapolis, the city "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" helped make famous. The sculpture itself was made in Milwaukee.
"It was definitely one of those 'aha' moments, you know? It was pretty exciting for everybody," explained Beth Sahagian-Allsopp, Vanguard Sculpture Services.
Beth Sahagian-Allsopp was part of the team who helped Gwendolyn Gillen create the life-size bronze statue 15 years ago.
"She would have met with Mary Tyler Moore, photographed her, talked to her, began to understand her mannerisms and things like that," said Sahagian-Allsopp.
Documentary filmmaker and former TODAY'S TMJ4 Photojournalist Steve Boettcher spent time with the star a few years ago.
"She kind of redefined an era, especially for women I think. That she came on she was young, she was independent, she worked in a television station and I think that was just kind of a redefining moment for television," explained Steve Boettcher, Documentary Filmmaker.
Boettcher spent two days with the actress while he was working on his PBS TV Documentary Series "Pioneers of Television." "Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration" aired in 2015 to coincide with the 45th anniversary of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
"She was like a princess in a sense where she was just so gracious and warm and so wonderful to everybody and I think that that's what I'll remember most about her," said Boettcher.
Be sure and try our new SNOWCAST APP! It is the "snow equivalent to STORM SHIELD" - a great new product that gives you high resolution snow forecasts for any part of the nation! It has just been introduced for iPhones, but we are working on the Android version! Just search SNOWCAST in the App Store or click here.
