Jun 4, 2025 11:00 EST
The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
70
The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Estate / Collection: The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
The screen-used wall-mounted "M" from Mary Richards' apartment on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. A gold painted composite letter "M" as seen on the wall in Mary Richards' apartment on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the back is signed by Mary Tyler Moore in black ink. About 12 x 16 x 1 inches. The last name in the signature is partial, some wear to edges and nicks from hanging and use, evidence of an old break and repair on verso and the front possibly repainted; Together with five vintage stills taken on the set of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, each depicting Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards with various co-stars, each 14 x 11 inches, one shows the "M" mounted on the wall of Mary's apartment.
The screen-used wall-mounted "M" from one of the most iconic sets in television history, Mary Richards' Minneapolis apartment on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The "M" first appears on screen about halfway through the first episode, titled "Love Is All Around" (which is also the title of the show's iconic theme song), when Mary Richards is quasi-unpacked into her new apartment and, as she makes her fold-out bed on her first morning, is rudely interrupted by Rhoda bursting in with the help of a locksmith. The first episode aired on CBS on Saturday, September 19th, 1970. The "M" last appears on screen in the series finale, titled "The Last Show," in the final scene filmed in Mary's apartment as she affectionately gives a big farewell hug to none other than Rhoda. After 168 episodes, "The Last Show" aired on Saturday, March 19th, 1977. The "M" is enhanced by the signature of the show's namesake star who brought Mary Richards to life, the inimitable Mary Tyler Moore.
Sold for $35,200
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
The screen-used wall-mounted "M" from Mary Richards' apartment on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. A gold painted composite letter "M" as seen on the wall in Mary Richards' apartment on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the back is signed by Mary Tyler Moore in black ink. About 12 x 16 x 1 inches. The last name in the signature is partial, some wear to edges and nicks from hanging and use, evidence of an old break and repair on verso and the front possibly repainted; Together with five vintage stills taken on the set of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, each depicting Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards with various co-stars, each 14 x 11 inches, one shows the "M" mounted on the wall of Mary's apartment.
The screen-used wall-mounted "M" from one of the most iconic sets in television history, Mary Richards' Minneapolis apartment on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The "M" first appears on screen about halfway through the first episode, titled "Love Is All Around" (which is also the title of the show's iconic theme song), when Mary Richards is quasi-unpacked into her new apartment and, as she makes her fold-out bed on her first morning, is rudely interrupted by Rhoda bursting in with the help of a locksmith. The first episode aired on CBS on Saturday, September 19th, 1970. The "M" last appears on screen in the series finale, titled "The Last Show," in the final scene filmed in Mary's apartment as she affectionately gives a big farewell hug to none other than Rhoda. After 168 episodes, "The Last Show" aired on Saturday, March 19th, 1977. The "M" is enhanced by the signature of the show's namesake star who brought Mary Richards to life, the inimitable Mary Tyler Moore.
repaired and regilt.
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Auction: The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore, Jun 4, 2025
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Landmark Auction of The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore on June 4, 2025
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Sale Drew Hundreds of Collectors and Fans of One of Television's Most Beloved and Influential Figures
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Artwork, Furnishings, Silver, Decorative Objects and Memorabilia from Her Home in Greenwich, Connecticut
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection
NEW YORK, NY — On June 4, 2025, hundreds of collectors and fans from across the country and abroad gathered for the landmark sale of The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore, one of television’s most beloved and influential figures. Bidders in the saleroom, on the telephones, and on the internet competed for artwork, furnishings, silver, decorative objects and memorabilia from Mary's home in Greenwich, Connecticut—a collection that also included treasures from her previous residences in Millbrook, New York, and Manhattan.
Iconic "M" Sells to Lena Waithe
A crowd favorite during the exhibition—and the star lot of the sale—was the iconic wall-mounted “M” from Mary Richard’s apartment in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimated at $5,000-8,000, the piece far exceeded expectations, opening at $14,000 and ultimately selling for a stunning $35,200 to Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, producer and actress Lena Waithe. “I will cherish this piece of television history for the rest of my life,” said Ms. Waithe. “I feel honored to have custody of it until it’s time to pass it along to someone else.”
Artwork also garnered exceptional results, including a colorful Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore by Peter Max that sold for $15,360 and original Al Hirschfeld drawings capturing Mary's roles in The Dick Van Dyke Show ($6,080) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show ($7,680), as well as a dynamic, multi-figure Critics' Choice for 1978-79 ($7,040), all surpassing their respective estimates.
Highlighting the selection of jewelry from Mary’s collection were a 1969 gold ‘Cage’ cuff bracelet by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co. that realized $10,240 and a classic Cartier tricolor gold 'Trinity' bangle bracelet that sold for $8,320, both exceeding expectations.
Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017)
A native of Brooklyn, who began her career as a dancer, Mary Tyler Moore would ultimately lead one of the most influential lives in Hollywood history. A beloved and renowned actress and savvy media executive, Moore was a trailblazer and door-opener for women. Throughout her illustrious career, she won seven Emmy® awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe® Awards, an Academy Award® nomination, and a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.
Moore first rose to fame when she was cast as the indomitable “Laura Petrie” on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), a role for which she won three Emmy® Awards. Moore’s portrayal of “Laura Petrie” broke ground not only with her opinions and independent spirit, but also her signature fitted capri pants, forever changing the image of the modern American homemaker. Her starring role as “Mary Richards” in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77) catapulted her into icon status, shattered the glass ceiling for women in television, and inspired audiences across the country. For seven years, Saturday nights belonged to Ms. Moore and the many young girls who would dream of moving to Minneapolis and working at WJM-TV. Mary had forever opened new doors for women in television while also shaping public views of the single working woman. Whether navigating workplace discrimination and the fight for equal pay, or the pitfalls of dating and maintaining a work/life balance, “Mary Richards” was a role model for millions of women seeking to break boundaries in the 1970s. The Mary Tyler Moore Show won an unprecedented 29 Emmy® Awards in its seven-year run (three for Moore herself as Best Actress in a Comedy Series), a record that would stand until 2002. Her beloved show would continue to air for decades after its final season, and young women all over the world continued tuning in as their own aspirations and dreams resonated with its deeply relatable theme, leaving an indelible mark as one of the greatest television shows of the 20th century.
In 1980, Moore’s powerful performance in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People as “Beth Jarrett,” a mother grieving the loss of her son, garnered her an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actress. The film ultimately won the Academy Award® for Best Picture. In the same year, Moore was honored with a special Tony Award for her performance in Whose Life is It Anyway, a drama about a paralyzed sculptor’s fight to end her own life, and in which she was the first woman to replace a man (Tom Conti) in a leading role on Broadway. Huge departures from her earlier award-winning comedic work, these roles established Moore as an acclaimed, dramatic actor.
Alongside her illustrious credits as an actor, Moore broke ground as a producer and executive. The company she co-founded with Grant Tinker, MTM Enterprises, produced several defining television shows of the era including Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Newhart, Rhoda, White Shadow, and many others. Twice a New York Times Best-Selling Author, Moore wrote two memoirs in her lifetime. Her first, After All, was published in 1995 and her second, Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes, in 2009.
In her personal life, Moore was a philanthropist and an animal lover. She advocated for animal welfare for years, and in 1999 she founded Broadway Barks with friend Bernadette Peters, which continues to this day to hold its annual event on Shubert Alley to promote the adoption of shelter animals in New York City and surrounding areas.
From age 30, Moore lived with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and suffered many of its complications. For more than thirty years, she was a tireless advocate for diabetes research as the International Chairman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), serving as a voice to the fears and hopes of millions of people with diabetes and the promise of research. Her important work with JDRF helped raise billions of dollars for research to cure diabetes and its complications. While Moore worked with JDRF to help relieve the burdens of diabetes for others, it had a devastating impact on her life, her near blindness from diabetic retinal disease stealing her joy and independence. In 2018, her husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine, founded the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative to honor Moore’s contributions to diabetes research progress and help make her dream of a world without vision loss from diabetes a reality.
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