The Screen Actors Guild is awarding Mary Tyler Moore, known for her roles in 60s and 70s television with “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” as well as her work in promoting diabetes research, with the lifetime achievement award.
Moore, now 74, also works as a producer and has suffered from Type 1 diabetes herself. The Screen Actors Guild announced that Moore will be presented with the lifetime achievement award in at its yearly television and film awards ceremony in January 2012. Moore has won seven Emmys for her roles in television. She was also nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 1980 film “Ordinary People.”
Moore’s big break came when she was cast as Laura Petrie, wife of Dick Van Dyke in the 60s sitcom named after him. She was 23 at the time. Moore later produced and starred in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” playing a single career woman working at a news station.
“Mary Tyler Moore won our hearts as Laura Petrie and Mary Richards, our respect as her production company became synonymous with quality television, our awe as she tackled difficult subject matter in film and on Broadway, and our admiration she turned her public recognition into a catalyst to draw attention to critical and deeply personal health and social issues,” said Ken Howard, national president of the Screen Actors Guild. The Guild represents over 125,000 actors working across film, television, commercials, and video games. Moore will be presented with the award on January 29, when the Guild will also honor the best performances in film and television at their annual awards ceremony.
At the age of 33, around the time she was working on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Moore was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “When the doctor said I had diabetes, I conjured images of languishing on a chaise longue nibbling chocolates,” she said of her initial diagnosis. “I have no idea why I thought this.” Moore quickly learned that living with diabetes meant managing insulin levels with injections and finger prick tests.
Although she admits that having Type 1 diabetes limits spontaneity, Moore still uses insulin injections and refuses to use a pump that automatically administers insulin. She admits that planning is important with this approach to living with diabetes: “You’ve got to always plan. It is a fact of life that if someone invites you out to dinner you have to think, ‘What are they going to be doing when they serve you dinner? How quickly are they going to get it on the table from the time I arrive? When should I take my shot? What should I eat of what’s available?'”
Moore says that she carries a syringe loaded with insulin wherever she goes; if her insulin levels drop too low, she isn’t squeamish about giving herself a shot. She does say that she’s impressed by how well the younger generations approach handling diabetes — much better than she did when she was younger.
Moore was named as the international chairwoman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and has used her position to raise funds for research and to promote diabetes awareness. In honor of Moore’s efforts with the JDRF, the organization established a research initiative called “Forever Moore,” which supports the Fund’s Academic Research and Development and its Clinical Development Program. The program works toward developing new therapies for Type 1 diabetics from research into diabetes.
