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Mary Tyler Moore called it ''a terrible waste'' that she and Dick Van Dyke never had an affair
They saved the chemistry for the screen.
Workplace romances happen, but that doesn't mean they're right. Collaborative chemistry can develop into a relationship, but there's always something sacrificed in the process. Gone is the innocence of that first connection, because now there's the awkward truth left in its place.
Fortunately for fans of The Dick Van Dyke Show, this potential misstep was avoided because of the show's two leads and their commitment to their craft. Because, let's face it, you'd be hard-pressed to find two better-looking actors than Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. Their onscreen pairing was lightning in a bottle. But that spark could've ignited a flame were it not for their career-mindedness.
In 2003, Van Dyke and Tyler Moore— Rob and Laura Petrie— reunited for "The Gin Game," a teleplay broadcast as part of PBS Hollywood Presents.
"We're old enough now," said Van Dyke. He'd watched Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in PBS's American Playhouse in 1981. At the time, he remarked to his former co-star Moore that, someday, they'd be old enough for a similar project. Although it seemed unfathomable for Moore at the time, 22 years later, the time was right.
"It was amazing," said Van Dyke of the reunion, "like we had just seen each other yesterday."
The pairing was one-of-a-kind, even all those years alter. When Van Dyke was approached by producers to star in "The Gin Game," there was only one person he wanted to share the stage with.
"I wouldn't have tried it with Judy Dench, for God's sake," he said.
"She gives to me, and there's just so much mutual support here that, well, it was the only way I felt any confidence in doing this at all.
That's when the Scripps Howard News Service profile takes a turn for the revelatory.
"The amazing thing is, we never had an affair," said Mary Tyler Moore. Then 67, Moore was married to Dr. Robert Levine. The two exchanged vows back in 1983.
"I always thought it was a terrible waste."
For fans, though, maybe it's best that they kept the romance out of their relationship. Who knows how that could've complicated their careers!
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