Mary Tyler Moore quit her first recurring TV role when they didn't give her a raise

The studio claimed she got "too much publicity" for her secretive character.

The Everett Collection

Mary Tyler Moore got her first television gig right out of high school. At 17, she was cast as Happy Hotpoint, a dancing elf who pitched Hotpoint appliances to audiences of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Moore filmed 39 commercials which aired over several years in the mid-1950s. But the spots were so short it only amounted to about five day's work. Plus, she was paid more than $6,000 for her trouble — that's about $50,000 in today's money.

But the feast-or-famine reality of show business soon set in. She only won a few small parts in the years after her days with Hotpoint, unnamed roles like "Dance Hall Girl" and "Student #1." Then came an opportunity that many actors dream of. Moore was cast as a recurring character in the mystery series Richard Diamond, Private Detective. The show starred David Janssen (before he became The Fugitive) and was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Productions. Powell voiced Diamond on the radio in the early Fifties but cast Janssen in the role on TV.

After two seasons set in New York City, Richard Diamond overhauled its premise in 1959. The suave detective swapped his cramped, East Coast office for a house in the Hollywood Hills, complete with a pool in the back and a convertible in the driveway. Along with a new lifestyle, Diamond also had a mysterious new assistant named Sam.

Viewers mostly knew Sam as the voice giving Diamond tips over the phone. Only the back of her head was shown on camera, along with the occasional shot of her hands holding a cigarette or her feet resting on the switchboard. It was sort of a reverse Charlie’s Angels arrangement — and it gave Mary Tyler Moore her first recurring television role.

Moore brought a sultry mischievousness to Sam, even if she couldn't show her face. She filmed the season's first 13 episodes for the scale minimum of $80 per installment, thinking she would get a raise after that.

She told TV Guide in 1959, "I was promised more money after the first 13 episodes, but after we filmed 13, the producer was replaced and I didn't get the money. So, I left." Not many young actors would say goodbye to a continuous paycheck, not matter how low the amount.

But Moore knew her worth and was soon proved right.

She told TV Guide, "I played Sam for scale, but since then I've got way over that — $500 for three days at Warner Bros. for Bourbon Street Beat." She even got to play the same part on a different show after quitting Richard Diamond.

"A call came in from 77 Sunset Strip for the casting department to call Four-Star and get them the girl who played Sam on Richard Diamond. So, I wound up playing Sam on 'The Kookie Caper.'" IMDb lists her role as "Girl on Telephone" but fans of both shows can still delight in this unofficial cross-over.

As for the official reasoning for Moore's departure from Richard Diamond, Private Detective? Producer Dick Powell told TV Guide, "She got too much publicity and spoiled the gimmick."

Little did he know she would become a household name just two years later as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

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12 Comments

Phneal1956 38 months ago
Love the old cartoons. Thanks for airing them. Not a fan of the “cartoon curator” bit. Sorry, but it’s really lame! Please drop the curator and show more cartoons, instead. Thanks !
jaelinsmith40652 38 months ago
It's like know wonderful how I do like about Mary Tyler Moore being such a one Lovely TV Mom.
MadMadMadWorld 39 months ago
One big error in this about what was showed on-air on her 'Sam' character, "Only the back of her head was shown on camera, along with the occasional shot of her hands holding a cigarette or her feet resting on the switchboard." They also showed her gorgeous legs! Why did you leave that out, MeTV? That was key part of the mysterious girl whose face was not showed, but other parts of her were, as was her sexy voice!
For shame!
Eddie03 39 months ago
Thanks for clarifying this!!, there was a documentary about Mary Tyler moore where she quit her job from doing commercials and then got a career in a movie where they did not show her face but only her legs and hands talking on the phone but that is about it by far as I know so thank you for posting this!!
BrittReid 39 months ago
She's was worth every penny. Love MTM.
daDoctah 39 months ago
She's on my list of TV regulars who were heard but never seen on their shows, but she's not the earliest one. That honor goes to "Mr Fenton" on the Buddy Hackett comedy "Stanley" from 1956, voiced by Paul Lynde.
cperrynaples daDoctah 39 months ago
I've seen that show, he was dropped after a few episodes! Bonus Question: What MeTV star got her big break as Stanley's girlfriend?
StrayCat cperrynaples 39 months ago
Carol Burnett?
cperrynaples 39 months ago
I knew Mary was fired for posing for TV Guide, but didn't know this part of the story! Good job,MeTV!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 39 months ago
Fun Fact: Since only her legs were seen on RDPE, many of the photos showed off her stockings!
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