September 19, 1970 –
We got to meet the staff of WJM when The Mary Tyler Moore Show, starring Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Cloris Leachman, and Valerie Harper premiered on CBS TV on this date.
Producers almost didn’t hire Valerie Harper because while her performance was spot on, they felt she was too pretty to play Mary’s frumpy best friend. They later decided to cast her anyway but would dress her in ungainly and frumpy clothing.
The Haus of Dcaligari 