Mary Tyler Moore pivotal one-hour musical special called "Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman", Moore and husband Grant Tinker successfully pitched a sitcom centered on Moore to CBS. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" is a half-hour newsroom sitcom featuring Ed Asner as her gruff boss Lou Grant. Moore's show proved so popular that three other regular characters, Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom and Ed Asner as Lou Grant were also spun off into their own series. The premise of the single working woman's life, alternating during the program between work and home, became a television staple. After
Thomas Carter (director) was presented with the "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from Texas State University. Carter first began his film career as an actor. His first roles included working in television shows/movies such as: "M*A*S*H", "Lou Grant", "What's Happening!!", "The Secret of Isis", "Whose Life Is It Anyway?", "The Blue Knight", "Good Times", and "Hill Street Blues". He was a regular on the sitcom "Szysznyk" (1977). Carter is most known for his appearance on the series "The White Shadow" between the years 1978 through 1980. "The White Shadow", which ran three seasons from 1978 to 1981. Carter played James Hayward, a troubled teenager with