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
Mary Lou Finlay Mary Lou Finlay Mary Lou Finlay (born 1947) is a Canadian radio and television journalist, best known for hosting various programs on CBC Radio and CBC Television. Finlay graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1967 with a BA in English and French literature. For three years she did writing and researching for the Canadian War Museum before her leap to journalism when she began hosting a CBC Ottawa television magazine. In 1975, Finlay moved to Toronto to co-host CBC Television's "Take 30". She hosted her own program, "Finlay and Company", in 1976 and 1977 and developed a loyal following.