For seven TV seasons in the 1970s, Mary Tyler Moore, as Mary Richards, turned the world on with her smile.
She also drove a Ford Mustang.
When Karen Foshay spotted a blue 1973 Mustang convertible connected to the show at a special exhibit in Los Angeles in November, it took her back. Well, not all the way back.
After all, it had been reruns of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” along with its daily pairing with “The Bob Newhart Show,” when she was 10 or 11, that Foshay had watched religiously.
But that show, along with her family’s deep interest in the news when she was growing up, set Foshay on a path. She currently works as an executive producer at LA Times Studios, one of numerous news organizations she’s worked for in her career.
“I always wanted to be Mary Richards,” Foshay said of the character who was an associate producer at a fictional Minneapolis TV newsroom. “Sure enough I ended up being a news producer.”
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The blue Mustang was a later addition to the show, with brief appearances in the opening and closing credits. An episode in Season 3 includes a story line where Mary contemplates a new car while hers is being serviced, and she eventually does get a new car, although the color is yellow. A later clip shows her washing the blue Mustang.
But Mustang was part of the show’s DNA from the beginning, appearing in the original opening in white.
“I remember her in the opening scene. She’s driving that Mustang. She’s starting in a new city,” Foshay said. “I just thought she was the coolest thing around.”
Ford Motor Co. Heritage Brand Manager and Archivist Ted Ryan said he’d like to locate that original white Mustang, said to be a 1970 coupe, as well, but so far, that’s proven to be an elusive goal.
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Instead, it’s the blue 1973 Mustang convertible that Ryan used to help tell the story of Mustang’s appeal to a younger female audience. It’s currently part of American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience, a special exhibit housed in a repurposed warehouse in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Using the Mustang, a vehicle that debuted in the 1960s, for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” would have been a purposeful choice, Ryan said.
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“The Mustang represented a youthful audience. I guarantee you they picked that because it’s the new, hip car, and Mary Tyler Moore’s got to be in the new, hip car,” Ryan said.
The blue Mustang hadn’t been purchased for use on the show. Instead, Ford had loaned the vehicle out of its press fleet. When Ryan went looking for the car, he saw it had been sold in 2021 at Mecum Auctions. He eventually connected with the owners who were preparing to sell it again, and Ryan made it the first acquisition of the Ford Heritage Fleet, which includes many other vehicles that had been in the company’s possession.
The American Icon exhibit, which is scheduled to remain open at its current location into early February, also includes several other notable rides, such as the 1967 Ford Mustang “Eleanor,” from the 2000 film, “Gone in 60 Seconds.” But that Mustang and others are on loan for the exhibit; “The Mary Tyler Moore” Mustang is expected to stay with the exhibit at future locations.
The car is drivable but needs a new battery. Ryan said that particular model year, “’73, was kind of the swan song for that first generation of Mustang, so it’s a beautiful car.”
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Its connection to a landmark TV show, highlighting a young, independent woman, also makes a relevant statement, even if Mary Tyler Moore isn’t as well-known to younger generations, he said.
“But it is a great way to tell the story that Mustang has enormous demographic appeal − all ages, all sexes. It is a great way to tell that story,” Ryan said.
Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. If you’ve got a tip or suggestion or know the whereabouts of the white Mary Tyler Moore Mustang, contact him at elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Mustang from ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ part of special exhibit