Mary Tyler Moore Show: what was the 70s sitcom and who was Cloris Leachman’s character Phyllis Lindstrom?

The late Leachman starred alongside Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore in a star-studded cast

Cloris Leachman was known for many roles over an award winning career spanning eight decades - none more so than as Phyllis Lindstrom in the 1970s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Leachman, who sadly passed away on 27 January 2021, aged 94, had a recurring role in the programme for five years, which earned her a spin off show of her own, Phyllis, that ran for two seasons.

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Among her achievements, Leachman won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Last Picture Show (1971), a Golden Globe for Phyllis (1975-77) and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2011.

Actresses (L-R) Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Georgia Engel on stage at the Screen Actor Guild Awards in 2007. (Pic: Getty Images)Actresses (L-R) Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Georgia Engel on stage at the Screen Actor Guild Awards in 2007. (Pic: Getty Images)
Actresses (L-R) Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Georgia Engel on stage at the Screen Actor Guild Awards in 2007. (Pic: Getty Images)

She also appeared in three Mel Brooks films, notably as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein (1974), and as Grandma Ida in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, for which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2006).

But it is perhaps another Emmy-award winning role as Phyllis Lindstrom, in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, for which she is best remembered.

What was The Mary Tyler Moore Show?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was an American TV sitcom, created by James L Brooks and Allan Burns, and starred actress and namesake Mary Tyler Moore as the lead character Mary Richards.

The series followed the life of Richards who as a single woman moved to Minneapolis at the age of 30 following a broken engagement. She works as a producer on the fictional TV station WJM's six o'clock news.

Alongside Moore, the show starred Leachman (Phyllis Lindstrom), Valerie Harper (Rhoda Morgenstern), Ed Asner (Lou Grant), Gavin MacLeod (Murray Slaughter), and Ted Knight (Ted Baxter).

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It received wide praise and numerous awards for its realistic and complex storylines in the era of "second wave feminism", according to an article at The Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Among the issues raised on the show, it tackled equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality interwoven into comedic storylines.

Who was Phyllis Lindstrom?

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Phyllis Lindstrom, nee Sutherland, was the downstairs neighbour and landlady of Richards, played by the late Cloris Leachman.

She was known for her snobbish, self-absorbed and interfering nature and was a recurring character in the show, mainly in the first two seasons, and dealt with the complications of infidelity in marriage.

She was married to Dr Lars Lindstrom, who never featured in the show despite being referenced, and moved to her hometown of San Francisco after the death of Lars, who had had an affair with another woman.

What was the spin off show Phyllis about?

The storyline was the makings of the spin off show, Phyllis, which saw the titled character and her daughter Bess move in with her late husband's mother Audrey and her new husband.

Phyllis explored the world of work as an assistant at Erskine Photography Studio and administrative assistant to the San Francisco City Supervisor Real Estate Agent.

The show ran for two seasons, and featured Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards in two episodes, and was the second of three spin offs, with the other following the characters of Rhoda and Lou Grant.

Leachman won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series in 1975 for Phyllis to go with her two Emmy awards for the same role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show.