The Tragic Final Years of Mary Tyler Moore’: Widower Dr Robert Levine opens up on star's health battles
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT: Mary Tyler Moore’s widower Dr Robert Levine recently opened up about the former’s health battles during the final years of her life before she died in 2017 at the age of 80. He revealed that the actress experienced vision loss and shared that her health condition deteriorated due to diabetic retinal disease.
Dr Levine also told People that his wife had a hard time filming a guest appearance on a 2013 episode of ‘Hot in Cleveland'. “We had to sit her at the table — everyone came to her,” he recalled. Levine’s interview comes amid the release of Moore’s new documentary, ‘Being Mary Tyler Moore’, which premiered Friday, May 26 on HBO.
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The final days of Mary Tyler Moore’s life amid deteriorating health
Moore’s husband Dr Levine revealed that the ‘Ordinary People’ star experienced loss of vision from diabetic retinal disease towards the end of her life. While the condition can lead to blindness, Moore reportedly attempted to hide her vision loss as long as she could. “She tried to hide that for as long as she could,” Dr Levine told People.
“But at the end, she was unable to even walk across the room safely,” he added. “Imagine Mary as an independent, autonomous, joyful dancer now unable to be active — that theft of self,” Dr Levine mentioned. He also recalled the difficulties Moore faced when she joined her former Mary Tyler Moore show castmates Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, and Georgia Engel to film an episode of ‘Hot In Cleveland’ on September 4, 2013.
Dr Levine said the actress had already lost most of her eyesight from diabetes when the time the episode was filmed. He also shared that Moore spent her final days with him in their Connecticut home. The actress reportedly found comfort in “listening to music” including Frank Sinatra and show tunes. The couple, who married in 1993, would also often “sit and talk.”
Moore’s health struggles inspired Dr Levine to establish the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative after her death. He said that he wanted to “create a world without vision loss from diabetes” after witnessing her wife’s health battles with the hope that Moore’s story can help others. Dr Levine concluded his interview by saying he had been deeply affected by his wife’s death and that the new documentary made him remember Moore’s vibrant spirit. “I cry. I laugh. I'm just bowled over by how extraordinary she was.”
A look into Mary Tyler Moore’s health battles
Moore was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1969, a condition she struggled with for her entire life. The actress had to undergo surgery in 2011 to remove a meningioma, a benign brain tumor. Back in 2014, friends close to ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ star revealed that she was suffering from heart and kidney problems.
It was also announced that Moore nearly lost her vision from diabetes-related health complications. The multi-Golden Globe Awards winner died aged 80 on January 25, 2017, at Greenwich Hospital, after a cardiopulmonary arrest further complicated by pneumonia. She was placed on a ventilator for nearly a week before her death.