Hollywood’s history is full of celebrities who playfully "borrow" mementos from set. We’ve heard tales of Bryan Cranston taking Walter White’s pork pie hat from "Breaking Bad," and Ariana Grande snagging prosthetic ears from "Wicked."
It’s only natural to assume Mary Tyler Moore would have kept the iconic hat from the opening credits of her beloved 1970s series, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." That unforgettable moment—Mary Richards, her character, gleefully tossing her tam-o’-shanter into the Minneapolis sky amidst bustling city life—is a symbol of pure joy and empowerment, cemented in pop culture. This scene, replicated in shows like "Scrubs" and "The Simpsons," and even cast in bronze where it happened, was a defining feature throughout the show’s entire seven-season run.
So, how exactly did she manage to keep such a recognizable piece of television history?
"Well, you have to remember: She owned the company," her husband, S. Robert Levine, gently clarified. "I think someone simply put it in an envelope for her."
That makes sense. As the MTM of MTM Enterprises, the production company responsible for all 168 episodes from 1970-77, Ms. Moore certainly didn’t need to sneak into the costume department to retrieve her piece of history. Yet, she also didn’t display the woolen cap like a prized possession or a hunting trophy; it wasn’t something she’d casually show off at gatherings.
An iconic still from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" shows Mary Tyler Moore, as Mary Richards, smiling broadly and tossing her hat. This image captured a new wave of feminism for American audiences, portraying an independent woman at a local TV news station in Minneapolis.
"It wasn’t something we just passed around, no," Dr. Levine chuckled. For years, Ms. Moore had kept the hat tucked away in a file drawer in her office. "It was only when I started going through all her belongings that I discovered it."
In the eight years since Ms. Moore’s passing at age 80, this exploration of her belongings has sometimes been at the request of others, such as when the director of the 2023 HBO documentary "Being Mary Tyler Moore" asked Dr. Levine to unearth more personal items for the film. At other times, it’s been part of his own challenging process of "finding what’s next," as he described in a recent interview.
This spring, Dr. Levine sold the expansive Greenwich, Connecticut estate where he and Ms. Moore spent their last 33 years together for $16.9 million. Following this, a Doyle auction in June featured 347 items from the actress’s estate. Among them was the iconic golden capital "M" that adorned Mary’s apartment wall in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which was purchased by HBO documentary producer Lena Waithe for $35,200.
"It’s a significant loss, and I have to admit that," said Dr. Levine, 71. "It’s hard to leave the beautiful home we built together and everything it contained. But it was truly the right moment."
The auction featured a wide array of items, from designer bracelets (Tiffany, Cartier) and acclaimed portraits (Leibovitz, Hirschfeld) to an impressive collection of sterling silver. Notably absent from the bidding were Ms. Moore’s woolen tam-o’-shanter and, indeed, any pieces from her personal clothing collection.
This wasn’t an oversight. By the time the auction was organized, Dr. Levine already had alternative plans for his wife’s extensive collection of designer clothing, including pieces by Armani, Scaasi, and Issey Miyake.
A New Chapter: "Making It After All"
A year after his wife’s passing, Dr. Levine, a retired cardiologist, launched the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, a non-profit organization committed to eradicating diabetes-related vision loss and blindness. Mary Tyler Moore herself lived with Type 1 diabetes and experienced significant vision decline, becoming almost entirely blind by the end of her life, according to her husband.
To further his wife’s lifelong commitment to advocacy—Ms. Moore served as the international chair of Breakthrough T1D, a leading organization in Type 1 diabetes research fundraising—Dr. Levine sought out potential sponsors for the Vision Initiative.
This search led him to Elyce Arons, co-founder of the Kate Spade brand, Kate Spade’s closest friend, and a dedicated Mary Tyler Moore fan since childhood. At the time, Ms. Arons was preparing to publish her memoir, which chronicled over three decades of friendship with Ms. Spade. Fittingly, its title, "We Might Just Make It After All," echoed the famous chorus of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" theme song.
Ms. Arons first met her future business partner, then Katy Brosnahan, in August 1981 on their first day at the University of Kansas. Both aspiring journalists, they soon realized they shared a common inspiration: the fictional local TV news producer, Mary Richards.
"Mary was a modern woman," Ms. Arons, 62, recently shared from the Manhattan showroom of Frances Valentine, the second fashion brand she co-founded with Ms. Spade. "She was single, she was confident, and she made women of my generation believe that we, too, could achieve such independence."
An image shows Elyce Arons, co-founder and CEO of Frances Valentine, presenting design sketches for a Mary Tyler Moore-inspired capsule collection to Ms. Moore’s husband, S. Robert Levine. The iconic tam-o’-shanter rests on the table between them.
A diptych presents a fashion sketch of a blue peacoat ensemble and a separate sketch featuring a striped top with black cigarette pants. The collection draws inspiration from Mary Tyler Moore’s on-screen fashion, especially from her roles as Mary Richards and Laura Petrie. As Laura Petrie, Ms. Moore famously broke norms by wearing cigarette pants while doing housework, a bold statement for the era.
Now, in a beautiful convergence, Ms. Arons is collaborating with Mary Tyler Moore’s legacy.
To support the foundation, Ms. Arons and the Frances Valentine team are developing a capsule collection for Fall 2026. The designs will draw inspiration from two of Ms. Moore’s most memorable early characters: Laura Petrie from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and, naturally, Mary Richards.
The same confidence and spirit embodied by Mary Tyler Moore, which inspired both Ms. Arons and Ms. Spade, will soon be accessible to women today—through a collection featuring cigarette pants, mock turtlenecks, plaid jackets, and ribbed knits. Dr. Levine confirmed that twenty percent of the net sales from this collection will directly benefit the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative.
In March, Dr. Levine visited the city from Connecticut to familiarize himself with the brand. Clearly impressed by what he observed, he extended an invitation to Ms. Arons to visit Greenwich and explore his wife’s personal closet. She accepted without hesitation.
"I was like, ‘When?’" she recounted with enthusiasm.
On the day of her visit, Ms. Arons’s excitement was palpable, as one would expect from someone given unrestricted access to her idol’s wardrobe. Videos from that day capture her trying on various outfits, twirling in each one like a scene from a movie makeover. "It was like Christmas morning," she exclaimed, though the experience was bittersweet, shadowed by the thought of the friend who couldn’t share it.
"I desperately wanted to call Katy and tell her, ‘You won’t believe where I am right now,’" Ms. Arons shared, "because she absolutely should have been there with me." (Kate Spade passed away in 2018).
She also reflected on how to extend this unique experience with Moore’s clothing to a wider audience.
"Our team unanimously agreed her clothes belong in a museum," Ms. Arons recalled. "They deserve a place at the Met, or F.I.T., or the Smithsonian. Somewhere truly significant."
A Bit of Naiveté, or Just Optimism?
The Frances Valentine showroom, located in the historic Beaux-Arts Building overlooking Bryant Park—once home to Jazz Age artist Florine Stettheimer’s studio—hosted Dr. Levine and Ms. Arons on a sunny late-July Wednesday morning. They sat at a white table, surrounded by design sketches and photographs of Mary Tyler Moore’s iconic styles that had provided inspiration.
And there, on the table, was The Hat itself: a compact, saucer-shaped woolen cap, featuring concentric rings of black, indigo, and forest green. Its midnight blue pompom, perhaps a little flattened after decades tucked away in a Manila envelope, was still recognizable.
During an interview, Dr. Levine shared his aspirations for Ms. Moore’s extensive wardrobe. While he couldn’t give an exact count of the garments his wife owned, he humorously recalled her insistence on 100 linear feet of closet space when designing their Greenwich home, noting, "You can be assured that she had that all well filled." Although Ms. Moore’s will didn’t specify what should be done with her clothes, Dr. Levine expressed a strong desire for them to find a home in a major institution, possibly as part of a permanent exhibit. There’s universal agreement that The Hat, above all, is a prime candidate for museum display.
A collection of Ms. Moore’s iconic outfits, including the George Stavropoulos gown she wore to host the 1980 Tony Awards, an elaborate beaded floral ensemble by Arnold Scaasi from a 1992 Museum of Television & Radio event, and another shimmering Scaasi dress from a 1994 literacy gala.
It’s safe to say that the search for a permanent home for these cherished items has progressed more slowly than anticipated.
When Dr. Levine and Ms. Arons approached the Fashion Institute of Technology, Valerie Steele, the director and chief curator of the Museum at F.I.T., clarified in an email that her museum was "not the right venue to accept MTM’s garments" as it didn’t align with their mission. She suggested they consider the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens or the Paley Center for Media as alternatives.
Ms. Arons mentioned that they had also contacted the Costume Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s esteemed fashion division responsible for the annual Met Gala. "We’ve been speaking with them quite recently," Ms. Arons noted, adding, "I believe they’re interested in a few specific pieces." A spokesperson for the Costume Institute, however, refrained from commenting on these discussions.
Dini von Mueffling, a publicist collaborating with Ms. Arons, explained that a primary challenge was the discovery that major exhibitions at leading institutions are typically scheduled two to five years in advance. "Perhaps it was a bit naive of us to assume they’d immediately want it—after all, it’s Mary Tyler Moore!" she remarked.
Was it naiveté or pure optimism? Dr. Levine noted that he saw hints of his late wife’s spirited nature in Ms. Arons’s "positive, positive energy." This perhaps made it easier for him to grant access to his wife’s extensive wardrobe to someone he had met only once before.
"What else was I supposed to do?" he questioned. "When considering the best course of action for all of Mary’s possessions, my instinct was simply to share them. It’s a way to keep her memory alive and for the world to discover another facet of Mary’s incredible legacy."
While he has set aside a few personal items—including a grand Givenchy shawl—Dr. Levine is largely prepared to see his wife’s wardrobe find a new purpose, publicly displayed. "That’s what it deserves," he concluded. "It needs to have a life of its own."