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The Mary Tyler Moore Hour ran from March until June 1979 on CBS.

After the disastrous reception given her initial venture into comedy/variety ( the short-lived series Mary in 1978), Mary Tyler Moore returned in the spring of 1979 with this program, a hybrid that was part variety show and part situation comedy, using a show-within-a-show format.

Mary McKinnon ( Mary Tyler Moore) was the star of a fictional network variety series called The Mary McKinnon Show. A versatile singer, dancer, and light comedienne, she had a well-established reputation and a large following. Iris ( Joyce Van Patten), was her personal secretary and companion; Harry ( Michael Lombard), the producer of her show; Mort ( Bobby Ramsen), it's head writer; Kenneth ( Michael Keaton), the ambitious young page; and Ruby ( Dody Goodman), her maid. Stories revolved around the problems encountered in putting a variety show together, including rehearsals and actual numbers from the show itself. Among her "guest stars" all of whom played themselves were former CBS series stars Lucille Ball, Beatrice Arthur, Nancy Walker, and Dick Van Dyke, and current series stars Linda Lavin, Bonnie Franklin, and Ken Howard. Mike Douglas, Gene Kelly, and Johnny Mathis also showed up to help.

Unfortunately, despite all these friends, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour was no more successful than Mary had been, and Miss Moore acknowledged that her forte was indeed straight situation comedy. She promised to return to CBS in the fall of 1980 with a new situation comedy, to salvage her by now tarnished reputation. But instead, she tried broadway starring in the play Who's Life Is It, Anyway?, for which she won a special Tony Award in 1980, and feature films, winning accolades for her performance in Ordinary People which won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1980.

For more on The Mary Tyler Moore Hour go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Hour