Hazel Frederick
Who the **** was Hazel Frederick?! She was the lady who appeared at the conclusion of the opening montage, during that classic moment when Mary tossed her hat into the air. At last, we have a name for the woman with the momentarily wrenched face! She died in late November, 1999, and on December 1, NBC Later Today devoted a few minutes to her. Here's the transcript:
FLORENCE HENDERSON, co-host: Welcome back to Later Today. A woman who appeared in as many episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as the star herself, died this week at the age of 91. You don't know her name, but as our man in Hollywood, Jim Brown, reports, you definitely know her face.
(Footage from The Mary Tyler Moore Show is shown throughout the report).
JIM BROWN reporting:
Each week, from 1970 to 1977, The Mary Tyler Moore Show's opening montage and theme song established the length between Moore's single, 30-something character and the city of Minneapolis. It ended with the famous beret-tossing shot. Caught on film in that freeze was not only Mary, but the puzzled reaction of a woman who just happened to be passing by the film location that day in 1969. Her name is Hazel Frederick, and she died this week at the age of 91. Her oldest daughter recalls her mother's TV immortality came on a downtown Minneapolis shopping trip.
Ms. VIVIAN OLIVER (Hazel Frederick's daughter): No, she had no idea who it was. She didn't even know who it was until Mary Tyler Moore showed on the air. All she saw is all these people and 'What was that lady throwing her hat in the air for?' This is what puzzled her. This is why she's got that quizzical look.
BROWN: Outside of family and friends, Frederick's TV identity remained a mystery until Mary Tyler Moore came to Minneapolis in 1996 on a book signing. It was then Frederick and Moore met for the first time.
Ms. HAZEL FREDERICK (1996): I'm thrilled to death and excited that I met her in person.
BROWN: For "Today", Jim Brown, NBC News, Hollywood.
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