Undergo Brain Surgery Mary Tyler Moore. TV icon Mary Tyler Moore is gearing up to undergo surgery to remove a tumor from her brain, the actress’ publicist divulged to PEOPLE on Thursday.
At the insistence of doctors, Mary, now in her 70s, has elected to undergo surgery to remove a meningioma. A benign tumor of the lining tissue of the brain, the growth is usually found in people over 60.
“At the recommendation of her neurologist, who has been monitoring this for years, and a neurosurgeon, Mary decided to proceed with this fairly routine procedure,” says her rep.
The veteran star broke ground in the 1960s playing Laura Petrie, one of TV’s original sexy housewives on the The Dick Van Dyke Show. She went on to find success playing Minneapolis career girl Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show a decade later. The career, a trailblazer at a fictional television station, was among the small screen’s first depictions of a successful, single, working woman.
In recent years, Moore who lives with Type I diabetes has become an ambassador for treatment and prevention of the life-threatening disease.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery going out to Mary! We’ll simply die if we never again get to watch her toss her hat in the air…