Of course Elvis Presley had a crush on Mary Tyler Moore

Looks like Rob Petrie has some competition...

An easier question to ask instead of "Who had a crush on Mary Tyler Moore?" is "Who didn't have a crush on Mary Tyler Moore?" Smart, beautiful, and worst of all, funny. If you were a fan of the Dick Van Dyke Show or The Mary Tyler Moore Show, chances are that, like the rest of us, you were harboring a massive crush on Mary Tyler Moore.

Dick Van Dyke actually talked about their mutual infatuation with each other over the course of filming their hit series. 

It seemed that no one was safe from the charms of Mary Tyler Moore, not even Elvis Presley himself.

According to Mary Tyler Moore's memoir, After All, Moore got to know Presley when they starred together in the film Change of Habit. While the film received less than a warm reception, Moore enjoyed spending time with Presley and said that he was an absolute delight to work with.

Moore wrote, "He was in peak form during that time, careful about what he ate and exercising as if he enjoyed it. He was a thorough professional: always prepared, and willing to spend extra time with the little girl in the piece, a seven-year-old, to make her feel comfortable."

At the time, Elvis was of course, already an international rock star, and that's putting it lightly. However, Moore was a superstar in her own right, having had previous success on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which did not go unnoticed by The King. 

When the two had a minute to chat together, Elvis used that time for a little confession.

Moore wrote, "He confessed right from the start that he'd had a crush on me since The Dick Van Dyke Show. He was so shy about it he was literally kicking at the dirt below him as he talked. He had a tendency, even though I was younger, to call me 'ma'am' out of respect: 'Yes ma'am. Be right there, ma'am.'"

Of course, the two never shared a real romantic moment together, but how great would it be to hear an Elvis love song dedicated to Mary Tyler Moore?

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11 Comments

JHP 7 months ago
can anyone think of those 2 together?! I can't - who would be the alpha?
klt83 8 months ago
If you've seen Change of Habit, there was a not so subtle ending wondering if MTM would choose Elvis over Jesus Christ. Only in the movies would a nun face that kind of choice.
Charlotte 8 months ago
Change of Habit wasn't a bad movie, but when Elvis is suppose to get the lady the nun thing didn't make since. MTM wasn't his typical starlet. All Elvis movies were the Colonel's doing, which is why Elvis hated them.
Charlotte 8 months ago
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cinamac 8 months ago
I once read where she was the only female costar that did not succumb to Presley’s sexual advances!
cinamac 8 months ago
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cinamac 8 months ago
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NancyEddy 8 months ago
I liked "Change of Habit". It was a different movie for EP. I think it was Post-Col. Parker.
njs21 NancyEddy 8 months ago
Col Parker was always there. When Parker had struggled to find any studio willing to pay Presley's usual $1 million fee, he struck a deal with NBC to produce one feature film, and the 68 Special. NBC would pay Elvis $1.25 million for both
BradBeall 8 months ago
Absolutely everyone had a crush on Mary Tyler Moore! As a 5-year-old, I certainly did, and when the Dick Van Dyke Show re-runs began a few years later, those feelings grew. After all, when the show debuted, JFK was President, and his lovely wife Jaqueline was America's heart-throb. MTM was possibly a "closer-to-home" version of Jackie, and after a watching a few episodes, everyone loved her even more... not only was she drop-dead gorgeous, but she could also make us laugh!
MadMadMadWorld BradBeall 8 months ago
I was partial to blondes (i.e., Barbara Eden, Goldie Hawn, etc.), but MTM was so funny, so incredibly talented (dancing, singing) and impossibly beautiful, she was my #1 tv actress, beating out the other two, plus Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) on "Get Smart" (1965-70). MTM peaked as 'Laura Petrie', contrasted with her own series (1970-77) because her more-central character as "Laura" was far more interesting, depth of character development, and way funnier than her 'Mary Richards" character 4+ years later. No other woman's tv character was as much fun to watch as Mary was as the unforgettable "Larushka" (by 'Sergei Carpetna", if you remember that name for her in the marvelous "October Eve" episode--muttered by Carl Reiner as the quirky Russian painter).
MrsPhilHarris 8 months ago
Elvis was interested in all the ladies he worked with.
MrsPhilHarris 8 months ago
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