 MTM
Cat - Little orange kitty cat seen on the closing logo of the MTM Mary
Tyler Moore Enterprises, Inc. TV Productions. A parody of the roaring Leo the
Lion mascot (who appeared at the beginning and ending of the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
films) the "MTM" kitty concluded each episode with a sweet but timid "Meow."
According to her biography After All (Dell Publishing, 1995) Mary Tyler Moore
recalled how MTM was very similar to MGM Studios corporate name. With that in
mind, producer Allan Burns said "MTM's a small company so we could have an
orange kitten meow in the same setting as their lion. A few days later, a visit
to the local animal shelter produced the kitten that would roar. After her foray
into show business, the kitten lived the remainder of its life in the San
Fernando Valley home of an MTM staffer."
Mimsey was born in 1968 and died in 1988. The Mimsey logo has appeared at the end of many MTM productions and with a
number of variations. On episode # 71 of the original series Mary Tyler Moore
appeared in place of the MTM Kitty, and mouthed the words "Th-th-th-that's all
folks!" [a repeat of the phrase she spoke in the same episode].
Other programs produced by MTM productions used a variation of the Mimsey Logo. Here is a list:
|
The Bob Newhart Show: |
Mimsey kitten
meows normally as on The MTM Show. |
|
The Duck Factory:
|
As the logo
forms, a off-screen voice states, "And now, here's
the cat!" Instead of meowing, the cat says, "Quack!" |
|
Graham Kerr:
|
The kitten wears
a chef's hat. |
|
Hill Street Blues: |
The MTM kitty
wears a policeman's hat. |
|
Newhart: |
The kitten
lip-syncs "Meow" (voice of Bob Newhart). In the last episode, the kitten
lip-syncs Darryl and Darryl yelling "QUIET!!!" |
|
Remington Steele: |
The kitten wears
a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap and
meerschaum pipe. As it begins to meow, the the pipe falls out of its mouth
and rests in front of the word "Productions." |
|
St. Elsewhere: |
The kitten wears
a surgical mask and smock. In final episode,
the kitten is shown underneath the credits, hooked up to life-support. As
the show's credits reach their conclusion, the kitten goes flatline. |
|
The Steve Allen Show: |
The kitten
lip-syncs "Schmock!" (voice of Steve Allen) |
| The White Shadow: |
A kitten with black splotches dribbles a basketball off both
M's in the MTM logo. |
| WKRP in Cincinnati: |
On the original
series, the kitten meows normally. On the new series, THE NEW WKRP IN CINCINNATI, the kitten lip-syncs Les Nessman
saying "Ooooooh!" |
| Xuxa: |
The kitten lip-syncs Xuxa saying "Ciao!" |
Mimsey & Mary
In 1991, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show 20th Anniversary" (2/18/91) featured a
reunion of the classic sitcom's cast. At its conclusion, the MTM cat said "Bye!"
(voice of Mary Tyler Moore). On the videos produced by MTM Home Video, the MTM
kitten holds a remote control, meows, hits "rewind" and replays the frames where
the kitten meows. See also - "MGM
Lion"
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