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 MTM Kitty 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:
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The Bob Newhart Show: |
Mimsey kitten meows normally as on The MTM Show. |
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The Duck Factory:
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As the logo forms, a off-screen voice
states, "And now, here's
the cat!" Instead of meowing, the cat says, "Quack!"
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Graham Kerr:
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The kitten wears a chef's hat. |
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Hill
Street Blues: |
The MTM kitty wears a policeman's
hat. |
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Newhart: |
The kitten lip-syncs "Meow" (voice of Bob
Newhart). In the last episode, the kitten lip-syncs Darryl and Darryl yelling
"QUIET!!!" |
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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." |
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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. |
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The Steve
Allen Show: |
The kitten lip-syncs "Schmock!"
(voice of Steve Allen) |
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The White Shadow:
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A kitten with black splotches
dribbles a basketball off both
M's in the MTM logo. |
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WKRP in Cincinnati:
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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!" |
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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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