By Variety’s Jack Dunn
The Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative has launched its first public service announcement campaign, which features narration by Academy Award winner Kevin Kline and additional remarks from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. The PSA campaign was created to educate the public on the need for medical research toward the cure of diabetic retinal disease, which afflicted Moore toward the end of her life.
Directed by James Keach, the PSA will run for one year to spread the public service message: “The Sight You Save May Be That of Someone You Love.”
“Mary’s passion and dedication inspired me many years ago to advocate for diabetes research and treatment,” said Kline. “This PSA brings Mary’s story to audiences and humanizes her experience living with diabetes while celebrating the collaborative spirit she was known for in the entertainment industry. Through MTM Vision, Mary’s cause shines on reaching hearts far and wide, just as she did on television for all of us.”
Founded in 2018, the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative is a global non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of new treatments and therapies to help preserve and restore vision in people with diabetic retinal disease. Moore, the beloved star of landmark CBS comedies “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and an Oscar nominee for 1980’s “Ordinary People,” died in 2017 at age 80.
“Diabetic Retinal Disease is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults in the world, affecting millions and millions of people, yet we do not know what we must do to prevent and cure it,” added Dr. S. Robert Levine, Moore’s husband and founder and CEO of MTM Vision. “Our new PSA was created to address the critical need to support research for a cure for DRD. We are committed to creating better ways to diagnose DRD, personalize treatments in the early stages, and find ways to restore vision in later-stage disease.”
In June, the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative unveiled its partnership with Variety. Kristen Wiig was honored with the inaugural Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award, presented as part of Variety‘s annual TV FYC Fest. The actor who rocketed to fame on “Saturday Night Live” was saluted for her impact on entertainment as a writer, actor, producer and entrepreneur.
