Mary Tyler Moore's Husband Speaks Out About Her Death: 'Mary Was My Life, My Light, My Love'
Dr. S. Robert Levine continues to mourn the death of his wife, Mary Tyler Moore; the two had been married for 33 years.
Moore died on Jan. 25 in Greenwich, Connecticut, of cardiopulmonary arrest after contracting pneumonia, the actress' rep confirmed to ET. She was 80.
"I can’t believe she is gone. Mary was my life, my light, my love," Levine said in a statement to People. "The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom. She was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing. Mary was fearless, determined, and willful. If she felt strongly about something, or that there was truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the consequences."
"She was kind, genuine, approachable, honest, and humble. And she had that smile," the statement continued. "Oh, to see her smile that smile, just once more. … My sadness is only tempered by the remarkable outpouring of good wishes, tributes, and personal ‘Mary stories’ told, with heart, by those touched by her grace."
"As long as we all remember her, talk about her, share our stories about her, and what she meant to us, her light will never go out," the statement concluded.
Moore was laid to rest in a private ceremony on Sunday morning at Oaklawn Cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut. A few days before her burial, Betty White took to social media to pay tribute to her special friend.
"Mary Tyler Moore, Grant Tinker, Allen Ludden and I had some of the best times of my life together," she wrote alongside a throwback pic. "She was special."
White and Moore starred together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, and Moore spent her last television appearance guest-starring on White's TV Land Sitcom, Hot in Cleveland.
"It's wonderful, but it makes me sad too. It makes me feel, well, why don't I have this in my current life?" Moore told ET of the reunion, which also featured Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, and Georgia Engel, at a press conference for the special episode.
"Where are all these friends, buddies, and co-workers, and people who loved each other? Why can't they be around?" she continued. "Or maybe they can."
See more in the video below.