Posted by Dennis on June 24, 2003 at 12:50:02:
Here is a transcript of Larry King's interview with Mary Tyler Moore last night - Thank You Larry King!
KING: Always good -- pleasure to welcome Mary Tyler Moore to these cameras. Television's comedy goddess, star of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," the Academy Award nominee, seven-time Emmy Award winner. She is here tonight with another hat she is wearing. The international chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She heads up this years Children's Congress in Washington. She was last with us last month with her co-partner Dick Van Dyke when they appeared in the gin game which aired on PBS.
What is this children's Congress all about?
MARY TYLER MOORE, INTL. CHMN. JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FDN.: It's a wonderful opportunity for 200 youngsters ranging in age from 2 to 17 years old to come to Washington to talk with their representatives, both in the Senate and in the House. It also gives these children a chance to see how their government works, meeting new friends, people who have diabetes. They spend most of their lives as unique people. They don't have a chance to see a lot of other diabetics and here they do.
KING: How were they selected?
MOORE: They write in and they ask to be considered. And many people pour over the applications and based on how responsible they are and how they're following the instructions of their doctors and getting along, they are selected.
KING: I had the honor MC'ing one of though event a couple years ago, it's a great event and a great idea.
MOORE: It is. And you were a great MC. You did a great job.
KING: The obvious though, does it pay off?
MOORE: Yes, it does. I am told that when those children, not me, but when the children come to Washington, it really hits home with the people who make the decisions as to the allocation of funds for the research that will provide the cure.
KING: Now, tomorrow you and several researchers and at the end of the program we'll meet one such science professor, Dr. Melton. Are going to appear on the Hill.
What are you telling the representatives, what are you asking for?
MOORE: I'm asking for money. I'm telling them how necessary it is. I will be giving testimony about what it's like to live with diabetes, how uncertain daily life is for everybody from children to old ladies. And I will be thanking them for the allocation that they gave us last year of $750 million to go into research over the next five years to find a cure for type I diabetes, which is the kind I have.
KING: Juvenile as it is more commonly, right?
MOORE: Juvenile diabetes, in the case of type I it means the pancreas has ceased to produce any insulin as a result of the body's immune system destroying the beta cells that make the insulin. We don't understand why that happens. But that is...
KING: It is the more dangerous of the two, is it not?
MOORE: Yes, it is. Type II diabetes or obesity or maturity on set, can be controlled with oral medication, and diet and exercise. But the odd thing about it is the same complications happen to both types. Blindness, the leading cause of adult on set blindness, stroke, heart disease, kidney failure. The derogation of the body is ceaseless and it can happen to you at any point. You don't know.
KING: Were you alarmed by that front page report last week that more and more children are going to be born and have diabetes than ever before. This is a national crisis.
MOORE: Yes, it is. Particularly with type II diabetes, that seems to be sweeping the country as a result of lifestyle. Children who don't get out and exercise who are watching videos and eating fast foods and so on, it's a result of the way our society has set things up, I think. But there are children born all the time with type I diabetes and that's what we're after.
KING: And you're going to ask Congress to support the pancreotic cell transportation act of 2003.
What is that?
MOORE: This is a protocol that was developed in Edmonton, where in they were able to take beta cells from the pancreas of cadavers and transplant them into diabetics who are desperate and need this transplant. They don't do well on insulin. The problem is many fold. For one thing, there just aren't that many cadavers to handle all of the type I diabetics that are needy. And, two, the toxic medications that you have to take to not have your immune system reject these cells that have been transplanted is so toxic that people very often don't do well. And in fact, it's awful. It cannot happen to children.
KING: How are we coming along with stem cell research?
That's going to be the eventual cure for this, isn't?
MOORE: Yes, it is for diabetes and many other devastating diseases. I think President Bush who gave a lot of thought and very determined care to his decision in allocating a certain amount, but I think he didn't know at the time what the needs were going to be. The needs now show us that we have a capacity to use many more than we can right now.
KING: How did you first learn you had it?
MOORE: I was 30 years old. I had a miscarriage and I was in the hospital and they did a routine blood test on me and a normal range for blood sugar is anywhere from 75 to 110 and mine was 750. In fact, I made it into a medical book, not as Mary Tyler Moore, but some other name because they couldn't figure out how it is that I was still walking around and functioning at that high of level. They put me on insulin almost immediately and I've been lucky. I have had a scrape with death a few times and some threats out there, losing a toe or losing my eyesight. Fortunately, neither of those things have happened, but there are compromises.
KING: Does someone with juvenile diabetes have a greater desire for sweets?
MOORE: No, not at all.
KING: So, that's a misapprehension then.
MOORE: Yes.
KING: There are also times you need sweets, right?
MOORE: If you become hypoglycemic. If your blood pressure is dropping, that is a terrible thing and very dangerous and you need to get something in you right away to elevate the glucose level. For me, that is orange juice because that's one of the fastest things that will get the blood. But, you know, sometimes I have to eat a candy bar.
KING: Do you know -- I'm told that type I accounts for $132 billion in healthcare costs in the United States alone alone.
MOORE: It's shocking what the costs the government to care for all of these people who become the victims of the complications of diabetes. And the lengthy lives they lead then dependent on dialysis. Any number of treatments that they have to undergo.
KING: Now we're going to take a break and come back with Mary Tyler Moore, take a few phone calls. Later we will have our closing moments with Dr. Melton.
The last time -- we'll show you a clip of Mary Tyler Moore testifying in June of 2001. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: Chairman Leaven, Senator Collins, members, we're here again because of our children. Our loved ones with diabetes. They look to us for comfort for a way to stop their suffering and we are determined to find it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I know who my hero is? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not a princess, it's not a cowboy. It could be a mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My hero is going to make us all better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My hero is going to cure juvenile diabetes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my best hero.
MOORE: Kids with juvenile diabetes need you to be their hero, now more than ever. Please, help us find the cure now. Your donation makes you...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That's the public service campaign now running all over the United States for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Do you do a different set of spots every year?
MOORE: Yes, we do. We do. We do the 10, 15, 30 and 60-minute spots and hope that the networks and stations will play them.
KING: You mean 10, 15, 30 and 60-second spots?
MOORE: Yes, right.
KING: Sixty-minute spots you won't get.
MOORE: Those are a tough sell.
KING: You've been chairman of this foundation for 19 years.
MOORE: That's right.
KING: When you took it on, did you think you would be doing it this long?
MOORE: I knew it was a serious, long-term endeavor. There was no question about it. But I'm really happy that I've been able to throw aside my concerns. At first when they asked me to speak out on behalf of JDRF, at that time it was just called JDF, I thought, well, if people look at me and they see how active I am and how healthy- looking I am, they will not take it seriously, or they'll look at me and say, well, she's going to fall over any minute now. You know, so I finally just said, the hell with that, let's just get out there and do what I need to do.
KING: Let's take a call for Mary Tyler Moore. She testifies tomorrow. The children's Congress is going on right now in Washington, for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Kansas City, hello.
CALLER: Yes, hello.
KING: Yes, go ahead. CALLER: Yes, Ms. Moore, I was just wondering what are some of the symptoms that you should look for in children that might have diabetes that you're just unaware of? Are there some symptoms that you need to look for?
MOORE: Yes. There are. Thirst. Unreasonable thirst. Drinking water all the time. Frequent urination. A feeling of fatigue, lethargy. What else? I think that's about it.
KING: And then the child would get a blood test?
MOORE: The child would then get a blood test, and that would tell the doctor immediately what the situation is. And there might be a glucose tolerance test, which they give you sugar to eat, and over a period of time they test your body's tolerance for the sugar.
KING: Mary, you keep wiping the curl away, it looks great.
MOORE: Oh, does it, really?
KING: Leave it. I like the drop.
MOORE: But, you see, I'm looking into the monitor and it's going the wrong way. There.
KING: No, I like it. Oh, that's nice. Now you got a double drop. OK...
MOORE: All right, double is better than one.
KING: Corona del Mar, California, hello.
CALLER: Hello.
KING: Hi.
CALLER: Mary, I would like to thank you first of all for all that you've done for juvenile diabetes. My question is, having had diabetes for 29 years myself, I am wondering, have you ever considered an insulin pump. I am currently on an insulin pump and it has made the world of difference.
MOORE: I hear that from so many people that I think I will certainly have to do that at some point.
KING: Do you still inject yourself?
MOORE: Yes, I do.
KING: Doesn't the pump eliminate that?
MOORE: Yes, it does.
KING: So why not?
MOORE: I don't know why not. I think maybe it's because I grew up as a dancer and I just don't like the idea of having something attached to my body, which is about line and grace, and I don't know, it's a very immature viewpoint.
KING: In other words, it's aesthetic.
MOORE: Yes, probably so.
KING: Because the pump does work.
MOORE: Yes, it does!
KING: OK, don't get mad at me. I'm just trying to help you.
MOORE: No you're not, you're trying to humiliate me into getting the pump. All right, I will.
KING: She's so hard to convince. Are you, really now, confident that this disease is going to be cured?
MOORE: Oh, yes. I don't think there is any question about that. And when you talk with JDRF volunteer scientist Dr. Melton, I think you will hear that from him, too. Especially as we get involved in stem cell. In that research, once we can produce some effects from that, I think it's a very quick trip to the curing of several diseases.
KING: Haven't we seen in your 19 years a lot of advances?
MOORE: Absolutely. Improved methods of checking the blood, finer syringes for injecting the insulin, better methods of testing. All kinds of dietary improvements, knowledge about exercise, what kind of exercise, all of these things have been very helpful. When you think that 35 to 40 years ago they were thinking of diabetes as a kind of mental illness, especially when evidenced by low blood sugar, which leaves you very strange feeling and unable to function, they were just putting people into mental hospitals. We've come a long way.
KING: By the way, for more information on juvenile diabetes and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, there's an 800 number. It's 800-533-CURE, 1-800-533-CURE, or visit the Web site at www.jdrf.org. That's www.jdrf.org. By the way, we thank Paul Brownstein (ph) for the clips he has provided tonight, as well, reminding you that "Mary Tyler Moore" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" set of DVDs are all going to be released October 21. She stars in a new television movie called "Blessings," which will be aired on CBS. What is that about?
MOORE: It is based on a novel, "Blessings," by Anna Quindlen, a wonderful book that I read last year, never dreaming that I was going to be able to play the matriarch, who was an 82-year-old woman. Argue with me now, Larry. Say no, you couldn't possibly do that.
KING: How can you play an 82-year-old woman? No, really, how do you do that?
MOORE: Brilliant, brilliant makeup and hair people who did the trick. And a fabulous cast. It was directed also by Arthur -- excuse me, by Arvin Brown, who directed "The Gin Game." Wonderful producer, Larry Sinitski (ph), and a young man named Leon Wait (ph) who is the son of Ralph Wait (ph), and Kathleen Quinlan and China Chow (ph). It's a brilliant cast.
KING: By the way, the American Screenwriters Association honored Moore with a David Angell Humanitarian Award last year for her contributions as chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and for helping to improve the lives of other diabetics. I was honored to be at that dinner.
MOORE: You were.
KING: It was a good night for you, Mary.
MOORE: You were there.
KING: In fact, I made the presentation...
MOORE: You did.
KING: For Mary Tyler Moore that night. That was a great, great evening for you, and I congratulate you on that.
MOORE: Thank you.
KING: And there I am standing with you...
MOORE: There you are.
KING: ... as you get your many, your multi-trophied career. Right?
MOORE: No.
KING: Do you like going to Washington? Do you like having to appear -- do you like doing this kind of thing?
MOORE: Yes, I do. I really do. It makes me nervous, because I want to do so well by the cause. I want to make sure that I speak it correctly and with the passion that I feel, and make people think, maybe change their minds.
KING: Where do children get their courage from, do you think? They're amazing when you meet these children.
MOORE: Oh, children. Aren't they just -- children can adapt to anything. You know, especially with a little love and support from the family. And also from the children in their schools, their teachers, their counselors. It's very important to make sure that everybody understands what diabetes is, so that it's not scary or frightening to others, but an interesting aspect of what other people are made of.
KING: We'll take a break and come back with our remaining moments, and Dr. Melton will join us as we wrap things up with Mary Tyler Moore. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: Do you know you have a stain on your tie?
DICK VAN DYKE, ACTOR: How did you know?
MOORE: I do wish you wouldn't point, it's so impolite.
VAN DYKE: Lora!
MOORE: My name is not Lora, it is Lolack (ph). Lolack (ph) of Twilo (ph). I see you.
VAN DYKE: It's not possible!
MOORE: My eyes, don't touch my eyes.
VAN DYKE: I got to wake up, I've got to get out of this nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Joining Mary Tyler Moore in Washington is Dr. Douglas Melton, Harvard science professor, associate director of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He has two children who have been diagnosed with diabetes, Sam and Emma. Is that what got you involved, Dr. Melton?
DOUGLAS MELTON, PH.D., ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, JDRF: Yes, it is. My son Sam was diagnosed when he was six months old, and Emma, my daughter, who is now 16, was diagnosed a little more than a year ago, and as millions of parents with children with type I diabetes, it gets your attention, and that's why I now work on that problem.
KING: How did you find out at age 6 months?
MELTON: Well, Sam got very ill and was taken to the hospital, and it was unclear at first from what he suffered, as Mary had said earlier. And yet the doctors and nurses discovered after some hours that he had very high blood sugar and was then diagnosed as a type I or juvenile diabetic.
KING: And he was delegated to the first children's Congress, and now Emma is one of eight children representing Massachusetts at this third Congress, right?
MELTON: That's right. Yes. Emma gave a nice talk today to introduce Secretary Thompson, and we're excited to be down here to lobby the Congress for more funding.
KING: Now, you're not a physician. Your field is science. Are you as confident as Mary is about curing this disease? MELTON: I think that there are very good ideas now about how to cure the disease. And among them one of my favorites is the idea of using stem cells to make more pancreatic beta cells, that is the cells which make insulin, and then use those for transplantation. One still has to solve an autoimmune rejection problem, but the things we learn in the lab every month or two, my colleagues and myself, convince me that it's going to be possible to cure the disease in the future.
KING: You're going to need a lot more stem cells, though, right?
MELTON: I think it will be a help if there are more stem cells available to researchers, but there is the challenge to figure out how to instruct these cells to become insulin-producing cells. But as I said, I'm confident that that can be done.
MOORE: That's the magic of these cells, Larry, is that they can be trained to become anything the scientist wants it to be. Is that right?
MELTON: That's right. Mary is absolutely right. The cells are unique because they have the potential to become any part of the body. And we're in my lab and others are trying to tell them and instruct them to become these pancreatic cells.
KING: How well, doctor, does a layperson like Mary do with this?
MELTON: She's so good, I am going to invite her to come and give and the lectures for me at Harvard.
KING: She's that good. But you're as confident as she is, very important to bring that home.
MELTON: I think so, yes. I am very confident and very committed, of course, to solve this problem.
KING: Do your children use the automatic pump or do they inject?
MELTON: Well, like Mary, my daughter Emma doesn't like to use the pump now, so she does injections, but my son Sam has been using the pump very effectively for several years now.
MOORE: And a little child shall lead them.
KING: Mary may go to the pump. Doctor, I thank you very much. I want to give the numbers out again, because it's very important. It's 1-800-533-CURE, 1-800-533-CURE. Or visit the Web site at www.jdrf.org.
Best of luck tomorrow in your testimony, congratulations on all you do and continued success with the Congress, and the hope, the best hope is one day there is no Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
MOORE: Thank you. Absolutely.
KING: We hope you wipe out the foundation. That would be great news. MELTON: Thank you very much.
KING: Thank you. Dr. Douglas Melton of Harvard, and Mary Tyler Moore. I'll come back and tell you about tomorrow night. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Tomorrow night, on LARRY KING LIVE, John Walsh returns with a lot of updates, including his thoughts on that capture down in Mexico by bounty hunters. John Walsh has been on top of that case. Walsh, tomorrow night. "NEWSNIGHT" in New York is next.
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Interview with Mary Tyler Moore>