Minnesota woman was captured for all on television show's credits

BROOKLYN CENTER (AP) -- The Minnesota woman whose quizzical look was captured for millions to see during the opening credits of the ''Mary Tyler Moore Show'' has died.

Hazel Frederick had just finished shopping at Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis one day in 1969 when cameras began filming Moore for the opening to what would become the hit show.

Frederick -- in her green coat with fur collar and matching scarf -- was caught on film watching with a puzzled look as Moore flipped her beret into the air on Nicollet Mall.

Frederick died Sunday at Maranatha Care Center in Brooklyn Center. She was 91.

''We always used to call her our celebrity,'' said Frederick's daughter, Vivian Oliver. ''How lucky can you be? Go downtown, get in front of the TV cameras and be splashed all over the world?''

A neighbor spotted Frederick on the show's first episode and phoned Oliver, who waited a week to see the second episode. Sure enough, there was her mother.

''So I called her. 'Mom! You're on Mary Tyler Moore. Watch it next week,' Oliver said. ''Then we had to call the rest of the kids.''

Frederick's identity actually remained a mystery to nearly everyone else for nearly three decades.

But in 1996, Moore visited the Mall of America for a book signing, and Frederick's granddaughter asked Frederick if she wanted to meet the actress. A radio station helped arrange the visit.

When the two met, Moore invited Frederick to join her on the mall stage, where she introduced her to the crowd of 5,000 as ''my costar.''

Then they both signed autographs.

''She never got a big head about it,'' Oliver said. ''I couldn't imagine how many millions of people have seen her. That show was broadcast to every state in America and around the world. Everybody wondered: Who was that lady in the back- ground? And, of course, we all knew.''