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'There Are No Words:' Dick Van Dyke, Others Pay Tribute To TV Icon Mary Tyler Moore

 NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tributes are pouring in for TV icon Mary Tyler Moore, who died Wednesday in Greenwich, Connecticut at the age of 80.

There's a growing collection of flowers and candles at her Hollywood star and fans are paying respects at a statue of Moore in Minneapolis, the setting for her groundbreaking CBS sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

EXTRAS: Remembering Mary Tyler Moore | 5 Facts About Mary Tyler Moore

Moore got her big break in the 1960s as frazzled wife Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke show,'' and went on to win seven Emmy Awards over the years.

"There are no words," actor and co-star Dick Van Dyke tweeted, linking to a YouTube clip of the two performing together. "She was THE BEST!"

"She had kind of a mid-Atlantic accent, kind of a Katherine Hepburn and I thought, 'God, she's beautiful but do you think she could do comedy?" he told "CBS This Morning." "It was amazing how quickly she picked it up... In no time she had us laughing."

It was as the plucky Minneapolis TV news producer on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' that Moore truly made her mark.

"My heart goes out to you and your family," Ed Asner, who played Moore's boss on show, tweeted.  "Know that I love you and believe in your strength."

Moore played a 30-something journalist in the 70s. The prime-time hit featuring her life as a single, working woman was an inspiration to many women then and now.

"She was just down to earth and someone who seemed familiar to you," one fan said.

"I think she empowered us in a lot of ways," said another.

The series ran seven seasons and won 29 Emmys, a record that stood for a quarter century until "Frasier'' broke it in 2002.

"She will be so missed," Carol Burnett said in a statement. "She was a pioneer on television and also one of the sweetest, nicest people I ever knew."

Her impact was felt off screen as well. Moore battled alcoholism and juvenile diabetes and was an advocate as the international chairperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for over 30 years.

Both "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" aired on CBS. Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves released a statement, saying in part, "CBS has lost one of the very best to ever grace our airwaves and our industry has lost a true legend and friend."

"Mary Tyler Moore: Love is All Around,'' is a new CBS News special airing 9 p.m. EST Thursday. Gayle King, co-host of "CBS This Morning,'' will anchor the salute to Moore's life and legacy.

CBS said it will use interviews and its archival footage to tell her story.

(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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