20 years ago, Mary met Twin Cities woman who walked into opening credits

Editor's note: This story was originally published on Oct. 19, 1996, about three years before Hazel Frederick passed away.

Millions have seen her face - an older woman staring quizzically as an ebullient young Mary Tyler Moore tosses her hat into the air in downtown Minneapolis.
But few knew who she was - not even Moore, who filmed the famous intro scene for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" 25 years ago.
This afternoon, the two women meet for the first time.

"I didn't even know what was going on," said Hazel Frederick, now 88 and a nursing home resident. "I just walked up to this crowd and this woman threw her hat up in air. I guess I just got in the way."
The show was well into its first season before Frederick's grandson spotted her amid the opening credits. But for years, only her family and friends knew about it.
Until Thursday, that is. During an interview on a Twin Cities radio station, Moore mentioned that she had often wondered who that woman was, the woman whose puzzled look became almost as memorable as Moore herself. Frederick's granddaughter, Carol Berg, happened to be listening.
And so today, Moore and Frederick will meet at the Mall of America, where Moore is promoting her new book, "After All."
"I hardly know what to say," said Frederick, who moved to Maranatha Care Center in Brooklyn Center 10 months ago. "But I'll probably figure something out. I usually do."