A new 100-store shopping mall opened in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area on Monday, May 25, 1974. It was called the Twin Cities Centre. WJM's Ted Baxter, and a film crew, came out to film this momentous occasion.
They first filmed exterior and interior shots of the mall. Then they went to the center of it to film Ted talking about the mall. There was a large fountain there.
Mary Richards was there, as a part of the crew. She and Ted got into an argument.
"Ted, I think it would be better if you stood to the side. Then viewers will see the fountain.
"And I think I should stand in the middle! It gives me more elbow room." He stretched out his arms to emphasize his point.
They were standing quite close to the fountain's edge. When he stretched his arms, he accidentally knocked poor Mary head-first into the water!
It being opening day, there were a lot of people around. Seeing Mary get dunked, many of them laughed!
She straightened herself and got up. Her shoes came off when she fell, so she hunted for them and put them back on. (They were floating in the water.) Then she got out.
An embarrassed Ted looked at her. "Perhaps it would be better if I stood to the side," he said.
They filmed the rest of the incident without further incident.
When Lou Grant later found out about this, he made Ted give her $75 to pay for her ruined dress and shoes!