 In addition to these regulars, major stars appeared as themselves in the guise of being guest stars on the fictional McKinnon program.Some of these included Lucille Ball, Beatrice Arthur, Nancy Walker, Linda Lavin, Bonnie Franklin, Ken Howard, Mike Douglas, Gene Kelly, Hal Linden, Johnny Mathis, Paul Williams and Dick Van Dyke.Despite having no narrative connection to her earlier sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Mary Tyler Moore Hour" featured an instrumental version of that sitcom's theme music.