 On the December 28, 1970, "Gunsmoke" episode entitled "Jenny," Gerritsen played a 10-year-old who leaves St. Louis after the death of her mother to find her outlaw father, Lucas Pritchard, portrayed by Steve Ihnat.In 1970, she was cast as Bess Lindstrom, daughter of landlord Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", for which she received critical acclaim.Bess was a precocious child whose mother believed in progressive parenting—Bess always called Phyllis by her first name, read Phyllis' books on child rearing, and was educated on sexuality.