Posted on 04/25/2009 5:10:06 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Beatrice Arthur, an icon of '70s TV as the star of Maude, and then one of the staples of '80s TV as one of the leads in The Golden Girls, has died at age 86, according to an Associated Press report. A family spokesman told AP the Emmy and Tony Award winner had cancer, and died peacefully at her home in Los Angeles.
Arthur's best-known roles came in popular sitcoms that didn't shy away from the serious issues of the day. On Maude, which aired from 1972-1978, Arthur's pantsuit-wearing, feminist title character had an abortion, which resulted in a flurry of viewer protests. Arthur scored five Emmy nominations and one win for the role. The ribald, hilarious Golden Girls -- which over seven seasons tackled hot-button issues such as menopause, homophobia, suicide, and racism -- found Arthur playing gruff, wisecrack-spewing divorcée Dorothy Zbornak, who shared a Miami home with her mother and two loopy friends. Arthur picked up four more Emmy nods and one win as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.
(Excerpt) Read more at news-briefs.ew.com ...
God bless you Bea, rest in peace.
Didn’t really dig The Golden Girls.. but she was so great the in the Star Wars Holiday Special.
She was about as sweet and inviting as a burning tire.
Archie: “This country was ruined by Franklin Delano Roosevelt!”
Maude: (slowly turning her head to address Archie) “You’re fat!”
Archie: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but Franklin Delano Roosevelt!”
Edith: (from her chair) “Archie, you promised never to say that name again in front of Maude!”
Archie: (to Edith) “Franklin Delano Roosevelt!”
Edith: (to Maude) “He doesn’t, don’t mean nothing. His whole family was for Roosevelt.”
Archie: “That was for two terms but that was it! We didn’t know the guy was going to hang onto the job like a pope!”
Maude: (Furiously standing up) “He hung on to save the country! The people adored him, he was a saint. (Points finger up at the ceiling) That man had charisma!”
Archie: “I don’t care if he was sick! He always had his big mouth open at them fireside chats!”
Thanks. ; )
Semper Fi Miss Bea.
You made us laugh, you made us cry.
Didn’t agree with her on alot of things, but a great actress.
Prayers for your friends and family who are gonna miss you much.
They were trying to soften folks up for the decision they knew was coming. Kind of like the way they pushed homosexuality on the public in sitcoms, got people used to the idea, then pushed for homosexual marriage and special rights.
She was quite a lady. I remember the one eposode of MAUDE where it was just her on the tv. It was a one woman dialoge. Don’t agree with her feminists views but hats off to her she was quite a lady.
Lear apparently didn’t do much of the writing on any of his shows. Carol Occonor said the cast never liked Lear’s scripts and that he (Oconnor) completely rewrote most of them.
I never really liked her characters but then again, that was the point I think. She was funny and I laughed everytime.
According to Wikipedia, her first theatrical experience was in Lysistrata. Maybe that explains some of her later attitudes--Aristophanes corrupted her.
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