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Beatrice Arthur, or Bea for short, star of the 70s sitcom (and All In The Family-spinoff) Maude, and the 80s series The Golden Girls died Saturday, April 25. She was 86. Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side. She had cancer.
We know her as Dewey's babysitter in the episode 1x16 Water Park, which won her an American Comedy Award and an Emmy nomination.
See the Front Page Post for a tribute video with clips from 1x16 Water Park.
Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series All in the Family as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur's own series.
Maude scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977. The comedy flowed from Maude's efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. A total of 24,000 letters of protest poured in. Another episode dealt with Maude discovering she had manic-depressive illness and needed to take the drug lithium.
Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America. Said Norman Lear: "So many people in this business are carbons of other people, but Bea is an absolute original. We needed somebody very strong to stand up against Carroll O'Connor, and we never thought of anybody but Bea". Arthur told TV Guide: "In some ways, I am Maude. Like her, I'm a liberal - sometimes a pretty misguided liberal, I suppose. It just eats me up when I see somebody being dishonest. I'm the sort of person who goes through life taking landlords to small-claims court". She was proud of the impact Maude had: "We've accomplished what we set out to accomplish. For the first time we presented somebody who wasn't just a bubblehead out to get laughs. For the first time, issues were dealt with, thoughts were exchanged. I think we made television a little more adult, I really do."
Golden Girls (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience. The series concerned three retirees — Arthur, Betty White (another MITM guest star) and Rue McClanahan — and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. As Dorothy Zbornak, Arthur seemed as caustic and domineering as Maude. She was unconcerned about the similarity of the two roles. "Look - I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," she told an interviewer. "What can I do about it? I can't stay home waiting for something different. I think it's a total waste of energy worrying about typecasting."
In recent years, Arthur made guest appearances on shows including Curb Your Enthusiasm, as Larry David's mother, and Malcolm in the Middle (as Dewey's babysitter in the episode Water Park). She also won a Tony Award for the stage musical Mame. She was chairwoman of the Art Attack Foundation, a non-profit performing arts scholarship organization.
Arthur is survived by her sons and two granddaughters.
Beatrice Arthur, or Bea for short, star of the 70s sitcom (and All In The Family-spinoff) Maude, and the 80s series The Golden Girls died Saturday, April 25. She was 86. Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side. She had cancer.
We know her as Dewey's babysitter in the episode 1x16 Water Park, which won her an American Comedy Award and an Emmy nomination.
See the Front Page Post for a tribute video with clips from 1x16 Water Park.
Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series All in the Family as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur's own series.
Maude scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977. The comedy flowed from Maude's efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. A total of 24,000 letters of protest poured in. Another episode dealt with Maude discovering she had manic-depressive illness and needed to take the drug lithium.
Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America. Said Norman Lear: "So many people in this business are carbons of other people, but Bea is an absolute original. We needed somebody very strong to stand up against Carroll O'Connor, and we never thought of anybody but Bea". Arthur told TV Guide: "In some ways, I am Maude. Like her, I'm a liberal - sometimes a pretty misguided liberal, I suppose. It just eats me up when I see somebody being dishonest. I'm the sort of person who goes through life taking landlords to small-claims court". She was proud of the impact Maude had: "We've accomplished what we set out to accomplish. For the first time we presented somebody who wasn't just a bubblehead out to get laughs. For the first time, issues were dealt with, thoughts were exchanged. I think we made television a little more adult, I really do."
Golden Girls (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience. The series concerned three retirees — Arthur, Betty White (another MITM guest star) and Rue McClanahan — and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. As Dorothy Zbornak, Arthur seemed as caustic and domineering as Maude. She was unconcerned about the similarity of the two roles. "Look - I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," she told an interviewer. "What can I do about it? I can't stay home waiting for something different. I think it's a total waste of energy worrying about typecasting."
In recent years, Arthur made guest appearances on shows including Curb Your Enthusiasm, as Larry David's mother, and Malcolm in the Middle (as Dewey's babysitter in the episode Water Park). She also won a Tony Award for the stage musical Mame. She was chairwoman of the Art Attack Foundation, a non-profit performing arts scholarship organization.
Arthur is survived by her sons and two granddaughters.
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