Almost missed this:
Bea Arthur, the actress best known for her roles as television’s “Maude” and the sardonic Dorothy on “The Golden Girls,” has died of cancer, a family spokesman said Saturday.
No funeral services are currently planned, Watt said, adding that the family asked that donations be made to either the Art Attack Foundation or PETA in lieu of flowers.
Golden Girls was a favorite for my parents.
djork
Thank you for being a friend, Bea.
Jim Wilson
“Golden Girls was a favorite for my parents.”
As you get older, it will become one of your favorites, too. Trust me.
Cat Lady
Why do gay men love Golden Girls? Was it Bea Arthur? My gaydar needs a tune up.
Robin G.
I adore Golden Girls. When I was little, I wanted to grow up and be Bea Arthur. Still do.
RIP.
Timmy
It’s funny that everyone continues to be surprised by Golden Girls. The show had four of the funniest actresses of their generation. The writers had worked on a bunch of classic sitcoms (All in the Family, Maude, Soap, etc.) Basically this was the Yankees of 1980’s television.
Plus, the WWII generation was entering retirement and eager for a show that focused on the positives of retirement (freedom, activity, sexuality) downplayed the negative stereotypes (loneliness, lack of purpose.) Even with the deck stacked, nobody believed the show would succeed.
Random trivia I just found on wikipedia: Estelle Getty, who played Bea Arthur’s mom in the show, was actually younger than Bea Arthur and Betty White.
Persia
I re-watched The Golden Girls right after “Sophia” died, and it holds up a lot better than you’d expect.
There are a lot of reasons gay men love Golden Girls, IIRC, among them the frank talk about sex and Bea Arthur. Who was wonderful.
Brian J
This past weekend, when I learned of her death, I told one of the gay guys I work with about it, knowing that he was a big, big fan of the series. I can’t remember the last time I saw such a dramatic reaction to a death, all jokes aside. You would have thought his own grandmother passed away. Another gay guy I work with had a similar reaction.
I’m not entirely sure why. I mean, I think she was a very funny woman, and “The Golden Girls” is a hysterical show, but I don’t know what makes her or that show so attractive to gay men.
Bea Arthur’s death also made me think of other two other things. The first was the death of my sister-in-law’s mother, who looked like a blond Rue McClanahan, just a few days before this past Christmas. The other was that, from what I’ve seen and read, the shows that Bea Arthur and other ladies like her were one seemed pretty far ahead of their times. They also seemed to be a little more substantial than some of the shows we have today. I don’t know if it’s because they all seem to be associated with Norman Lear, or because they simply reflected the times they were on the air, but regardless, it makes me wish I could watch more of them. As a dirty rotten liberal, I think I’d like “Maude” in particular.
gil mann
And then there’s not Maude.
eastriver
Not to Bea.
The lights have been dimmed on Roadway.
Genine
Yes, its very sad that she died. I was thinking about her work on Maude and Golden Girls and it got me thinking about the evolution of television over the last 30 years or so.
Maude, Archie Bunker, Three’s Company, the Jeffersons, and others were all kind of controversial for its day. Archie was an unrepentant bigot. Maude was a staunch liberal and had an abortion. The Jeffersons explored the rising black middle class in the 70’s. All of these things and more brought certain thoughts and issues to the forefront. Yes, the shows were only a half-hour and comedy, but it was still interesting. I kept thinking how nothing like those shows would survive now.
Some one would whine or complain and talk about “family values” or some bs and the show would be yanked off the air. We don’t have a lot of… “controversial” shows. A lot of “controversy” is of the most superficial sort and not the kind that explores what’s underneath.
RIP, Bea Arthur. You did good work!
Cat Lady
@Brian J:
My daughters’ 20-something gay friends have Golden Girls ring tones. It’s not just older gays. My daughters don’t know why either. It just is, like a law of nature. Perhaps there’s an academic thesis in there for someone.
Cat Lady
@Brian J:
Interesting. My daughters’ 20-something gay friends have Golden Girls ring tones, so it’s not just older gays. My daughters don’t know why, either. It just is, like a force of nature. There might be an academic thesis in there for someone.
Cain
You should watch ‘Maude’. I used to watch that as a kid. For some reason I know her more as Maude than as the gal in Golden Girls which I didn’t watch much. But damn, hell of a woman in that show.
They did some shit in that show they would never do now. I think I remember one episode she got pregnant and ended up having an abortion. That took some serious balls.
cain
Cain
My favorite from teh Jeffersons was when George literally kicked some guy in the ass. The guy was taking advantage of him or something like that. The dude’s reaction was funny, utter shock and the rephrase “What’s the matter with you, niggah!? You flipped!” Laughed my ass off. And of course the reverse racism of George against the mixed couple. The zebra jokes were just funny. They don’t make shows like that anymore..
cain
Krista
I’ve seen more than one person comment that the focus on female friendships, the independence, the wit, and the unabashed sexuality really helped to make possible another pretty popular show about four female friends and their adventures. :)
Trivia bit: when the SATC movie was released, Kim Cattrall was actually a year older than Rue McClanahan was when Golden Girls first aired.
For the SATC movie sequel, I think it should end with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda moving to Florida and having drinks out on the lanai, in homage to Bea and the girls.
Mike
My parents loved The Golden Girls too. But the thought of Bea Arthur as Basil Fawlty is horrifying.
JK
There’s a great episode of Maude where Maude launches a draft Henry Fonda for President campaign and Fonda himself makes a cameo appearance in the episode. Don’t know if this episode is available on dvd but it might be out there somewhere on a file sharing site. It was once on YouTube, but it has since been taken down.
omen
Why do gay men love Golden Girls? Was it Bea Arthur?
i dunno, but she was the quintessential straight man.
DanF
Maude came on after my bed time, but I would always sneak down the hall to quietly watch. Who could sleep after hearing that theme song?
Oddly, my parents are staunch social-conservatives, but their favorite shows from the day were all Norman Lear comedies and M*A*S*H.
Brian J
Another bit of trivia: Bea Arthur was actually a Marine medical technician during World War Two.
Anyway, you hear how a show like “TGG” could never be on television today, because of the types of characters it featured. There’s probably some truth to that, but I doubt if they tried something like it the results would turn out any worse than what the networks have had over the past few seasons. If anything, all of the focus on the fact that it wasn’t a show focused on the 18-49 or 18-34 demographic would be free advertising.
asiangrrlMN
Aw, I just saw this. RIP, Bea Arthur. You will be missed.
AnneLaurie
Why do gay men love Golden Girls? Was it Bea Arthur?
Anyone who loves Bea Arthur is demonstrating their exquisite good taste, of course! (/tongue so firmly in check as to protrude from the vulgar bodily orifice)
It wasn’t (isn’t) just gay men, either. Bea Arthur was the TV version of Molly Ivins or Bella Abzug* — a big, generously built, fiercely intelligent & witty woman who took no nonsense and made no apologies for not being the cultural ideal of a petite little self-effacing darling who downplayed her skills by wrapping them in wide-eyed giggles or “Oh, Rob / Ted… “ whines. Not to downplay Mary Tyler Moore’s talents, but those of us who knew we’d never be described as “perky little pixies” greatly appreciated Arthur’s comedic successes.
(*can’t remember if Archie Bunker ever actually compared Maude to Bella on the show, but I know the NYC critics used the comparison as a critique against both women)
Cat Lady
@Cat Lady:
I found the answer:
youtube.com/watch?v=wxJsl4e0Xmg
There’s a little bit of a tranny vibe.
RIP Bea.