Beatrice Arthur: Encyclopedia - Beatrice Arthur

Beatrice Arthur

Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1923), is an Emmy-winning American actress and comedienne with a distinctive deep voice, acid wit, and height, standing almost 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m). Her notable television roles included the title role on the popular sitcom Maude in the 1970s, and a starring role on The Golden Girls in the 1980s and 1990s.

In the former she played Maude Findlay, an outspoken "limousine liberal" and "New Deal fanatic", living in the wealthy community of Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York, with her husband, Walter (Bill Macy); the show was a spinoff from All in the Family, on which Arthur had appeared in the same role, playing Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton)'s cousin, whom Archie (Carroll O'Connor) couldn't stand.

In the latter she played the character Dorothy Zbornak, a past middle-age substitute teacher who lived in a Florida house owned by Rue McClanahan's character, Blanche Devereaux, along with room-mate, Rose (Betty White). Dorothy's short-tempered, yet "hip" old mother, Sophia, had suffered a stroke and been previously placed in an old age home she despised, was played by Estelle Getty. Getty was actually two months younger than Arthur in real life, and was heavily made-up to look significantly older.

On stage, her roles included "Lucy Brown" in the 1954 Off-Broadway premiere of Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, "Yente the Matchmaker" in the 1964 premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and a 1966 Tony Award-winning portrayal of "Vera Charles" in Mame. In 1981, she appeared in Woody Allen's The Floating Lightbulb; two decades later she toured the U.S. in a one-woman show which opened in Broadway in 2002 as Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. In real life, Arthur was good friends with legendary actress and former co-star Angela Lansbury, and in real life Arthur did not get along with Betty White for most of the time that they worked together on Golden Girls, but they have since become close, especially in light of their mutual friend, Estelle Getty's health woes.

Arthur was born in New York City, but she grew up in Maryland. She became a medical technologist before World War II, when she volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps, becoming one of its first female recruits.

She was married for many years to her second husband, director Gene Saks, with whom she adopted two sons, but the marriage ended in divorce.

Beatrice Arthur - TV work

• Caesar's Hour (regular performer from 1954-1956)
• Maude (1972-1978)
• The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
• Amanda's (1983) (canceled after 4 months)
• The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
• My First Love (1988)
• Dave's World (cast member from 1996-1997)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David's mother on the Season 5 Finale 2005

Beatrice Arthur - Stage appearances

• Threepenny Opera (1954)
• Plain and Fancy (1955)
• Seventh Heaven (1955)
• Threepenny Opera (1955) (revival)
• Nature's Way (1957)
• Fiddler on the Roof (1964)
• Mame (1966)
• The Floating Light Bulb (1981)
• Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends (2002)

Beatrice Arthur - Filmography

• That Kind of Woman (1959)
• Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)
• Mame (1974)
• History of the World: Part I (1981) (Cameo)
• For Better or For Worse (1996)
• Enemies of Laughter (2000)
• Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Beatrice Arthur", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki