Bea Arthur

Bea Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home early Saturday with her family at her side. She would have been 87 on May 13. Her personal assistant for six years said that Arthur had cancer , also said that “She was a brilliant and witty woman,” “Bea will always have a special place in my heart.”

Bea Arthur was the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows “Maude” and “The Golden Girls” and who won a Tony Award for the musical “Mame,” has died.

Her first appearance was in the landmark comedy series “All in the Family” as Edith Bunker’s loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. “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 ratings of “Maude” in the early years approached those of its parent, “All in the Family,” but by 1977 the audience started to dwindle. A major format change was planned, but in early 1978 Arthur announced she was quitting the show.

“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 and Rue McClanahan — and the mother of Arthur’s character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami house. In contrast to the violent “Miami Vice,” the comedy was nicknamed “Miami Nice.”

Arthur character “Dorothy Zbornak” 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.” The interplay among the four women and their relations with men fueled the comedy, and the show amassed a big audience and 10 Emmys, including two as best comedy series and individual awards for each of the stars.

In 2008, Arthur was inducted in the TV Academy Hall of Fame, Arthur pointed to the role as the highlight of her long career. “A lot of that had to do with the fact that I felt, ‘Ah, yes, I belong here,’” Arthur said. More plays and musicals followed, and she also sang in nightclubs and played small roles in TV comedy shows.

Arthur’s biggest Broadway triumph came in 1966 as Vera Charles, Angela Lansbury’s acerbic friend in the musical “Mame,” directed by Saks. Richard Watts of the New York Post called her performance “a portrait in acid of a savagely witty, cynical and serpent-tongued woman.” “She was a rare and unique performer and a dear, dear friend,” Lansbury said in a statement.

She won the Tony as best supporting actress and repeated the role in the unsuccessful film version that also was directed by Saks, starring Lucille Ball as Mame. Arthur would play a variation of Vera Charles in “Maude” and “The Golden Girls.”

Between series, Arthur remained active in films and theater. Among the movies: “That Kind of Woman” (1959), “Lovers and Other Strangers” (1970), Mel Brooks’ “The History of the World: Part I” (1981), “For Better or Worse” (1995).

In recent years, Arthur made guest appearances on shows including “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” She was chair of the Art Attack Foundation, a nonprofit performing arts scholarship organization and was an honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for some two decades.

Arthur is survived by her sons and two granddaughters. No funeral services are planned.

This entry was posted on April 27, 2009 at 10:35 am and is filed under Entertainment News, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.