"Maude" Star Beatrice Arthur Dies At 86

Comic Actress Also Starred In "Golden Girls," Won 2 Emmys And Tony Award

(CBS/AP)  Beatrice Arthur, 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. She was 86.

She died peacefully at her Los Angeles home early Saturday with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She would have been 87 on May 13.

Arthur had cancer, Watt said, declining to give further details.

"She was a brilliant and witty woman," said Watt, who was Arthur's personal assistant for six years. "Bea will always have a special place in my heart."

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.

In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Arthur said she was lucky to be discovered by TV after a long stage career, recalling with bemusement CBS executives asking about the new "girl."

"I was already 50 years old. I had done so much off-Broadway, on Broadway, but they said, 'Who is that girl? Let's give her her own series,"' Arthur said.

(Yes, she sat in Archie Bunker's chair: Bea Arthur's guest appearance in the "All in the Family" episode "Cousin Maude's Visit" earned her her own spin-off 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. Maude became a standardbearer for the growing feminist movement in America.

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.

"It's been absolutely glorious; I've loved every minute of it," she said. "But it's been six years, and I think it's time to leave."

"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 middle-aged women - Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan - and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. In contrast to the violent "Miami Vice," the comedy was nicknamed "Miami Nice."

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."

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 1992, Arthur announced she was leaving "Golden Girls." The three other stars returned in "The Golden Palace," but it lasted only one season.

She was born Bernice Frankel in New York City in 1922. When she was 11, her family moved to Cambridge, Md., where her father opened a clothing store. At 12 she had grown to full height, and she dreamed of being a petite blond movie star like June Allyson. There was one advantage of being tall and deep-voiced: She was chosen for the male roles in school plays.

Bernice - she hated the name and adopted her mother's nickname of Bea - overcame shyness about her size by winning over her classmates with wisecracks. She was elected the wittiest girl in her class. After two years at a junior college in Virginia, she earned a degree as a medical lab technician, but she "loathed" doing lab work at a hospital.

Acting held more appeal, and she enrolled in a drama course at the New School of Social Research in New York City. To support herself, she sang in a night spot that required her to push drinks on customers.

During this time she had a brief marriage that provided her stage name of Beatrice Arthur. In 1950, she married again, to Broadway actor and future Tony-winning director Gene Saks.

After a few years in off-Broadway and stock company plays and television dramas, Arthur's career gathered momentum with her role as Lucy Brown in the 1955 production of "The Threepenny Opera."

In 2008, when 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.

Then, in 1964, Harold Prince cast her as Yente the Matchmaker in the original company of "Fiddler on the Roof."

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 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."

In 1983, Arthur attempted another series, "Amanda's," an Americanized version of John Cleese's hilarious "Fawlty Towers." She was cast as owner of a small seaside hotel with a staff of eccentrics. It lasted a mere nine episodes.

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).

The plays included Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb" and "The Bermuda Avenue Triangle," written by and costarring Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna. During 2001 and 2002 she toured the country in a one-woman show of songs and stories, "... And Then There's Bea."

Arthur and Saks divorced in 1978 after 28 years. They had two sons, Matthew and Daniel. In his long career, Saks won Tonys for "I Love My Wife," "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Biloxi Blues." One of his Tony nominations was for "Mame."

In 1999, Arthur told an interviewer of the three influences in her career: "Sid Caesar taught me the outrageous; (method acting guru) Lee Strasberg taught me what I call reality; and ('Threepenny Opera' star) Lotte Lenya, whom I adored, taught me economy."

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 non-profit performing arts scholarship organization.

Arthur is survived by her sons, Mathew and Daniel, and two granddaughters, Kyra and Violet. No funeral services are planned.

[barbarafromnj]

Thank you from a 6'-2", deep voiced girl from NEW JERSEY, for being such a wonderful role model for me. Ms. Arthur you will never be forgotten. You gave this girl hope and at 11 years old a reason to live. Thank you. Blessed be. Barbara Anne

[seancarlton707]

I will always remember you and all the golden girls, you bought so much joy, and laughter. I was always amazed at how many young a nd old adored and loved you bea, you can bring happiness to heaven with Estelle, i will never forget, how you made laugh when i thought i couldn't laugh anymore you really were, and still a true wonderful legend
rip "dorothy Zbornak" BEA you and your fans will miss you so you are true golden girl in our hearts. God bless you and your family RIP

[brianbwb-2009]

86 years, a relatively long and full life, richly deserved for one who gave humor to so many. Thank you, Ms. Arthur...

[mchunt1950]

Well, at least it took 4 pages of comments before the negative appeared!

God bless the family of Bea Arthur - she was a great actress!

[mrs_entity]

I didnt like her. As a woman she didnt know her place in society and talked back to men.

[jennifer-marie]

I hadn't read or watched any news over the weekend, so this morning was the first I'd heard of Bea Arthur's passing - and I cried. I grew up with her as Dorothy on the Golden Girls, always telling my dad that Grandma looked and sounded just like that woman on TV. When I lost my grandmother in 2001, I actually solace in watching Golden Girl reruns BECAUSE there were so many similarities between her and Bea Arthur. In a way, it felt like I'd lost my grandmother all over again this morning.

Mrs. Arthur was an amazing actress and had so much confidence in herself in a world that values a much more petite, "feminine" woman. I respected her for that, and always will.

[u-r-right]

I sure wish TVLand would play the great classic sitcoms like they used to. Now it seems most everything they air is either from the 80's or a modern original.

She had singularly the best comic timing of any performer I ever saw. Truly genius.

There was one episode of Maude where her alarm went off four minutes early. She mused aloud" Now, what will I do for four minutes?" Glancing over at her still-snoring husband, she stared straight into the camera while the audience snickered. Then, after a pause that was just long enough, she mused, "But then what would I do with the OTHER two minutes?"

Absolutely rollicking.....

And she had a career full of those. RIP, Bea.

[debinok1]

Rest in peace, dear Bea. You taught us that woman can say what we think and not give a flip what anyone else thinks.

[Correct247]

Rest in Peace, because you earned it throught out your life. You brought laughter in our homes over a of period years with the grace of God and we thank you for that.

[Correct247]

Rest in Peace, because you earned it throught out your life. You brought laughter in our homes over a period years with the grace of God and we thank you for that.

[hsudul]

Bea Arthur what a jewel of entertainer.... What a shortage of actors who can realte
to the older crowd. Betty White bless her heart is going strong.

[swingset4u]

Thank You Bea for entertaining the world. Now it is your time to rest. Rest in Peace...

[SteelersWinAgain]

Rest In Pease.

[commentbot-X19]

Fantastic actress and comedian, she never lost her sense of humor.

"After lengthy femputations, I, Femputer, have decided the fate of the men. Femputer sentences them to death. By snu-snu!"

[fariborzzak]

GOD Bless her,great actress.

[spaceatoms]

I have enjoyed every show or episode of Bea whatever show she starred in, when I compare her shows to shows like Brady Bunch, Gilligans Island, and even the cheesy family sitcom of Cosby; Beas shows rise to the top, I have Golden Girls as one of the top 5 all time comedies along with Threes Company,Seinfeld, Green Acres, and Married with Children. She made the shows with her quick minded tongue in cheek routine and easily was the star. Thanks for the years and fortunately we have your reruns till the end of TV!

[nuchum]

Unfortunately, I cannot find a comment any more fitting or beautiful then those already posted here. Bea was so special to so many people, that most of us have a tear in our eye and a lump in our throats thinking about her passing. Rest in peace dear girl...rest in peace.

[normamom]

I had the honor of seeing Bea Arthur more than once in Mame in 1967. She was magnificent! Rest in Peace, dear Bea. We will remember you always.

[cattlekate1]

Oh goodness! Thanks for the laughs (and the padded shoulders), Bea! Good lord, The Golden Girls was a hoot and a fun ride!