Monday, April 27, 2009

God'll get you for that, Arthur



I was sorry to hear that Bea Arthur passed away over the weekend. She was one of the funniest women on TV and always brought class and sass to every role she played. Although she had been doing theater for years, she didn't really achieve her celebrity status until she guest-starred in one episode of "All in the Family". The network created the show "Maude" for her immediately after that appearance.



On Maude, she co-starred with future "Golden Girls" actress, Rue McClanahan playing her friend Vivienne, as well as future "Good Times" (a spin-off of "Maude") actress Ester Rolle as her maid, Florida.



But, she will likely be remembered most, worldwide, as the dry-witted Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls".



After "Golden Girls" ended, she continued to work in theater and TV...even playing Carrie Bradshaw in a "Sex and the City" parody for the TV Land awards a few years ago. As always, she was hilarious.



She will be missed.

6 comments:

Brad said...

She was quite the lady. It's too bad there isn't a recording of her playing Vera Charles from Mame - at least I think there isn't - is there?

Vampire Hours said...

Yeah, she was great. She played Vera in the second film version of "Mame" with Lucille Ball. The original film is much better, but Bea is hilarious as always. I know it used to be available on VHS...probably DVD now too.

Roland said...

Shady Pines, Ma. I posted a clip on my facebook page of Bea singing Bosom Buddies...if you'd like to steal it.

Vampire Hours said...

I almost put the Bosom Buddies song on there, but thought I had enough videos. I also titled this post "Shady Pines, Ma!" initially, then changed it at the last moment. Insert "Twilight Zone" music here...

gonoles84 said...

You know I was devastated when I heard the news last weekend. I had the chance to see her one-woman show in North Hollywood a couple of years ago....she would perform in her bare feet!

She will be missed....and so will her Maude-esque vest coat thingys.

Nicely done, Kenneth!

Vampire Hours said...

I really wish I had seen one of her one-woman shows. I heard they were great. Plus, any chance to see her in a coat-vest-thingy was always worth it. Thank God for "Golden Girls" reruns...