All In The Family

Beatrice Arthur, the larger-than-life actress who scored on Broadway as the original matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof and the hard-drinking actress in Mame before she went on to star in the groundbreaking '70s TV series Maude and, in the '80s, the beloved sitcom The Golden Girls, died early Saturday morning. She was 86. Dan Watt, a spokesman for Arthur's family, told the Associated Press that the star had been suffering with cancer, though he did not specify what kind. She died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family by her side, said Watt, who remembered Arthur as "a brilliant and witty woman." Maude, which debuted on CBS in 1972 (and ran until 1978) was a spin-off of the hit All in the Family. As the liberal cousin of archconservative Archie Bunker's wife Edith, the much-married Maude wasn't afraid to broach such controversial (especially for TV at the time) topics as abortion and civil rights.
Golden Girls, a popular NBC Saturday-night staple from 1985 to 1992, featured Arthur as the outspoken Dorothy Zbornak, who shared a Florida home with three other retired women, including her mother, played by Estelle Getty - who died last July, at 84. The other stars were Rue McClanahan and Betty White.
Born Bernice Frankel in New York City but raised in Maryland, where her parents ran a women's clothing store, Arthur debuted on the Off Broadway stage in New York in the 1940s, with her Broadway musical triumphs - though her singing voice was deep and scratchy - in the mid-'60s.
Married and divorced twice, Arthur took her stage name (in part) from her first husband, the screenwriter, director and producer Robert Alan Aurthur, whose credits include the Bob Fosse film All That Jazz. With second husband, Mame director Gene Saks, she adopted two sons, Matthew, 47, and Daniel, 44. They survive her.
Of her powerful stage and TV persona, which often found her cast in the same sort of role, Arthur once said, "Look - I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line. 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."
Stephen M. Silverman

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Golden Girls star Bea Arthur has died at the age of 86, it has been announced. The actress passed away peacefully at her home in Los Angeles yesterday following a battle with cancer. In a statement, Arthur's publicist Dan Watt said: "She was a brilliant and witty woman. Bea will always have a special place in my heart." Watt declined to offer specific details about his client's illness, but confirmed that family members were at her side when she passed. Arthur rose to prominence in 1972 when she landed the lead role in CBS sitcom Maude, a spinoff of All In The Family. Her performances as Maude Findlay on the six-season show later earned her an Emmy for outstanding
By Daniel Kilkelly

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We have a brand new exclusive special feature clip from The Norman Lear Collection, which is set to hit the DVD shelves in a 19-disc set on June 9. Click below for our exclusive special feature clip, which features Norman Lear and Bea Arthur talking about their controversial Maude character.
Legendary broadcast pioneer Norman Lear is known for creating some of the most acclaimed and top-rated television series of all time! Now you can own the first seasons of these classic hit shows in one collectible set, plus over six hours of exclusive new bonus features:
All in the Family
Good Times
The Jeffersons
Maude
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (first 25 episodes)
One Day at a Time
Sanford and Son
One of the most respected men in the entertainment industry, Lear has garnered four Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. In addition, his philanthropic efforts include

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