My girl B. Art
I really can’t say it better than Wing and I said it in the TWoP book. So, I won’t. (Awesome image via Pop Hangover.)
Arthur, Bea. Bea Arthur starred in Maude and The Golden Girls, and while she’s a formidable bad-ass with the best frown-into-middle-distance reaction shot in the business, at some point her name became synonymous with “undesirable butch older woman.” She has a deep voice, and The Golden Girls‘ wardrobe didn’t do her any favors, with those knee-length drapey layered vests and giant Battlefield Earth shoulder pads, but generations of babysitters learned their comic-timing craft at the knee of Dorothy Zbornak. So lay off our girl B. Art, people. See also Golden Girls, The.
Golden Girls, The. “Picture it: Sicily, 1904.” The Golden Girls is a seminal sitcom for several reasons — first, it depicted women over fifty as complete people with goals and desires; second, it didn’t apologize for the trampalicious behavior of Rue McClanahan’s Blanche; third, it rewarded faithful viewing with lessons on bitchy comic timing; and fourth, it contained Bea Arthur, who is awesome even when costumed in curtains from Graceland, which she frequently was. The girls ate cheesecake, talked about sex, teased each other rudely, slammed doors, and generally acted more like actual women (and roommates) than sitcom characters usually do. Also, in case you’ve been living under a rock since the ’80s: Estelle Getty is actually younger than Bea Arthur. See also Arthur, Bea and Senior Citizens, Cliched Portrayals Of.
Tags: Bea Arthur farewells friends snif! TV
i heard she actually hated cheesecake, too; the woman was a consummate pro, like, twelve times over. and will be missed.
I love Bea, she was a great role model for us taller and deeper voiced ladies. In watching the reruns I can hardly believe that my parents actually let me watch Golden Girls when I was a kid. It was so raunchy at times, and it was very forward thinking. Godspeed Bea!
RIP! Bea Arthur had a hilariously absurd cameo as Dewey’s babysitter on “Malcolm in the Middle,” too. Found out she was nominated for an Emmy for this. The end of it might make you a little sad, considering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzqjzIghr7g
None betta than Miss Bea. None. The “Maude” theme song has been stuck in my head since the news broke. Not that that’s a BAD thing.
I hate that I missed her one-woman show a few years ago. Then again, she probably woulda had to call security to get embarrassingly fawning me off the floor at her feet. Anybody who can go from Broadway to being a bartender in a Mos Eisley cantina sketch has my undying admiration.
Next time some dope at a drive-through calls me “sir,” I’ll have a Bea Arthur-caliber comeback ready in her memory.
I actually WASN’T allowed to watch it for the exact reasons you mentioned, Jeanne. When my parents would go out on the weekends, I would sneakily watch it. What group of girlfriends *hasn’t* dreamed of retiring to Florida and talked about which of the ladies they would be? I was always Dorothy…RIP, Bea.
I think the WE channel is doing a Golden Girls marathon today from 4 pm to 1 in the morning.
I grew up watching this show (since my mom and grandmother liked it). Dorothy and Blanche were my favorites (and I really love how those two very different women seemed to be best friends; sorry Rose). I am a dude who was once caught, at the gym, singing the theme song. The ladies knew it…and so did most of the guys. I’ve got friends from the UK and Jamaica who watched this. The Golden Girls was just so ahead of its times, and so classy and respectful of women. And Bea Arthur was a huge part of that.
“You’re a furry little sea monkey and we feed you too much.” Heh. So many amazing one liners delivered perfectly. And it wasn’t just her voice – she would do little things, physically, that helped sell those scenes.
It’s weird to think that a year or so after The Golden Girls went off air, Friends debuted. THAT is the world we live in now.
And whoever started that Dead Golden Girls Countdown site should be kicked in the face by a donkey. Or forced to wear Stanley’s toupee.
I wasn’t allowed to watch GG as a kid because the jokes were considered by my mom to be too raunchy for me, but I latched onto it in reruns as an adult and never looked back. It always amazes me how universal and timeless the show seems to be and how varied the fanbase is.
Bea Arthur’s passing hit me like a ton of bricks–I knew she was getting up there in years, but it was still a shock. Thanks to TN, the TWoP GG forum and the dvds, I’ll always have a place to love and remember the Girls.
RIP Bea and thanks for the laughs.
I watched a lot of this show as a kid, which I can’t decide is strange or cool. :-)
Also, Bea Arthur was the voice of the Femputer on one of the greatest episodes of Futurama ever. If you haven’t seen it, check out “Amazon Women in the Mood”.
I happened to glance over at the SO’s laptop on Saturday, and Yahoo’s homepage had a picture of her, then he clicked a link and it went away. I knew it was probably a RIP picture, but I made him click back… and it was… and I was so sad. She always reminded me so much of my Grandma, who died when I was in the 4th grade. Bea was sort of my little link to her, in this world. And now she’s gone too, so I feel like I’m mourning for my Grandma all over again. I know that probably sounds insane. lol
I loved how Bea Arthur’s sense of humour carried over into the characters she played. I still remember one exchange during the episode of The Golden Girls where Dorothy gets remarried. Sophia sighs that she’d always hoped to see Dorothy wearing her wedding dress one day. Cue Bea Arthur’s trademark withering stare:
“As what, Ma? A hand puppet?”
May she get big laughs and lots of solo numbers in heaven.
Hallmark Channel, who has the GG reruns nowadays, is doing a marathon of Dorothy centric eps on Memorial Day weekend. I hope they let the fans vote – which I think Lifetime did when Estelle Getty passed away.
It’s an overused joke, but I do love the “SATC is a Golden Girls prequel” chestnut. Dorothy Zbornak was much cooler than Carrie Bradshaw will ever be, though.
A slightly fresh take on the SATC comparison is that Dorothy and Stan were on-again-off-again about 50 times, which is pretty much parallel to what we saw in the first SATC movie with Mr. Big.
I watched some Golden Girls growing up. But I was too young or naive to get most of the jokes! However, in college a friend and I would watch the Golden Girls almost every day. We would catch the 5-6 hour a lot of nights before going down to the cafeteria for supper and then watch the 11-12 hour as well. It was silly and fun. And one of the most vivid memories that I have of this particular friend. I’ve actually been enjoying watching some episodes now that WE and Hallmark have gotten the rights. The fashion is still crappy, but the show is still awfully funny.
I once found a VHS tape marked “Golden Girls” in my dad’s car and popped it into our player, only to find it was some hardcore adult action. Pops had some ‘splainin’ to do. Not only had he exposed us precious chilluns to illicit scrumpiness, but he’d let someone tape over my mom’s favorite show. Which we were, in fact, allowed to watch. And quote.
I have an 76-year-old, divorced mom who gave up at around age 45. Do you know what it would have meant to have a mom who transitioned from bitter, scared and alone into any one of the Golden Girls? Hopefully, Bea Arthur and her friends served as role models for countless other women at a crossroads in their lives. I know these women made an impact on younger generations; I used to hear it all the time when the show was on the air. My mom would look FAB in one of the over-the-top, sequined tunics if only she’d give it a whirl.
When I hit 65, I’m taping the above photo – the full-length one that shows Bea’s bare feet – to my fridge and I’m not lookin’ back.
RIP, Bea.
Erm. Arthur’s sense of humour about herself, I meant to say.
Grew up on Maude, adored the Golden Girls, worshipped Vera Charles in Mame, and am prone to pronouncing death by Snu Snu…and I am bereft. I even watched a show called Amanda’s by the Sea because she was in it, and that wasn’t easy, I can tell you.
I saw her one woman show a few years back, she’s awesome. I’m actually quite impressed how bummed everyone on the interwebs is, it’s comforting to know I am not alone in my Bea-itiifcation
BTW Linda Holmes’ piece on her NPR blog is awesome http://tinyurl.com/cg24bu
Bea may have left us, but The Golden Girls is still loved by women young and old – and near as I can tell, it’s not going anywhere. And that’s pretty awesome.
We’ll miss you, Bea. Thank you for being a friend.
Not only was she awesome on Golden Girls, but Bea Arthur played one kick-ass Vera Charles, role model for snarky drunk bitches with hearts of gold everywhere. And I’m glad someone else remember Femputer (and her insistence that good fundamentals makes up for the lack of dunking in the NBA)!
So loved Bea.
We listened to her one woman show on a road trip recently … well, listened until it got way too blue for my little ones! They love her, and I’m so happy to have introduced them to the fun of Bea Arthur.
We listen to songs from Mame, and when I told them she’d died, my 9 year old sang ‘Thank you for being a friend … ‘
She’ll always be Femputer to me. She made that episode.
Every time I get a chest cold I think of Bea (because I start to sound like her).
Godspeed Bea, and thanks for being a friend.
@Kris
I was just about to say the same thing. One of my favorite guest voices on Futurama, and there were a lot of good ones.
I loved Bea! She was an original riot grrl. Good bye Golden Girl :'<
Damn, gonna miss ol’ Bea.
I loved her on Maude…so brave of her to have that mid-life prime-time abortion. In 1972! BEFORE Roe v. Wade!
I wonder who’ll get that “undesirable butch older woman” title now? (Dear God, it’s me, Margaret! Please do NOT give this title to Sharon Stone.)
I was more of a Maude viewer than a Golden Girls viewer (although when I do watch GG, it makes me laugh till my back hurts). Maude was revolutionary. Maude had been married four times. Maude was a sometimes cranky mother/grandmother. Maude had an abortion. Maude called Walter a son-of-a-bitch when she suspected he had cheated on her. It was the first time we’d ever heard that on television. In less capable hands, Maude could have come across as a nothing more than a harpy. Bea Arthur made her funny, lovable and real.
Bea Arthur was the cat’s ass. (And that’s a huge compliment, by the way.)
When my mom and my sister and I were fighting about stupid shit, like you do, and we couldn’t talk to each other or be in the same room together–we could still sit down together to watch The Golden Girls.
We miss you, Bea.
My friends and I were talking about how we felt about Bea’s death as a generation. We grew up watching her on TV. She’s a part of our collective childhoods and it’s really sad when we lose parts of our childhood.
Now, I understand how people felt when Mr. Rogers died or Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Hooper.
Like those childhood icons to generations before, Bea Arthur truly was a pal and a confidante.
Regarding the Sex and the City/Golden Girls parallels– I actually think that Miranda is more like Dorothy than Carrie is– Miranda is the cynic, and better at the deadpan one-liners. And since the Rose/Charlotte and Blanche/Samantha parallels are obvious, that makes Carrie Sophia– which isn’t as bizarre as it may seem, since they both tend to be the observers and commentators on the other women’s antics.
I would have enjoyed Sex and the City a lot more if Sophia Petrillo had done the narration.
“Fresh Air” on NPR had a segment about Bea that featured an interview from several years ago, and a clip from Maude that I remember VERY well. It was the episode where she’s 47 and pregnant, and she and her husband are talking about options. It made a huge impression on me as a kid about what it is to be a woman, a woman in a marriage to someone who really treats her as an equal, and integrity, and lots of other things.
Bea, you rocked!
Here is Bea Arthur as Carrie Bradshaw. It’s brill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLITlAA0QM
Agreed, Sandman– I enjoy Sex and the City, but it’s nowhere near the caliber of Golden Girls.