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Bea Arthur: The Passing Of A Gay Icon

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We are having a party tonight at a dueling piano bar in Charlotte. To our great shock, the piano player announced the death of Bea Arthur. In memory of her, the first song was the theme from “Maude”.

I am quite saddened by her passing. I loved her in “The Golden Girls” and thought she would live forever.

I’m having a beer and raising it in a toast to one of my childhood icons, Bea Arthur.

RIP.

UPDATE (from Dan):  After reading that Maud had died, I headed over to the blog to write out a quick tribute to the great Beatrice and saw that Bruce had similar feelings for this star of stage and screen (big and small).

I can still her voice as Yenta (the Matchmaker) on the cast album for Fiddler on the Roof and only wish Angela Lansbury had reprised her role as Mame in the screen version of the musical.  To see Lansbury opposite Arthur as Vera!  What would a treat that would have been!  So, here, in memory of a truly great lady, I offer their classic duet on friendship:

Comments

  1. I’m deeply saddened by the death of Bea Arthur. She was indeed a gay icon. I loved her in Maude (especially when she said to her husband “God will get you for that!”). Of course, the Golden Girls continues to be a gay community fave. Her character of Dorothy Zbornak kept me in stiches. Her withering put-downs of her ex-husband Stan, Rose & Blanche was always funny, but there was an undercurrent of love in them. Bea had the deepest voice from a woman outside of Suzanne Pleshette. Damn! Now half the Golden Girls have passed away. please, Betty White & Rue McClanahan: stay around.

  2. She was a cool lady.

    I remember my dad wouldn’t go to the greyhound track, even though he was a gambler. He told me he didn’t like how they used to treat the dogs in his day, so he never would go.

    Then I saw Bea Arthur doing a pitch for adopting retired race dogs. It stuck with me as a kid to see my father’s convictions reinforced like that.

    My family also watched the Golden Girls as well.

    She was one of the greats. It makes me feel old to know she’s gone.

  3. I so Loved Bea Arthur…we all did..now she is with Sophia….(Estelle Getty) in Heaven….And I so love the Golden Girls..so ahead of their time…..we shall all miss her terribly and she was as said so funny yet so loving as has been said….RIP Bea Arthur!!

  4. The only person my Mom resembled was Bea Arthur–it wasn’t physical resemblance but they both had that same smart, strident, liberal, caring attitude. Like Dorothy, my Mom was a beloved teacher. All I had to do was say “My Mom is a lot like Maude” and people understood. Bea Arthur was simply unforgettable. I loved her in Mame–ok, does anyone really wonder how I ended up gay?

  8. My memories of her are:
    History Of The World Part 1:
    (to Comicvs)- “Did you try to Bullshit?”
    as the Vnemployment Office window lady.

    And probably the only Maude I ever saw start to finish. . .
    The episode where her Sponsored child from Ethiopia came to visit, and she learned he was White.
    A funny look at the fact that not only black kids were poor in the nation during the dying times of the 70’s.

  11. Maude, like the program she was spun off from, All In The Family, were vehichles for Nonman Lear to push his left wing agenda. While I was truly entertained by Bea as Maude and later as Dorothy, I feel that in her ability to deliver a line, she contributed to forming opinions that are still divisive in our society, i. e. abortion. For me the most memorable line wasn´t delivered by her but by Walter, who lost sleep, by Maude´s grandson´s night trips to the bathroom. He said, ¨water on water makes a sound that all can hear, but water on porcelain makes a sound that none can hear.¨ R.I.P. Bea.

  12. Growing up in the 1970s, I hated Maude but I loved The Golden Girls. Researching the roles of women in TV while in college, I watched a few episodes of Maude (including the infamous abortion one) and was struck by Bea Arthur’s command of the role. It has still stuck in my mind after 20 years.

    But to me, Bea was and always will be Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls. Her tit-for-tat dialog with the late Estelle Getty is best encapsulated in this snippet, which shows that if you are truly great at comedy, you don’t have to say a word:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf9FqBSHOBI

    And of course, from one gay icon to another:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVx9JjEDANg

    Upon hearing the news of Bea’s death, Hubby and I defrosted a cheesecake and shared it at the kitchen table. I thought it was a rather fitting memorial.

    RIP, Ms. Arthur. You were one of the great ones.

    Regards,
    Peter H.

  13. What makes a gay icon? I don’t get it. Strong women are unexceptional. Maybe Miss California can be the new one since she is strong yet easily mocked by her enemies. Cat fight anyone? Just like what gays do to each other.