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Home , Bea Arthur, Dorothy Zbornak, Edith Bunker, Good Times, Maude Findlay, Rue McClanahan

TV 101 A STAR DIMS The Maude Squad A LOOK BACK AT OUR FAVORITE GOLDEN GIRL,

Much-married was an out- spoken activist in Tuckahoe, N.Y. Divorcee was a sarcastic substitute teacher in . And then there was Bea Arthur. Born Bernice Frankel in in 1922 and raised in eastern Maryland by clothing store- owner parents, the actress, who died of cancer in April at age 86, had chosen a new fi rst name in Beatrice and picked up a stage-worthy surname from her fi rst husband. Returning to New York, she became a star of the theater, gaining notice in the 1954 o -Broadway production of and, 10 years , originating the role of Yente the matchmaker in Broadway’s . Then, in 1966, she won a Tony Award for Arthur won a Tony in 1966 for her portrayal of acidic sidekick Vera Charles in her role in . e series e the musical Mame. Golden Girls, below, reunited Bea Arthur’s fi rst starring role her with former Maude co-star on network television was as Rue McClanahan. PROVING FEMINISM CAN BE FUNNY feminist Maude Findlay in the In 1972, TV producer cast Arthur series Maude. as ’s liberal cousin Maude, who would square o against conservative Archie in an episode of Lear’s ground- best-known episode, “Maude’s Dilemma,” in the breaking CBS series . It show’s premiere season, tackled a subject taboo was, Lear now admits, a calculated move even today, as the married grandmother Maude, to showcase the promising performer. fi nding herself surprisingly pregnant at 49, dis- “We put Bea in that one episode, know- cusses and undergoes an . ing that she would kill,” the legendary In 1985—seven years after Arthur hung up producer remembers. “And indeed, before Maude’s trademark maxi-vests—the silver- the East Coast feed of the show was o the haired actress reunited with former co-star Rue air, I got a call from [then CBS’ program- McClanahan to play two of a foursome of older ming chief] saying, ‘That ladies on NBC’s . With the role of woman should have her own show!’ ” Dorothy Zbornak came, for Arthur, an opportunity In the resulting 1972-78 spino sit- rare for any actress, to create yet a second iconic com Maude, Arthur’s feisty feminist TV character. title character, although often just as And like Maude—and as the actress was wont to CBS Archive bu oonish as in her own explain about herself—Dorothy didn’t su er fools well-meaning way, became a role model gladly. “We’re both 5 feet, 9½ inches, and both of for a generation of women. The show’s us have very deep voices,” Arthur explained in a

40 October 2009 Watch!

FdCW1009_40-41_TV101_BeaArthur-LearBox.indd 40 8/13/09 4:25:52 PM Arthur’s work with the gay community— vociferous fans of her two big TV roles—won her their adoration. And there were other ardent groups of admirers as well. Maude, she explained, “was one of the fi rst shows to tackle the race question. And so in a lot of towns where there is a signifi cant black population, I am still Maude Findlay. [Many African-Americans] just love me, and it is so sweet and so nice.” And as The Golden Girls has continued to live on forever in repeats, so has Arthur’s warm relationship with her generations of fans. “I’ll be on a plane,” the actress noted in 2006, “looking like I look now. And the fl ight attendants will come up and say, ‘Are you … ? You are, aren’t you?!’ and proceed to give the most wonderful compliments. And after all these years, I am still delighted.” — Jim Colucci

Big Box of Brilliance

In 1971, Norman Lear forever humor with realism and pro- changed the style of network vocative social issues. Now Sony comedy with his bold and often Pictures Home Entertainment controversial version of a popular has packaged the fi rst season of British series, retooled for the each show, along with his U.S. as All in the Family. e next syndicated soap spoof Mary fall, the prolifi c producer supple- Hartman, Mary Hartman, into a mented CBS’ schedule with a 19-disc DVD set. second hit , Maude. Two e Norman Lear Collection years after that, Lear and his ($159.95) also includes bonus creative team spun Maude’s material such as two never- maid, Florida Evans, into her own before-seen pilot episodes for successful series, . All in the Family and featurettes During the fi rst months of All in on the creation and production the Family’s success, Lear began of each era-defining hit, com- planning a U.S. adaptation of a plete with interviews from Lear’s second Britcom that would star legion of stars. comedian . In the fall of Looking back at the 1970s previously unpublished 2006 interview. “And we’re 1972, ended up and early ’80s from 2009, when both what I like to call ‘bubble prickers.’ ” becoming a smash—on another hit are in shorter sup- network. CBS, recognizing Lear ply, even Lear has to marvel. “It’s MAKING A TRUE CONNECTION WITH FANS as a hitmaker, subsequently amazing how such a huge part On TV, Arthur’s gru exterior was part of her bril- snapped up his later long-running of my life can come back at me, liant comic timing, enabling her to famously wring shows e Jeff ersons and One almost as a surprise,” he admits. laughter out of the slightest of cocked eyebrows Day at a Time. “I’m so far removed now from and pursed lips. But behind the scenes, the actress All six series turned Lear into those years, they’re like a dream. became equally beloved for her generous heart. TV’s top brand name, the And now, this box In recent years, as the two-time Emmy winner period’s set collection popped up in guest roles on the small screen, she dominant comes along, also capitalized on her fame to campaign for causes creator and I realize, such as animal rights. In 2005, she performed a who com- ‘My God, this sold-out, one-night-only version of her earlier bined his was all real!’ ” one-woman-show, Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends, as a benefi t for the homeless gay

CBS Archive CBS teens served by New York’s Ali Forney Center.

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