Gay fave Bea Arthur of "Golden Girls" dies at age 86

She was one of the very few people that I really admired in showbiz. She knew what she was good at and delivered it everytime. She was one of a few who could take something very serious and make you laugh at it also.

Someone should do the Bea Arthur story!. It would be Fabulous!

Very sad news. She will truly be missed by me. I watch reruns of The Golden Girls every day. It's nice to know she'll continue to bring smiles to everyone for years to come.

She was a great lady and one many of us will remember as Maude or Dorothy. She was never afraid to tell her opinion and be who she was.

My grandmother loved her wit and I will miss her as well. She was great on the roasts too.

Just say the name -- "Bea Arthur" -- and everybody knows precisely who you're talking about. She's reduced millions to helpless laughter with just a look.

 

The Golden Girls was perfection. Its humor is profoundly unprofound. That's why it never goes out of style.

 

Interesting that she credits Lotte Lenya as being one of her mentors. She was in the long-running American production of The Threepenny Opera with her.

She was a star.  A friend and ally to our community.  She was funny, talented, and spoke her mind.  Goodbye, Maude.  Goodbye, Dorothy.  Goodbye, Ms. Arthur, and thank you for everything.

I remember growing up watching Maude in the 70's, but it wasn't until watching Golden Girls as a gay teen that I realised how truly talented and funny she was. I've watched the show again and again, whether it was Saturday night at Uncle Charlie's (a gay bar in NYC) or just visiting my grandparents.

The last few years I would watch it late night on Lifetime with my Mom, and it became our fun time alone together. Sadly my Mom died of cancer just six months ago, but now the Golden Girls will always remind me of her.

Thanks for the laughs, Bea!

We will miss you

Bea won a Tony Award for her role in Mame as Vera Charles, bosom buddy to Mame Dennis (Angela Lansbery)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilV5K8tw_6o

 

OH NO! This news just sent a little electric shock through my body!

So sad. The "Golden Girls" were one of the very very few shows I used to watch with my mother when I was a teenager. We have such a different taste and also, my mother thought Television was mostly useless anyway.

So sad. Relieved to read though that she passed peacefully and with her family at her side.

So sad.

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R.I.P. - Heath - R.I.P. - Heath - R.I.P. - Heath - R.I.P. - Heath - R.I.P.

...when I heard the news. I have many fond memories of watching the Golden Girls by myself, with my mom, my aunts, and various other family members. They were my friends, and will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember that one episode in particular when Blanche's brother came out and was getting married. When they had all accepted him and his partner, I cried like a baby. Watching the Golden Girls for me was like having four totally understanding girlfriends in the room whom you could totally relate to. They just happened to be 60 years older than me.  

Bea will be missed, and she was one HILARIOUS, FANTASTIC, CLASSY, friend indeed.

Kitty

Watching The Golden Girls back in the 80s with my grandma and mom are some of my earliest childhood memories. Dorothy's brilliant one-liners to Rose in particular are actually the first time I ever realized what sarcasm was. I remember to this day being the only kid in my class who got the concept.

Bea Arthur was one of a kind and will be deeply, deeply missed.

And now I'm replaying the "Miami, Miami" song in my head that Dorothy and Rose wrote for a contest in one episode (a moment of which was immortalized in the opening credits)...

--

Rob

http://www.robwillreview.com

Bea Arthur was one of the truely great women of the world. I was lucky enough to see her in the Broadway production of Mame and from that point on fell in love with this great talent. As Maude she broke new ground in comedy and bringing attention to social issues. But the triumph was her role as Dorothy in Golden Girls. The perfect team of gals who were just expert at their trade. Dorothy who turned out to have a gay brother. She accepted him, embraced him and his lover. In the 80s that was still a brave move for any series. Bravo Bea.

My fondest memory was to go to Bea Arthur's one woman show here in Sydney a few years ago, and to see the lady as she really was. What a lady! Even if she did insist on being bare foot on the stage.

Thank you for enriching my life a little. Thank you for who you were. Now rest.

Dear Bea, wherever you are. Although your voice was an octave lower than mine is now, I'll miss you dearly. 

This is as good a place as any to ask this:

I have memories of an episode of Maude from what I think was the final season, centering around grandson Philp's 15th birthday party. It gets wildly out of hand, so she clears the room by threatened to sandpaper the murals off the vans outside. There's also a live band at the party.

Now, I could swear the songs the band played were "Car Wash" and Led Zepplin's "Good Times, Bad Times".

Did I IMAGINE that? Led Zepp on Maude? Did anyone else see that episode?

Why oh why are they so slow in releasing the second, third, etc. season of that show?

 

. . . I hope you make God slide out of His seat in laughter as many times as you made me slide out of mine. . .

Thank you.

I can remember watching the Golden Girls on a Friday evening with my Mum, I think the show is partly responsible for my eccentric sense of humour! I’m grateful to Bea for playing the part of Dorothy so wonderfully, I’ll always think of her with a smile on my face. Rest in peace lovely lady.

I've suddenly become aware of the fact that The Golden Girls did more to bring gay men and their mothers together than any other show,

Bea Arthur was one of a kind, not only being a friend to the gay community she was a great supporter of animal rights.  I don't think there has been a time in my life since the golden girls came out that I havent seen it at least once a week.  Bea is like a part of my family.  I remember a few months before my grandmother died, my mother and I took thanksgiving dinner to her at her nursing home and the three of us watched a Golden Girls marathon.  I hadn't seen my grandmother so happy in a long time.  Everytime Bea had one of her great one liners I thought my grandmother would never stop laughing.  Thanks for all of the great memories Bea!  You are much loved and will truly be missed.