LOL!!flipp525 wrote:Wes is right. I can't tell you how many times they've played her and Lucille Ball's version of "Bosom Buddies" at showtunes night at the neighborhood bar I go to (alongside the Night the Lights Went out In Georgia scene from "Designing Women", Reza!)OscarGuy wrote:I hate to break this to you, but she WAS in the film version as Vera Charles. She even received a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress.cam wrote:One very funny woman. She could do more with an eyebrow or just a blank face than anyone I have ever seen. I liked everything she was in, and when the abominable Mame came to the Big Screen, I missed her more than I missed Angela Lansbury in the lead.
R.I.P. Bea Arthur
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OscarGuy
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And I thought she was quite good in Auntie Mame. Matter of fact, the entire female cast was terrific and the male cast better than average.cam wrote:For some reason, I thought Vera Charles was played by Coral Browne in the movie, but that was AUNTIE Mame.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
OscarGuy wrote:cam wrote:One very funny woman. She could do more with an eyebrow or just a blank face than anyone I have ever seen. I liked everything she was in, and when the abominable Mame came to the Big Screen, I missed her more than I missed Angela Lansbury in the lead.
I hate to break this to you, but she WAS in the film version as Vera Charles. She even received a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress.
Wes is right. I can't tell you how many times they've played her and Lucille Ball's version of "Bosom Buddies" at showtunes night at the neighborhood bar I go to (alongside the Night the Lights Went out In Georgia scene from "Designing Women", Reza!)
Edited By flipp525 on 1241206866
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I hate to break this to you, but she WAS in the film version as Vera Charles. She even received a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress.cam wrote:One very funny woman. She could do more with an eyebrow or just a blank face than anyone I have ever seen. I liked everything she was in, and when the abominable Mame came to the Big Screen, I missed her more than I missed Angela Lansbury in the lead.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
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This comes as a bit of a shock since I had no idea she was sick. I should've suspected it a bit since she isn't quite as active as Betty White (who's still constantly working) despite the fact that they're the same age.
I knew Bea largely from The Golden Girls. I enjoyed watching it as a kid for some reason despite the fact I didn't get half the jokes.
I knew Bea largely from The Golden Girls. I enjoyed watching it as a kid for some reason despite the fact I didn't get half the jokes.
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Additional info on the career of Bea Arthur from her AP obituary:
After a few years in off-Broadway and stock company plays and television dramas, Arthur's career gathered momentum with her role as Lucy Brown in the 1955 production of "The Threepenny Opera."
More plays and musicals followed, and she also sang in nightclubs and played small roles in TV comedy shows.
Then, in 1964, Harold Prince cast her as Yente the Matchmaker in the original company of "Fiddler on the Roof."
Arthur's biggest Broadway triumph came with her Tony winning role in 1966 as Vera Charles, Angela Lansbury's acerbic friend in the musical "Mame," directed by Saks. Richard Watts of the New York Post called her performance "a portrait in acid of a savagely witty, cynical and serpent-tongued woman."
After a few years in off-Broadway and stock company plays and television dramas, Arthur's career gathered momentum with her role as Lucy Brown in the 1955 production of "The Threepenny Opera."
More plays and musicals followed, and she also sang in nightclubs and played small roles in TV comedy shows.
Then, in 1964, Harold Prince cast her as Yente the Matchmaker in the original company of "Fiddler on the Roof."
Arthur's biggest Broadway triumph came with her Tony winning role in 1966 as Vera Charles, Angela Lansbury's acerbic friend in the musical "Mame," directed by Saks. Richard Watts of the New York Post called her performance "a portrait in acid of a savagely witty, cynical and serpent-tongued woman."
I was only ten or eleven years old when the character Maude Finley was introduced in a classic All In The Family episode. But even at my young age I appreciated how incredibly funny Bea Arthur was. And my parents were both in hysterics. They had never seen a female character like that on TV and Bea Arthur was really bringing it. I was never a big fan of Maude. Other than Bea and Bill Macy, the other characters were sort of blah, even though they were portrayed by talented actors.
Didn't Bea have a major role in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler On The Roof? I have heard she was the original Yente The Matchmaker, Tevye's wife Golde, or the ghost of Fruma, the widow of Lazar The Butcher, who rises from the grave to frighten Tevye from allowing his daughter to marry her husband (I'll bet that was a showy role Bea would have knocked out of the park).
RIP and God Bless Bea. Go to your Eternal Rest knowing you brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.
Edited By kaytodd on 1240715338
Didn't Bea have a major role in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler On The Roof? I have heard she was the original Yente The Matchmaker, Tevye's wife Golde, or the ghost of Fruma, the widow of Lazar The Butcher, who rises from the grave to frighten Tevye from allowing his daughter to marry her husband (I'll bet that was a showy role Bea would have knocked out of the park).
RIP and God Bless Bea. Go to your Eternal Rest knowing you brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.
Edited By kaytodd on 1240715338
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EDIT: Sorry, I guess this belongs in the Broadcast fourm.
`Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur dies at 86
Apr 25, 3:47 PM (ET)
By LYNN ELBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86.
Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She had cancer, Watt said, declining to give further details.
"She was a brilliant and witty woman," said Watt, who was Arthur's personal assistant for six years. "Bea will always have a special place in my heart."
Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur's own series.
In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Arthur said she was lucky to be discovered by TV after a long stage career, recalling with bemusement CBS executives asking about the new "girl."
"I was already 50 years old. I had done so much off-Broadway, on Broadway, but they said, 'Who is that girl? Let's give her her own series,'" Arthur said.
"Maude" scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977.
The comedy flowed from Maude's efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America.
The ratings of "Maude" in the early years approached those of its parent, "All in the Family," but by 1977 the audience started to dwindle. A major format change was planned, but in early 1978 Arthur announced she was quitting the show.
"It's been absolutely glorious; I've loved every minute of it," she said. "But it's been six years, and I think it's time to leave."
"Golden Girls" (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience.
The series concerned three retirees - Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan - and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. In contrast to the violent "Miami Vice," the comedy was nicknamed "Miami Nice."
As Dorothy Zbornak, Arthur seemed as caustic and domineering as Maude. She was unconcerned about the similarity of the two roles. "Look - I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," she told an interviewer. "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."
The interplay among the four women and their relations with men fueled the comedy, and the show amassed a big audience and 10 Emmys, including two as best comedy series and individual awards for each of the stars.
In 1992, Arthur announced she was leaving "Golden Girls." The three other stars returned in "The Golden Palace," but it lasted only one season.
Edited By Sonic Youth on 1240689444
`Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur dies at 86
Apr 25, 3:47 PM (ET)
By LYNN ELBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86.
Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She had cancer, Watt said, declining to give further details.
"She was a brilliant and witty woman," said Watt, who was Arthur's personal assistant for six years. "Bea will always have a special place in my heart."
Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur's own series.
In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Arthur said she was lucky to be discovered by TV after a long stage career, recalling with bemusement CBS executives asking about the new "girl."
"I was already 50 years old. I had done so much off-Broadway, on Broadway, but they said, 'Who is that girl? Let's give her her own series,'" Arthur said.
"Maude" scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977.
The comedy flowed from Maude's efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America.
The ratings of "Maude" in the early years approached those of its parent, "All in the Family," but by 1977 the audience started to dwindle. A major format change was planned, but in early 1978 Arthur announced she was quitting the show.
"It's been absolutely glorious; I've loved every minute of it," she said. "But it's been six years, and I think it's time to leave."
"Golden Girls" (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience.
The series concerned three retirees - Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan - and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. In contrast to the violent "Miami Vice," the comedy was nicknamed "Miami Nice."
As Dorothy Zbornak, Arthur seemed as caustic and domineering as Maude. She was unconcerned about the similarity of the two roles. "Look - I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," she told an interviewer. "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."
The interplay among the four women and their relations with men fueled the comedy, and the show amassed a big audience and 10 Emmys, including two as best comedy series and individual awards for each of the stars.
In 1992, Arthur announced she was leaving "Golden Girls." The three other stars returned in "The Golden Palace," but it lasted only one season.
Edited By Sonic Youth on 1240689444
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler