Bea Arthur Biography

Bea Arthur: Biography

Beatrice Arthur, is an American actress and comedienne with a distinctive deep voice, acid wit, and height, standing almost 5 ft 10 in. Her notable television roles include the title role on the popular sitcom Maude in the 1970s and a starring role on The Golden Girls in the 1980s.

In the former she played Maude Findlay, an outspoken "limousine" liberal living in Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York; the show was a spinoff from All in the Family, on which Arthur had appeared in the same role, playing Edith Bunker's cousin, whom Archie couldn't stand.

In the latter she played the character Dorothy Zbornak, a middle-aged woman who lived in a Florida house with two room mates (Betty White and Rue McClanahan) and Dorothy's short-tempered yet hip old mother, played by Estelle Getty. One of the most ironic things about casting Getty in this role was that she is actually two months younger than Arthur, so Getty was heavily made-up to seem significantly older.

On stage, her roles include as "Lucy Brown" in the 1954 Off-Broadway premiere of Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, "Yente the Matchmaker" in the 1964 premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and a 1966 Tony Award-winning portrayal of "Vera Charles" in Mame. In 1981, she appeared in Woody Allen's The Floating Lightbulb; two decades later she toured the U.S. in a one-woman show which opened in Broadway in 2002 as Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. In real life, Arthur is good friends with legendary actress and former co-star Angela Lansbury, and in real life Arthur did not get along with Betty White for most of the time that they worked together on Golden Girls, but possibly they have since mellowed out, especially in light of their mutual friend, Estelle Getty's health woes.

Arthur was born in New York City, but she grew up in Maryland. She became a medical technologist before World War II, when she volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps, becoming one of its first female recruits.

She was married for many years to her second husband, director Gene Saks, with whom she adopted two sons, but the marriage ended in divorce.

Beatrice Arthur: (about "The Golden Girls") Four elderly women living together in a house? It could never be. It could never happen. It was the first time that elderly people were seen as well-groomed and coiffed. They didn't smell bad. They had active sex lives. To this day, I'll wake up in the middle of the night, and I'll think of a line [from the show], and I'll be laughing so hard, I can't stop. It was wonderful.(edit)
Beatrice Arthur: After being in the business for such a long time, I've done everything but rodeo and porno. (edit)

Bea is probably best known by the public for his starring roles as the title character on Maude and as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls.(edit)
The role of Dorothy on The Golden Girls was specifically written as a "Bea Arthur type," long before Bea even came and got the part.(edit)
Bea was the only regular cast member from the show The Golden Girls who didn't go on to star in the spinoff series The Golden Palace.(edit)
Bea is close friends with actress Angela Lansbury. (edit)
One of Bea's acting classmates at Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research was Marlon Brando. (edit)
Bea's best known trait is her husky voice. (edit)
Although her character loved eating it on The Golden Girls, Bea hates cheesecake. (edit)
Bea admits that one of her favorite shows on television is South Park. She thinks it's funny and unique. (edit)
Bea is Jewish. (edit)
Bea studied acting at Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop of the New School.(edit)
In 1954, Bea made her theatrical debut as "Lucy Brown" in The Threepenny Opera, alongside John Astin and Charlotte Rae. (edit)
In 2000, Bea won an award of achievement from Emerson College's Musical Theater Society, in Boston. (edit)
Bea likes to collect antique furniture. (edit)
Bea is a long-time friend of actress Shirley MacLaine.(edit)
Bea admits that she does not like to watch her own performances on television or film.(edit)
Bea is a big supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). (edit)
Bea says that Sid Caesar is her idol. (edit)
Bea's first TV appearance was a 1951 episode of Kraft Television Theatre. (edit)
In 2002, Bea opened a show on Broadway entitled Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends.. (edit)
Bea became a medical technologist before World War II. (edit)
Bea was one of the first female recruits for the U.S. Marine Corps. (edit)
Bea graduated from Linden Hall High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania. (edit)
Bea's son, Daniel Saks, was the set designer for the ABC comedy series Dharma and Greg.(edit)
Although born in New York City, Bea was raised in Maryland. (edit)
Bea took part in the Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson.(edit)
(October 2003) At the Savoy Theatre in London, Great Britain. Solo show created by Bea Arthur and Billy Goldenberg in collaboration with Charles Randolf Wright with production consultants Mark Waldrop and Richard Maltby Jr.

(edit)
Bea is slightly over a year older then her TV mother on The Golden Girls, Estelle Getty. Bea was born on May 13, 1922, while Estelle was born on July 25, 1923. On The Golden Girls, Bea's character is in her 50s, while Estella's is in her 70s.(edit)