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Bea Arthur

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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…more

Born

5/13/1922, New York, New York

Died

4/25/2009

Birth Name

Bernice Frankel

Gender

Female

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Credits

Star (5)

Role
- Back to the Grind
  Self
  - S 1: Ep 4 Bea Arthur & Ed Begley Jr.
    8/15/07
- The Golden Girls
  Dorothy Zbornak
  - S 7: Ep 26 One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest (2)
    5/9/92
  - S 7: Ep 25 One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest (1)
    5/9/92
  - S 7: Ep 24 Home Again, Rose (2)
    5/2/92
  - S 7: Ep 23 Home Again, Rose (1)
    4/25/92
  - S 7: Ep 22 Rose: Portrait of a Woman
    3/7/92
  - + 176 More Credits
- Amanda's
  Amanda Cartwright
  - S 1: Ep 10 One Passionate Night, the Aftermath (2)
    5/26/83
  - S 1: Ep 9 One Passionate Night (1)
    5/19/83
  - S 1: Ep 8 I'm Dancing as Close as I Can
    5/12/83
  - S 1: Ep 7 Last of the Red Hot Brothers
    5/5/83
  - S 1: Ep 6 Aunt Sonia
    3/24/83
  - + 8 More Credits
- Maude
  Maude Findlay
  - S 6: Ep 24 Maude's Big Move (3) (a.k.a.) Washington
    4/22/78
  - S 6: Ep 23 Maude's Big Move (2) (a.k.a.) The Wake
    4/15/78
  - S 6: Ep 22 Maude's Big Move (1) (a.k.a.) The Chinese Dinner
    4/8/78
  - S 6: Ep 21 Phillip's Mature Romance
    3/25/78
  - S 6: Ep 20 Mr. Butterfield's Return
    3/11/78
  - + 136 More Credits
- Caesar's Hour
  Regular
Recurring Role (1)

Role
- The George Gobel Show
  Regular Performer
  - S 5: Ep 11 March 10, 1959
    3/10/59
  - S 5: Ep 10 February 24, 1959
    2/24/59
  - S 5: Ep 8 January 13, 1959
    1/13/59
  - S 5: Ep 6 December 16, 1958
    12/16/58
Guest Star (54)

Role
- TV Land Confidential
  Herself
  - S 2: Ep 2 Finales
    7/18/07
  - S 1: Ep 7 Changing Times and Trends
    10/26/05
  - S 1: Ep 5 Breakout and Disappearing Stars
    10/12/05
  - S 1: Ep 3 Casting and Character Creation
    9/28/05
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
  Larry's Mother
  - S 5: Ep 10 The End
    12/4/05
- Comedy Central Roast
  Roaster
  - S 1: Ep 4 Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson
    8/14/05
- Inside TV Land
  Herself
  - S 1: Ep 15 Primetime Politics
    10/27/04
- Malcolm in the Middle
  Mrs. White
  - S 4: Ep 17 Clip Show #2
    4/20/03
- Intimate Portrait
  Herself
  - S 9: Ep 4 Bea Arthur
    1/20/03
  - S 7: Ep 26 Estelle Getty
    1/15/01
  - S 6: Ep 7 Rue McClanahan
    1/1/00
- One Hit Wonders
  Herself (as Bea Arthur) (archive footage)
  - S 1: Ep 17 VH1's One Hit Wonders Presents: Star Tracks
    1/18/03
- TV Tales
  Herself
  - S 1: Ep 11 The Golden Girls
    9/18/02
- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  Herself
  - S 6: Ep 107 Bea Arthur
    3/11/02
- The View
  Herself
  - S 5: Ep 12 January 23, 2002
    1/23/02
- Through the Keyhole
  House Owner
  - S 6: Ep 9 17 January 2002
    1/17/02
- So Graham Norton
  Herself
  - S 3: Ep 14 Episode 30
    2/25/01
- Futurama
  Femputer
  - S 3: Ep 5 Amazon Women in the Mood
    2/4/01
- E! True Hollywood Story
  (herself)
  - S 4: Ep 38 All in the Family
    8/27/00
- Beggars and Choosers
  Herself
  - S 1: Ep 7 Sex, Drugs & Videotape
    7/24/99
  - S 1: Ep 4 The Hat Trick
    7/3/99
  - S 1: Ep 1 The Mountainmen (1)
    6/19/99
- Beggars and Choosers
  herself
  - S 1: Ep 5 The Ethel Merman Story
    7/10/99
- Ellen
  Herself
  - S 5: Ep 19 Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute (1)
    5/13/98
- Dave's World
  Mel Bloom
  - S 4: Ep 17 Bad News Barry's
    2/21/97
  - S 4: Ep 16 Touched By an Agent
    2/7/97
  - S 4: Ep 15 Dave Barry, Call Your Agent
    1/31/97
- She TV
  Herself
  - S 1: Ep 2 Episode #2
    8/23/94
- The Bob Hope Show
  Herself
  - S 44: Ep 2 Bob Hope's Birthday Memories
    5/11/94
  - S 39: Ep 5 Ooh-La-La ... It's Bob Hope's Birthday Spectacular From Paris
    5/24/89
  - S 30: Ep 4 Hope, Women and Song
    1/21/80
- Great Performances
  Performer
  - S 22: Ep 10 Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Bowl!
    3/4/94
- Sean's Show
  Herself
  - S 2: Ep 1 Episode 8
    11/17/93
- The Golden Palace
  Dorothy Zbornak Hollingsworth
  - S 1: Ep 8 Seems Like Old Times (2)
    11/6/92
  - S 1: Ep 7 Seems Like Old Times (1)
    10/30/92
- Dame Edna's Hollywood
  Herself
  - S 1: Ep 2 Episode 1
    11/30/91
- People's Choice Awards
  Herself
  - S 17: Ep 1 The 17th Annual People's Choice Awards
    1/1/91
- Aspel & Company
  Herself
  - S 7: Ep 9 Bea Arthur, Billy Joel, Edward Woodward
    3/24/90
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  Guest
  - S 28: Ep 71 Show #4116
    2/20/90
  - S 23: Ep 90 Show #3690
    9/11/85
  - S 18: Ep 42 Show #3142
    1/14/80
- Live! with Kelly
  Herself
  - S 2: Ep 84 December 28, 1989
    12/28/89
  - S 2: Ep 39 October 26, 1989
    10/26/89
- The Arsenio Hall Show
  Herself
  - S 2: Ep 59 December 5, 1989
    12/5/89
- Empty Nest
  Dorothy Zbornak
  - S 1: Ep 17 Dumped
    2/18/89
- Circus of the Stars
  Ringmaster
  - S 1: Ep 13 Special #13
    11/25/88
  - S 1: Ep 10 SPECIAL #10
    12/8/85
- The Golden Girls
  Grandma Petrillo
  - S 3: Ep 25 Mother's Day
    5/7/88
- People's Choice Awards
  Herself - Presenter
  - S 13: Ep 1 The 13th Annual People's Choice Awards
    3/15/87
- Disneyland
  Herself
  - S 31: Ep 6 Walt Disney World's 15th Anniversary Celebration
    11/9/86
- Late Night With David Letterman
  Guest
  - S 5: Ep 37 Show #0695
    4/10/86
- A.K.A. Pablo
  unknown
  - S 1: Ep 3 My Son, the Gringo
    3/20/84
- Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
  Herself
  - S 7: Ep 1 Joan Collins
    2/24/84
- The Mike Douglas Show
  Herself
  - S 18: Ep 83 Week of January 14, 1980
    1/14/80
- Dinah!
  Herself
  - S 6: Ep 82 January 11, 1980
    1/11/80
  - S 3: Ep 24 October 21, 1976
    10/21/76
  - S 2: Ep 144 April 21, 1976
    4/21/76
  - S 1: Ep 150 June 2, 1975
    6/2/75
  - S 1: Ep 126 April 29, 1975
    4/29/75
- Saturday Night Live
  Herself
  - S 5: Ep 5 Bea Arthur/The Roches
    11/17/79
  - S 2: Ep 2 Norman Lear/Boz Scaggs
    9/25/76
- Cos
  Self
  - S 1: Ep 3 Fred the Cockatoo/Tribute to Mothers
    10/3/76
- The Merv Griffin Show
  Herself
  - S 13: Ep 128 March 18, 1976
    3/18/76
  - S 11: Ep 149 April 9, 1974
    4/9/74
- The Mike Douglas Show
  Herself/Co-host
  - S 12: Ep 175 May 3, 1974
    5/3/74
  - S 12: Ep 174 May 2, 1974
    5/2/74
  - S 12: Ep 173 May 1, 1974
    5/1/74
  - S 12: Ep 172 April 30, 1974
    4/30/74
- The Mike Douglas Show
  Herself/Co-hostess
  - S 12: Ep 171 Week of April 29, 1974
    4/29/74
- All In The Family
  Maude Findlay
  - S 2: Ep 24 Maude
    3/11/72
  - S 2: Ep 12 Cousin Maude's Visit
    12/11/71
- The Golden Girls
  Host/Flashbacks as Dorothy Zbornak
  - S 7: Ep 27 The Golden Girls: Their Greatest Moments
- The Garry Moore Show
  Herself
  - S 4: Ep 17 January 23, 1962
    1/23/62
- The Perry Como Show
  Herself
  - S 13: Ep 18 February 1, 1961
    2/1/61
  - S 13: Ep 17 January 25, 1961
    1/25/61
  - S 13: Ep 11 December 14, 1960
    12/14/60
- Hallmark Hall Of Fame
  Mrs. Abercrombie
  - S 8: Ep 3 The Gift of the Magi
    12/9/58
- Omnibus
  Ugly Witch
  - S 6: Ep 11 Mrs. McThing
    3/9/58
- Kraft Television Theatre
  Guest Star
  - S 11: Ep 19 Material Witness
    2/19/58
- Washington Square
  Guest Star
  - — 5/9/1957
    5/9/57
- Max Liebman Presents
  Guest
  - S 1: Ep 14 Kaleidoscope
    4/25/55
- Studio One
  Guest Star
  - S 5: Ep 45 Flowers from a Stranger
    8/10/53
  - S 4: Ep 35 They Came to Baghdad
    5/12/52
Special Guest Star (1)

Role
- Malcolm in the Middle
  Mrs. White
  - S 1: Ep 16 Water Park (1)
    5/21/00

Bea Arthur News

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Trivia and Quotes

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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA
- Bea passed away at her home on Saturday morning, April 25th, 2009 from cancer. She was the second "Golden Girl" to pass away, just nine months after Estelle Getty (who played her mother Sophia on the show).
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- 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.
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- 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.
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Beatrice Arthur: (about playing the title role on "Maude") It made me feel like a middle-aged Cinderella. It was one hell of a series, for pushing the envelope as far as it did. Episodes about abortion, alcoholism, rape...I was proud of it.
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- Beatrice Arthur: Look, I'm 5 foot 9, I have a deep voice, and I have a way with a line. 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.
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- 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.
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