When I first saw the headline on Yahoo's home page that Bea Arthur had died at the age of 86, my reaction was, "Aw man!" Not only because I've been a fan of her work since I was a kid, but I didn't know she was ill with cancer.Performers are lucky if they get a chance to star in one successful series; Bea had the good fortune to have appeared in two. On Maude, she played the title character (an outspoken, upper-class liberal living with her fourth husband, daughter and grandson in a New York suburb). As domineering as Maude could be, her friends and family didn't hesitate to put her in her place. When they did, Maude often responded with one of my favorite catchphrases, "God'll get you for that." Although Maude isn't seen much these days in reruns, those unfamiliar with it can get a sampling of the character because Bea Arthur appeared in two early episodes of All In the Family (she was Edith's cousin). The highlights of those two episodes are Maude's verbal joustings with Archie.
As good as Maude was, I think The Golden Girls was an even better showcase of Bea Arthur's talents. Along with the sarcastic zingers that Bea got to deliver, some of the best moments from The Golden Girls are her facial expressions in reaction to one of Rose's St. Olaf stories, Blanche reminiscing about her numerous sexual conquests, or Sophia telling a lie about her days in Sicily. Although I really liked Blanche, Rose and Sophia, Dorothy has the slight edge as my favorite character on the show.
You can watch and remember the greatness of Bea Arthur in three clips below. The first 2 are scenes from her first appearance on All In the Family (the 1971 episode "Cousin Maude's Visit"). The third is a montage of some of her best moments on The Golden Girls.
