BEA ARTHUR

May 13, 1922

Bea Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in Brooklyn, New York, to an Austrian mother and a Polish father. She was raised in a Jewish home with older sister Gertrude and younger sister Marian. In 1933, the Frankel family relocated to Cambridge, Maryland. During World War II, Arthur enlisted as one of the first members of the US Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1943 working as a typist and a driver. She was honorably discharged in September 1945.

She initially studied to become a medical technician but left in 1947 to study drama in New York City. That same year, she married fellow Marine Robert Alan Aurthur. They divorced three years later, but she kept his surname with the spelling adjusted to “Arthur.”

Arthur began her acting career as a member of an off-Broadway theater group at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City in the late 1940s. On stage, her roles included Lucy Brown in the 1954 Off-Broadway premiere of The Threepenny Opera and Yente the Matchmaker in the 1964 premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.  

On May 1, 1951 she made her television debut in “Once Upon a Tune”, an anthology series presenting short musicals for the Dumont Network.  Her episode was titled “Gone With The West”.  

Although she dabbled in television, her heart still remained on Broadway, where she also created the role of Vera Charles opposite Angela Lansbury’s Mame in the 1964 Broadway musical by Jerry Herman. 

Her big break on television was playing Edith Bunker’s liberal cousin, Maude Findlay on “All in the Family” in December 1971. After one more episode of the popular topical sitcom, the character was spun off into its own series: “Maude”, which ran from 1972 to 1978 (141 episodes).  Like “All in the Family,” “Maude” tackled topical issues like alcoholism, mental instability, and abortion.  Maude was an indominable force of nature, much like Bea Arthur herself.  The role won her an Emmy in 1977. 

In a November 1973 newspaper interview with Cecil Smith Lucille Ball claimed “Maude” was one of her favorite things to watch on television. 

Halfway through her run on “Maude”, she was tapped to recreate her role as Vera Charles in the much-delayed film version of Mame starring Lucille Ball.  Gene Saks, who had directed the stage version, was also directing the film, and just happened to be married to Bea Arthur at the time.  It was an opportunity to preserve her Tony Award-winning role on film, an opportunity she was not offered with the 1971 film version of Fiddler on the Roof  where her role was played by Molly Picon. 

In connection with promoting Mame, Lucy and Bea were interviewed (separately) by Merv Griffin on March 24, 1974. 

Although both later defected to the Peacock Network, both Lucy and Bea were then best known for their work on CBS.  The network celebrated their 50 years on the air with a week-long series of program. Monday, March 27, 1978 was dedicated to comedy with “Have a Laugh on Us” led by Lucille Ball, George Burns, Arthur Godfrey, and Bea Arthur.

The night featured Lucy and Bea in a vaudeville song and dance that morphed into an elegant Ziegfeld number where they naturally end up….

with a pie in the face!   

In 1981, Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur were presenters (separately), at the 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.  Lucille also received a special plaque of recognition from the Academy presented by Shirley MacLaine.  They were also both presenters at the 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 1986, at which Arthur was a nominee for playing Dorothy on “The Golden Girls”.  Although the show won, she lost to her castmate (and Lucy’s friend) Betty White. 

In 1982, Lucy and Bea (plus Liz Taylor) were part of “Bob Hope’s Women I Love: Beautiful and Funny” on NBC. 

In 1983 Bea Arthur  attempted to step into the shoes of the similarly tall John Cleese in an American remake of “Fawlty Towers” named “Amanda’s Place” (aka “Amanda’s). It lasted only thirteen episodes. 

In March 1983, when Lucille Ball was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, Bea Arthur was there to sing the praises of Lucy’s fellow inductee, Norman Lear, who produced both “All in the Family” and “Maude”.  

In December 1984, she was there for the “All-Star Party for Lucille Ball”. Arthur was also in attendance for the “All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood” in 1986, where Ball served as Hostess as a past honoree.

While it was hard to believe that she might get a role that would equal Maude, lightning struck again in 1985 when she was cast as Dorothy Zbornak in “The Golden Girls”, which ran until 1992 (179) episodes, and inspired a spin-off called “Golden Palace.”  Although she declined to be regular cast member, she did make an appearance on a two-part episode. The role won her an Emmy in 1988.  The popularity of “The Golden Girls” was the yardstick by which Lucille Ball’s failed sitcom “Life With Lucy” was judged, and found lacking. The two shows were on rival networks. 

When Lucille Ball was celebrated at “The Kennedy Center Honors” in December 1986, Valerie Harper (“Rhoda”), Beatrice Arthur (“The Golden Girls”), and Pam Dawber (“Mork and Mindy”) sang a song parody of the “I Love Lucy” theme expressing their affection for Lucy. The medley continues with the title song from Mame now extolling Lucy. It ends with a specially-tailored “Hey Look Me Over” from Wildcat.

Bea and Ball were on the same (sound) stage for one final time with “Happy 100th Birthday Hollywood!” on May 18, 1987.  

Her final screen appearance was playing Larry’s mother on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in December 2005. 

She died on April 25, 2009 at age 86.