Friday, May 27, 2011

Bea Arthur dead at 86

Bea Arthur

Golden Girls star Bea Arthur died this morning in Los Angeles. She was 86. This is actually a bit of a shock. Not that 86 is young, but she always seemed healthy and spry, even in the last few years, doing her stage show and guest starring on various TV shows and endless specials.

The other day I listed my favorite TV shows of all-time, and I really should have included The Golden Girls on that list. This was a consistently funny, clever, entertaining sitcom. A classic, really, spawning a lot of great one-liners and situations. It was also a breeding ground for some writers and producers who would become famous for other projects later, including Marc Cherry and Mitchell Hurwitz (as well as many veteran writers and directors). It's still a very special show to me. I used to find myself up at 1AM watching several episodes on Lifetime.

Besides The Golden Girls, Arthur starred in Maude (a spinoff after appearing as the character on All in the Family), Dave's World, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Caeser's Hour, and Great Performances. She also had a memorable guest role on Malcolm in the Middle as Dewey's babysitter.

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