Bea Arthur

Actress Bea Arthur speaks during the 2008 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel on December 9, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bea Arthur (Getty Images) more pics » Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86. Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman ... Read Full Story

Growing up, one of my all time favorite television sitcoms was GOLDEN GIRLS . I know what you're thinking, "why were people so surprised when I finally came out of the closet at age 21?". News flash, no one was surprised! Anyway, Stephenson Billings from the blog Christ Wire has published an insightful(?) post theorizing how the '80's hit turned a generation of American boys into flaming homosexuals. Being one of those American boys, I found Stephenson's post absolutely laugh-out-loud funny. The most unexpected segment of this show’s fanbase was America’s young men. In the 80s, these were boys too delicate for sports, too ... Read Full Story

I knew there was a reason to love Dorothy Zbornak besides her colorful choice of outfits and husky-voiced joie de vivre. The Golden Girls matriarch, who passed away earlier this year, was also a friend of gay teenagers: Bea Arthur, the former Golden Girls star who died earlier this year, has left $300,000 to a shelter for gay homeless teenagers. For years, she had been a generous benefactor to the Ali Forney Centre, which is a New York-based homeless LGBT charity. Four years ago, the Tony Award-winning actress flew to New York for a benefit performance for the centre, raising more than $40,000. She ... Read Full Story

It’s a sad day, Bea from the Golden Girls passed away today. I won’t admit to watching this show, but from time to time my clicker stuck on the channel for some reason in spurts of 15 seconds or more. No idea, trippy. Anyway, our condolences go out to her family. Beatrice Arthur will live forever in my memories, and also in one of my t-shirts… which can be seen here. LoiterInk.com Bea T-Shirt <—– From: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20274866,00.html Beatrice Arthur, the larger-than-life actress who scored on Broadway as the original matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof Maude and, in the ’80s, the beloved sitcom The ... Read Full Story

Though best known for her roles in “ Golden Girls ” and “ Maude ” (a spin-off from from All in the Family ), Beatrice Arthur was also a talented and prolific stage actor, winning a Tony Award for best-supporting actress in the 1966 musical “ Mame ”, alongside Angela Lansbury . From her obit: Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in New York City in 1922. When she was 11, her family moved to Cambridge, Md., where her father opened a clothing store. At 12 she had grown to full height, and she dreamed of being a petite blond movie star like June Allyson. ... Read Full Story