Another Golden Girl Passes

On Saturday April 25th Bea Authur, best known for playing “Dorothy Zbornak” on the television show The Golden Girls, passed away. According to her family’s spokesman, she died at her home with her family by her side.

Bea Arthur’s career began in the late 1940s when she became a member of an off Broadway theater group at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. Further theatre roles included playing “Yente the Matchmaker" in the 1964 production of Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, and "Vera Charles" in 1966’s Mame. Bea Authur would go on to win a Tony for her portrayal in the latter production.

During the run of the television show All in the Family, Bea Authur occasionally appeared as Edith Bunker’s liberal minded cousin Maude. Her feminist free thinking arguments with the bigoted Archie were enjoyed so much that the charter was given her own spin off show, appropriately titled Maude. The series focused on the character living in suburban New York with her fourth husband. While it was a comedy that focused on Authur’s biting wit, the series did also deal with many serious and hot button issues. One of the most controversial episodes focused on Maude becoming pregnant at age 47. After much soul searching, in which the character focused on the many dangers in having a child at her age, Maude decided to abort the pregnancy. The episode was groundbreaking, as in 1972 abortion was not only not talked about on television, but not even nationally legal at the time of its airing (the decision to nationally legalize abortion, from the supreme court case Roe vs. Wade, would be passed two months after the episode’s airing).

In 1985 Bea Authur was cast as Dorothy Zbornak in the television show The Golden Girls. The show focused on four elderly women living together in Miami, Florida. The show became a surprise hit, and allowed young people to see the elderly as real people instead of goofy characters. The show ran until 1992, when it was canceled after Authur decided to leave the show before it fizzled out.

After The Golden Girls Bea Authur continued to act on television, guest staring in numerous shows, such as Futurama and Malcolm in the Middle. In 2002 she returned to Broadway to star in a one woman show, intitled Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. The show was a collection of stories and songs based on her life and career. In 2008 Bea Arthur was inducted into Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.

The entertainment world will definably miss this extraordinary talented woman.