Bea Arthur Has Gone To Heaven....
I was just got back from boozing in the sun to find my e-mail box filled with the terrible and heartbreaking news that the iconic Bea Arthur has went off to the great big lanai in the sky at the age of 86. I was not ready for this!
A rep for Bea said she died peacefully in her sleeping this morning at home. Bea had cancer, but her rep didn't give any specific details as to the cause of her death. Her personal assistant, Dan Witt, said, "She was a brilliant and witty woman. Bea will always have a special place in my heart." In mine as well.
Some know Bea for her role as Maude, but I know her as one of my best late-night friends, Dorothy Zbornak on Golden Girls. Seriously, I feel like I lost one of my bestest friends! After coming home from a drunken night, I could always count on Bea and company to lullaby me to sleep with their brilliant and touching way with comedy.
Thank you for being a friend, Bea. You will be missed and your genius will live on forever! I mean that. And tell "ma" we all said "Hi."
Now if you'll excuse me, I must drown the pain away with something strong. Maybe a cheesecaketini. Rest in peace, Bea.....
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although GG was never part of my childhood( it ended when i was 4) i did get to watch it with my Grandma every sunday. we adored Dorothy/Bea.
RIP Ms. Arthur.
Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant.
And if you through a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend.
Thanks for the laughs Bea. You will be missed.
Now I'm going to drown my tears in vodka.
RIP Classy Lady.
* * * * I HEART CAVEMEN & DEXTER * * * *
Sadness. She was a strong woman. That kind of made her seem invincible I guess. Goodbye, Bea.
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Come talk some smack about some Blind Items http://blindsmack.wordpress.com/
RIP
:( ...
@Green is Good
Thanks for posting the clip...got me all teary -__-:
RIP Bea
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"Nothing can kill The Grimace!"
She was absolutely perfect on The Golden Girls; perfect comic timing. Loved her dry sense of humor. Rest in peace, dear lady. :(
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WWBKD? (Who Would Brian Kinney Do?)
Iam in total shock over this very sad news.I am adult enough to know that we are not here to live forever,but I honestly thought Bea Arthur was indestructible.She represented for me what a strong woman was all about.She will be truly missed by millions of us.A light has truly gone out.R.I.P.and thanks for being a friend.
rip, big girl
♥
.
Great, my day just got crappier. Rest in peace Bea, you were and will always be one great entertainer. From my childhood to adulthood, you were always there making me smile and I will miss you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxJsl4e0Xmg&feature=related
What'll I do?
Excuse me now while I go bawl my eyes out...
Submitted by Green Is Good on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 6:01pm.
Another clip from Maude
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a truly amazing actress. this was an incredible clip. thanks for sharing.
RIP Bea Arthur.
Oh, and MK, your post was just sweetness.
Oh god I started crying when I saw this post. RIP Bea... you were amazing and brought joy into thousands of lives, including my own as well as all my floor mates'. :(
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I'm trippin' ballz, man.
Mame, All in the Family, Maude, Golden girls.
RIP, Ms. Arthur.
Rest in peace Bea.
"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night . . . You--only you--will have stars that can laugh!"
And he laughed again.
"And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure . . . And your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, 'Yes, the stars always make me laugh!'
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What a bummer..I love her!
RIP Bea
Submitted by One-trick Pony on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 6:01pm.
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Totally agree, funny, smart writing. I loved Maude and the GG. Off-air she and Betty White *hated* each other.
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"Condoms, Rose! Condoms, condoms, condoms!!!"
Another clip from Maude:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiNpQOfhihE&feature=related
This shows how much range Bea had. Comedy and serious drama. Crap, this one choked me up.
If you are a fan of the show and don't own the DVD's, I strongly suggest you get them. There are lines and scenes on the DVD's that are not on any of the reruns and a lot of it is some seriously funny shit.
We love you, Bea. Golden Girls featured the best writing ever in a sitcom, hands down. And Dorothy got some of the funniest lines - her delivery was simply unbeatable:
Blanche: "Dorothy, this is crazy! Since when do you care how you look?"
Dorothy: "I think it started when I came down from the bell tower and had my hump fixed."
-OR-
Rose: "Well, I'm here if you want to pick my brain."
Dorothy: "Rose, honey, don't you think we should leave it alone and let it heal?"
There are so many that, to this day, make me laugh out loud. As someone here wrote earlier, they just don't make 'em like that anymore. Shame.
I didn't want to believe it, either...I grew up watching The Golden Girls and still watch it every morning on the Hallmark channel! RIP, Bea...you will surely be missed!
And MK, I loved this post...you are awesome!
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"Fuck me gently with a chainsaw..."
Aw man, this sucks. Bea was such a talented actress and her comedic timing was just impeccable. Golden Girls is one of my favorite shows, I hope they play the reruns forever.
and here i was worried that you'd gone Brother Boy and thrown yourself out a window in honor of Bea :)
lady godiva was a freedom rider
she didnt care if the whole world looked
and joan of arc with the lord to guide her
she was a sister who really cooked
isadora was the first bra-burner
aint you glad she showed up?
and when the country was fallin apart
betsy ross got it all sewed up
and then theres maude
and then theres maude
and then theres maude
and then theres maude
something something enterprising anything but tranquilizing
right on, maude!
maude was a hell of a women's libber.
and my mom loved her
partly because, in spite of my mom's 11 kids, she identified with her very strongly.
so now i lost another little piece of my mom.
rip bea.
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The McCanns Did It
I simply can't put into words how much I love this show and how sad I am to hear this news. I'm pretty sure I know every line to every episode. These four women were one of the best ensembles in TV history...and the show was REALLY funny; not like most of the crap on TV these days.
It's hard for me to pick just one, but I think my favorite episode is the murder mystery weekend from the last season:
Rose: "You flirted with him."
Blanche: "I'm from the South! Flirting is part of my heritage."
Rose: "What do you mean?"
Dorothy: "Her mother was a slut, too."
Thank you, Bea, for making me laugh. RIP.
And I don't care what anyone says...if I were Dorothy, I totally would have put Sophia in Shady Pines.
CHARLES MANSON
AT THAT AGE IT AINT TOO MUCH OF A FUCKING SURPRISE. BUT I THOUGHT SHE WAS GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL. AND I LOVED HER VOICE AND THE WAY SHE ALWAYS SPOKE WITH PERFECT FUCKING VOICE INFLECTION AND PRONUNCIATION. THAT WAS FUCKING SPECTACULAR. ONE OF A GODDAMN FUCKING KIND.
i'm going to buy a bottle of vodka and sing "miami, miami...you got style!" man...this is a big loss.
rip bea!
GODDAMNIT, NO!!! NOT BEA!!! She was my fucking favorite Golden Girl... man. This just ruined my weekend. And I don't have any booze to cope and all the stores are closed now! RIP Bea...
Not only was Bea an amazing comedienne, she made great career choices. Both Maude and Golden Girls took on meaningful social issues and did it with intelligence, sensitivity and humor. Truly an icon that will be dearly missed.
Lift your glasses up, sluts. *clink*
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Oh my God. I am fucking devastated!
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“Does this trick shop at Jennifer Love Hewitt's favorite store: Big, Short & Delusional? "
-MK 4/21/09
Goodbye Bea. You'll always be loved and missed.
www.myspace.com/raul_rules
RIP, Bea.
I loved her. She will always be Dorothy to me.
Submitted by sushi on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 5:38pm.
She was so awesome. I hadn't watched Golden Girls in ages but recently rediscovered it on Lifetime. I forgot just how funny that show really was. She was wickedly funny. I also thought she was quite lovely in Golden Girls. Loved that silver hair.
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Actually The Golden Girls are now on the Hallmark Channel and We Tv now.
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Submitted by Miss Thang on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 10:17am.
I aint no psychiatrist, but I am bipolar ............
Sadness. RIP Bea.
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Is this real life? Why is this happening to me? Is this gonna be forever?
Here you go, sluts. Maude moments off Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edalC5Ei830
I like this quote from Bea Arthur:
"I'm not playing a role. I'm being myself, whatever the hell that is."
I always liked her right-in-your-face come back lines.
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...I hope tomorrow she sticks her teacup up her ass and calls it macaroni.... Mahaatma
She was so awesome. I hadn't watched Golden Girls in ages but recently rediscovered it on Lifetime. I forgot just how funny that show really was. She was wickedly funny. I also thought she was quite lovely in Golden Girls. Loved that silver hair.
Submitted by christine the hoff on Sat, 04/25/2009 - 5:34pm.
Miss Thang
She broke all kinds of TV Tabos. she was not petite, not blonde, not submissive, not a yes dear, she was outspoken took no shit from anyone and lived on her terms.
===And a voice deeper than Wolfman Jack.
Maude ruled!! She didn't take shit from anybody. I still remember the episode that addressed abortion. That was some heavy shit for 70's television.
Bea was my favorite GG. Ah, they were all fabulous.
Miss Thang
She broke all kinds of TV Tabos. she was not petite, not blonde, not submissive, not a yes dear, she was outspoken took no shit from anyone and lived on her terms.
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Fucka Doodle Doo!
christine, Maude was such a strong person. A survivor. That was such an inspiration to me as a young girl growing up while watching such an inspirational woman.
I've always admitted that I'm ruled by my passions.
- Elizabeth Taylor
I loved her as Cousin Maude in All In The Family, and then as Maude in her own show. Bea Arthur was a very talented lady and she made television history. I'm so sorry to hear of her passing.
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" . . . this is what we call the floating world . . .” (Ryoi, c.1661)
Very sad, but she lived a long life and was very suclesful and loved.
She was will always be the best of 1970's and 80/90's comedy!
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Submitted by Miss Thang on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 10:17am.
I aint no psychiatrist, but I am bipolar ............
"And tell Ma we said, Hi." Sadness!
RIP.
Wow.
it was beautiful here too, eighty and sunny, we were out all day and I come home to this.... should have stayed gone.
as a teenager, I never went to sleep without watchimg the elven O'clock re-run of Maude. that was a ground breaking show, covered rape, abortion, back when no other show would touch that shit... RIP Bea. you will be missed..
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Fucka Doodle Doo!
Thank you, Bea for the laughs and memories. Nobody will be able to replace her. Rest in peace.
Excellent post, Michael K., my darling.
I will miss her very very much. I'm old enough to remember Maude, and I have every Golden Girls DVD. Absolutely inspirational actress, they don't make them like her anymore.