Oh, No! Bea Arthur
Sun., April 26, 11:29 AM
Let’s see — in 1971 I had two babies and would soon be pregnant again (though I did not expect to be!). Life was mostly my two little girls in and around the Cheesebox and watching television in the evenings with Husband. I particularly enjoyed “All in the Family,” especially Edith. No, generally I didn’t relate to her; she just was one of the world’s most lovable dingbats.
In an episode where Edith was run ragged, caring for everyone else who had the flu, eventually she caught it too. Unable to continue her home nursing/cooking/soothing, etc., Edith called her cousin Maude. The minute she started to talk, I said, “I know that woman.” But from where? She was so familiar…
In my previous (i.e., single) life, some five or six years earlier, I had seen “Mame” on Broadway. Bea Arthur had played Mame’s friend Vera Charles. She was a marvelous Maude. Of course, anyone who stood up for Edith and punctured Archie’s balloon was all right with me.
I didn’t see Bea’s next venture as much. A lot of other things were going on, not the least that we watched TV with the kids in mind. But Husband really didn’t understand the whole premise of “Maude,” and so he hated it. But everyone loved “The Golden Girls.” My mother, who had absolutely hated Betty White in the early fifties, loved her in “Golden Girls” and adored the whole show. It was such a perfect blending of personalities.
Bea, we will miss you more than words can say. Isn’t it amazing, how close we can feel to someone we never met at all!
