So Long, My Beloved Bea...

Bea Arthur; best known as Maude and Dorothy on the ever-watchable The Golden Girls, died today. She was 86. I heard the news while @ work; from a customer who received a text from a friend; stating "RIP Bea Arthur". We all know that Estelle Getty died mid last year and that was a wallop for me. This is even harder to take. After all, Dorothy was the cornerstone of that sitcom. I commented to the other half that Dorothy Zbornak has to be one of my all time favorite movie and/or television characters. Bea had such impeccable comic timing. She was one of the few actors who I can think of; who was able to pull off double takes; sometimes triple takes, and the occassional quadruple take...they always worked. I'm truly devastated by this loss, and am kicking myself for not having made the effort to see one of her live stage shows. It's no secret that I adore The Golden Girls. I've loved them since their original airings. I used to come home from high school, watch an episode before dinner; cuz they were already in repeats in the afternoon; even while they were still airing new episodes on Saturday night. Lifetime then aired them for ten years, and I was always up for 'em. It warms my heart to see that their popularity seems to be growing as of late; even outside of its core fan group of women and gays. I feel pride that I was on their side long before it seemingly became the "cool" thing to do.

One of Arthur's best moments on The Golden Girls, was when she found out Sofia (Getty) had been putting aside money to provide to her children after she died. Meanwhile, Dorothy had to sacrifice to take care of her mother. Rose (Betty White), Sofia and Dorothy are at the dinner table (cheesecake, anyone?), and Dorothy offers her mother some tea. "It'll relax you", obviously suggesting that it has been poisoned, and so that Dorothy would inherit the money sooner. Sofia asks that Rose taste the tea. Rose grabs the cup, and Dorothy hisses, "No, Rose, don't!...that's for my mommy."

I adored this woman, and am deeply saddened by her passing. To follow is a link w/ more info. So long, Bea.

http://tv.yahoo.com/show/32118/news/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20090426:us_obit_arthur__ER:434;_ylt=Ans5aSTJ9Kgg.0qhc2_6VKSAo9EF