Bea Arthur
Actor
- Born
- May 13, 1922 · New York City, New York, USA
- Died
- April 25, 2009 (age 86)
Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992).
She won several accolades throughout her career, beginning with the 1966 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Vera Charles in Mame. She won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1977 for Maude and 1988 for The Golden Girls. Arthur has received the third most nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series with nine; only Julia Louis-Dreyfus (11) and Mary Tyler Moore (10) have more. She was inducted into the academy's Television Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Her film appearances include Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and the film version of Mame (1974). In 2002, she starred in the one-woman show Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. An obituary described Arthur as "the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star."
She served in the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve in World War II.
Known for
History of the World: Part I
June 12, 1981
The Star Wars Holiday Special
November 17, 1978
O.J.: Made in America
May 20, 2016
Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson
August 14, 2005
Mame
March 7, 1974
Lovers and Other Strangers
August 12, 1970
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
June 20, 2023
Mickey's 60th Birthday
November 13, 1988
Betty White: First Lady of Television
August 18, 2018
That Kind of Woman
September 11, 1959
The Earth Day Special
April 22, 1990
The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Jerry Stiller
October 27, 1999
Acting40
- 2025The Golden Girls: 40 Years of Laughter and Friendship - A Special Edition of 20/20 as Self / Dorothy Zbornak (archive footage)
- 2025Henry Fonda for President as Maude (archival footage)
- 2023Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed as Self (archive footage)
- 2021Forever Golden! A Celebration of the Golden Girls as Dorothy Zbornak
- 2021Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age as Self
- 2021The Golden Girls: Ageless as Self (archive footage)
- 2018Betty White: First Lady of Television as Self (archive Footage)
- 2016O.J.: Made in America as Self (archive footage)
- 2005Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson