Checking on line for the latest news, I was suddenly sadden to read that actress, comedian, and singer, Ms. Beatrice Arthur had passed away from cancer on Saturday, April 25, 2009. I can recall that early this year I had seen a photo of her, and wondered if she was ok.


 

Ms. Arthur was born on May 13, 1992. This is two years after my grandmother's birth, as Ms. Arthur is part of my grandmother's generation but because of her extreme talent she was able to be a part of everyone's generation, no matter the age, race, class and gender.

The first time I became aware of Ms. Arthur was when she did her series, "Maude", which was a spin off of " All In the Family". From that moment I was a fan. I also remember enjoying her performance, as Mame's best friend, Vera, in the movie "Mame" with Ms. Lucille Ball. The interesting thing is that Ms. Arthur played Vera, the best friend to Angela Lansbury's "Mame" on Broadway, of which she won a Tony Award. But her legacy will be "Golden Girls". She won Emmy's for her character, "Dorothy" in Golden Girls and also her lead character in the series, "Maude".

Ms. Arthur born name is Bernice Frankel, who was born in New York City but raised in Cambridge, Maryland. In 1947 Ms. Arthur studied drama at the New School in New York City. Her resume shows that she performed in various plays on and off Broadway. After "Golden Girls", I was happily surprised to see her on cable series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" where she played actor, Larry Davis', mother. Then in 2002, and damn, I regret not seeing it, she returned to Broadway, in a project called, "Bea Arthur on Broadway", where she told stories about her wonderful life and career. (I hope that this was recorded and will be released for her fans.) What many didn't know is that Ms. Arthur was married twice. Her first husband, Robert Alan Aurthur, was screenwriter, television and film producer. After the divorce, she kept the last name but changed the spelling. From 1950 to 1978, she was married to director, Gene Saks where she adopted two sons, Matthew (born in 1961) and Daniel (born in 1964).

The last time her fans, the public, saw Ms. Arthur was on, June 8, 2009, at the "TV Lands" awards where she and former television mates, Ms. Betty White and Ms. Rue McClanahan were honored. Towards the end of her life, she requested that it be a private matter, where she spent her final days surrounded by her two sons and her two granddaughters.

Entertainers many times don't realize the impact that they have to their many fans. I knew I had to write an article in memory of Ms. Arthur but for the first few days I was shocked and felt a great loss. I needed time to process this moment. She was one of my grandmother's favorite actresses and a favorite of mine too. It was also released that the reason Ms. Arthur did not attend Ms. Estelle Getty's funeral is that she was battling her own illness during this time. To her family, we at GBMNews are praying for you during this difficult time. Thank you Ms. Arthur for sharing your many gifts. Thank you for being a friend. You read it here at GBMNews.com