Bea Arthur’s Top 5 Contributions To Pop Culture
Actress Bea Arthur passed away on April 25, at the age of 86, from cancer. While she personally didn’t identify as feminist, her career made an enormous impact on the women’s movement.
Because America is both a melting pot and a fairly young country, the shared culture is pop culture; they (as are we) are influenced, informed, and ultimately reflected by television, movies, music, books, etc. And Bea Arthur’s work on both stage and screen was defined by much more than her deep voice and deadpan delivery. It played an important part in our social change.
1.) Maude
The Tony and Emmy-winning actress worked in show business for most of her adult life, but it wasn’t until she was 50 that she really made it big — in what she refers to as her “middle-aged Cinderella story” — starring in Maude (a spin-off of All in the Family) that ran from 1972 – 1978. In the title role of Maude Findlay, Arthur played an outspoken liberal feminist and civil rights activist, and the show was far ahead of its time, addressing topics of menopause, alcoholism, plastic surgery, and most notably, abortion.
During the first season, in a two-part episode titled “Maude’s Dilemma,” 47-year-old Maude discovers that she’s pregnant. She and her husband and her adult daughter (Adrienne Barbeau) weigh her options, and ultimately, Maude terminates the pregnancy — a first for network TV. Although abortion was legalised in New York, where Maude was set, the episodes were broadcast in November 1972, two months before Roe v. Wade was decided. Two CBS affiliates refused to broadcast the program. Here’s a clip:
Although Arthur enjoyed the role she played, she didn’t enjoy another—that of a champion of the women’s movement—thrust upon her, saying in a 2001 interview, “They just assumed I was the Joan of Arc of the women’s movement. And I wasn’t at all. It put a lot of unnecessary pressure on me.”
Later in life, however, Arthur adopted some of the language of feminism when discussing the breakup of her second marriage, which she blamed on her dedication to her career. “I don’t think I ever truly believed in marriage anyway. I guess marriage means that you’re a woman and not a . . . person.”
She elaborates on that — and the social importance of Maude — here, in this interview for The Archive of American Television.
2.) Sex and the Single Senior
Playing Dorothy Zbornak in the hit sitcom Golden Girls (which ran from 1985 – 1992), Arthur, and her costars Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Betty White, achieved on prime time TV what seemed to be the impossible: Showcasing post-menopausal women as trendy, funny, and sexual. Way before Sex and the City was lauded for its portrayal of strong female friendships and the discussion of shopping-bag swinger lifestyles over brunch in NYC, Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose talked about their very active sex lives over plates of cheesecake in Miami. In this clip, the girls go out to buy condoms to prepare for a romantic cruise they’re about to embark on with their boyfriends:
All four actresses on the show won Emmys for their roles, making it the first time since All in the Family that a sitcom had an entirely award-winning cast. (You can read an oral history of Golden Girls here.)
Of her role on the show, Arthur said, “It’s very nice to have women realise that women our age can be attractive and well groomed and wear fabulous clothes and earrings, and have a sex life.” Interestingly, when GG first premiered, Dorothy was about the age of Kim Cattrall in the SATC movie.
3.) Breaking the Mold
Having reached the crest of her career in middle age, and being 5′9, with a baritone voice, Arthur was not exactly the ingenue. With her trademark, cutting one-liners, Arthur was way too salty for the sugar-and-spice female stereotype. Instead of fighting the aging process cosmetically, she used it to get a laugh and earn a buck, as seen in this Golden Girls clip.
She carried the same attitude later on in her career, as well, as seen in the TV Land show Back to the Grind in 2007. (Clip below.)
4.) Gay Icon
In addition to her work as an animal rights activist, Arthur involved herself in AIDS awareness, speaking at many events. (She once said, “Of course I have gay friends — doesn’t everybody?” and when lesbian rumours surfaced, she responded, “I think it is because of the voice, but who cares?”) Episodes of Golden Girls and Maude both addressed the subject of homosexuality, but this ’70s performance, featuring Arthur singing about drugs with her friend Rock Hudson, stands out the most.
5.) Ribald and Refined
While a lot of the humour on Golden Girls was assuredly bawdy, Arthur pushed the envelope for a joke in real life, too. We leave you with her dramatic reading from Pamela Anderson’s novel Star Struck, regarding anal sex.
Roast of Pamela Anderson Bea Arthur Uncensored comedycentral.com
Cheers To ‘Maude’ Bea Arthur [NPR]
Here’s looking at you, Bea Arthur [USA Today]
Beatrice Arthur: A towering comedic talent from another era [LA Times]
‘Golden Girls’: A 20th Anniversary Oral History [EW]
Earlier: Bea Arthur: Golden Bitch
Bea Arthur Does Carrie Bradshaw In Old Lady Version Of Sex And The City
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Oh shoot that Maude clip: the part where her daughter points out it Maude has never gotten over it being "dirty and sinister" while she was growing up hit home with me because I feel the same way sometimes. And I'm in my 20s.
Like others, I feel like we haven't come as far as we should have. Sigh. Of course, I did grow up in the conservative South.
But now I want to see that whole episode. And I would love to watch a Golden Girls marathon, but I'm working late tonight.
Bea will be missed.
@IBleedGlitter: And I'm already watching it!
@rocknrollunicorn: Yeah, I've never really liked her either. It was funny as fuck.
@Penny Plastic: Watching this Maude clip actually made me tear up, because you don't see scenes like this on TV anymore.
A couple of years ago there was a Degrassi episode (the new version) where a character has an abortion and it's handled so well. Unfortunately, they wouldn't air it in the States.
I am still unable to cope with Bea's passing. There's definitely something missing in this world.
"Interestingly, when GG first premiered, Dorothy was about the age of Kim Cattrall in the SATC movie."
Isn't it amazing how both shows addressed the issue of "older" women but portrayed them COMPLETELY differently?
crustee
@Baroness: Interesting thoughts, yours. I actually read the clip as Bea and Rock feeling out of it and being nostalgic for a simpler time. I don't think they were being lighthearted about "hard" drugs, but I also don't think they were wagging their fingers. To me, it was all about "Boy, are we over the hill ..."
(And hopefully the conservatives saw it that way too ...)
You could be dead right, of course ...
ginger rant
This is a lovely tribute to one of my favorite Grand Dames. Thanks for that.
I loved seeing Bea in interviews and especially at roasts, as her wit was quick and razor-sharp, and she could trade barbs with the best of them.
My friends and I look forward to getting older, living together and eating cheesecake. Gotta love these girls. Sophia and DOrothy were my favorites:(
KiddyKat
One more thing! A few years ago (ok more like 7 or 8, looking at the timeline of her life), when she was on tour for her stage show, she sang "take me out to the ballgame" at a Cubs game I attended. My brother would have been around 10 then. It was like the best day of *both* our lives.
On a side note, I also caught Richard Marx at another game. I bring the 80s awesome sauce when I attend games, apparently.
@Penny Plastic: Because, sadly, I think we have. I have noticed this trend before; the Maude clip just solidified it in my mind, though.
It has become the thing of which you dare not speak, it seems.
leesie
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: I have a lady crush on her! The tap-dancing episode -she has a FABULOUS body!
@greeneyedfem: I hate to secretly rejoice over it, but I have always greatly disliked SS and I feel vindication now.
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: omg thanks!!!! :)
@MeaniePants: My husband is going to kill himself when Betty White dies. Not only does he find her talented and funny but, in his words "she rocks those bombs." Yeah... he's got a crush on Betty White.
@rocknrollunicorn: I noticed that too. What was up her butt? That shit was hilarious!
greeneyedfem
@trianaorpheus: Bitch had an article about unwanted pregnancies on TV a few years ago -- most of the characters surveyed decided to have the baby (to keep it or give it up for adoption) or had convenient miscarriages. Or it was a false alarm.
Although one show (I think it was a WB show -- Jack and Bobby? Everwood?) had the character, a teen girl, actually get an abortion, and then die the next week in a fiery car crash.
greeneyedfem
Brilliant tribute - I'd never heard of Maude before now. That clip had the only funny abortion-related joke I've ever heard:
'I am NOT scared!'
'You are, and it's as simple as going to the dentist!'
'Okay, NOW I'm scared'.
Can you imagine lines like this making their way into a modern sitcom?
Adrienne Barbeau has such a '70s accent! It makes me wonder, why don't we hear those anymore, from the now-30-years-older set?
Okay, I was very saddened by Estelle's passing. This one made me tear up (and Mrs. Pants very upset.) When Betty or Rue leaves us, I'm going to lose my freaking mind. (And I swear, I will call in to work and request family bereavement time off.)
Bea, thanks for the laughs. You were a comic genius.
@hello.kitty: Did you know Estelle Getty was actually younger than Bea? Blew. My. Mind.
That Rock Hudson duet was really something.. I don't know why it was listed under "Gay Icon", when the clip and song is all about drugs, clearly filmed at a time when Hudson was quite closeted (which would be, "alive"). How is the song about drugs related to her being a "gay icon"?
Okay, it's campy. But I find it fascinating, the nonachalance about- admit it- some really awful drugs. Believe me, I'm a proud liberal, but watching this, and thinking of the era it was broadcast in- even if it was meant to be comic, I swear watching it I see the origins of right-wingers' complaints about a "permissive" society, when Bea and Rock are comically treating angel dust, poppers, heroin, and coke as light-hearted matters.
Please don't get me wrong, I think it's funny. But I also think how horrified a lot of conservative people might have been at the laundry-list of drugs treated so lightly and amusingly on their TVs in 1977. I'm endlessly fascinated by the excesses of the 1970's, and I hate to sound so prudish. I'm just suspecting that when the counterculture went as mainstream as this, the organized backlash began in earnest. Just musing, thinking aloud..
@marlene_forever: I bought a bottle of wine (the wedding was in wine country) the day before and when I found out I called a friend saying "I... I don't know what to do. I bought a bottle of wine. We should drink it for Bea--and then I can thank YOU for being a friend..."
"History of the World, Part I"
That film, in addition to being gut-bustingly funny, also had Madeline Kahn, who combined sexiness and absurdity with wit, and Harvey Korman, whose diction and timing he used for comic brilliance.
Bea Arthur was one of the great "straight men". She had a deadpan delivery that couldn't be matched and fed great lines to all around.
It all comes full circle in this TV Land spoof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMGhd4jMrtI RIP, Bea!
NashCachimbear
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: Love that - I want that image on a magnet now.
@Penny Plastic: I totally think that we have in some ways. It is sad.
applejuice
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: I had 3 different text messages and I alerted two people of her death on Saturday. I have to say I'm really really sad to never have had the chance to meet her or see her live. She was one of the last great old school stars. I have already had a few drinks in her honor.
marlene_forever
Superior tribute!
@rocknrollunicorn: If I had your cell number, I would text you. And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew, you would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say 'Thank you for being a friend.'
@trianaorpheus: Totally! And honestly, when has TV character ever exercised the adoption option? I feel like they always end up keeping the baby or miscarrying. I was thinking about that watching the new 90210 last week -- there's a pregnant 17-year-old and she was going through the adoption process. I thought, "hey, this is interesting." Then of course she decided to keep it. It's like that's the only TV-friendly choice. (They bypassed the abortion option altogether by having her find out "too late" that she was pregnant.)
kad9k
@TheExperience: No one knows what it's like to be a fembot in a manbot's manputer world. This does not femmepute!
@Penny Plastic: I thought about that yesterday. We have moved backwards, back into where it's uncomfortable to say "abortion". And if you present choice on TV you automatically have to bring adoption into now. Usually, the subject will end up "heroically" keeping the baby, see Miranda on Sex and the City.
RIP femputer...
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: Incredible. I might have to print that up and tape it up on my door! Dorothy 4eva
weezgirl
Additionally -- Tracie, I've been looking forward for the tribute I knew you'd put together. And I will be searching for the GG marathon that will surely be running tonight.
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: I'm offended because I had to hear from my friend's mom. No one texted me! And I got like 15 texts when Anna Nicole Smith dies. Not to compare them in any way except that I was not a Guess Jeans fan, but I am SO INTO Golden Girls.
Wtf, friends?
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: LOVE!
@Penny Plastic: I used to watch Maude with my parents when I was really young. I would have been eight when I saw this (I remember it very well). This show regularly blew my mind but my parents, bless them, never batted an eye when it was on, or made me leave the room. We were bunch of liberals in California back then (heh).
I love the last one. omg that is great.
Sarah Silverman didn't seem to think so, however.
Beautiful. Thanks Tracie for putting all this together. I have nothing to add--this says it all.
I just noticed a Golden Girls marathon on WE! Oh man, women on TV today could learn a thing or two from Bea.
@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Not at all! Bea was awesome and will be missed.
I was at my sister-in-law's wedding on Saturday and seriously had 8 text messages/voicemails of people breaking Ms. Arthur's death to me. Literally five minutes after I walked in my hotel room door, my mother-in-law knocked and said "Bea Arthur died! I thought I should tell you. Are you okay?"
I found this both sweet and funny.
That said, I really don't know how to live in a world without Bea Arthur.
I had forgotten about her reading from Pam's book.
So amazing.
I have never seen that Maude clip.
Fuck me, why do I feel like we've moved backwards? Wow.
Thank you for adding the dramatic reading. I remember laughing so hard I almost passed out when I saw this.
Okay that last screengrab has convinced me that Dorothy is Sophia's daughter!
hello.kitty
As a musical fan, I must also add:
+ Watch video
Dodgergirl
Ah you read my mind and found that Rock Hudson duet. Yea! So awesome, singing about acid!
hello.kitty
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: It's strange how timeless this show is. well except for the clothes I mean.
I hope to have even a quarter of her awesomeness when I'm her age. She was quite a lady.
Just found out that she and I share a birthday (May 13). Not especially improbable, and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, maybe, but a small connection that I thought was sort of cool.
I just sent that Rock Hudson video to a bunch of people. It might be my new favorite thing.
lucyjae
great post Tracie! I have nothing to add here but a round of applause.
Is it too stupid to say, "Thank you for being a friend?" Man I just teared up.
I was traveling over the weekend and just discovered that she had passed away this morning. My boyfriend and I have decided to get drunk and watch our favorite GG episodes tonight.
Thanks for the laughs, Bea :-)
I knew you wouldn't leave out the epic "CONDOMS, CONDOMS, CONDOMS!"
When was it that we had the discussion about how women are (often) afraid to age? Looking at Bea, particularly the more recent photos, makes me not as afraid. She reminds me of my grandmother and great-aunts -- white hair and wrinkles, yes, but you could tell they were happy with themselves and so they were beautiful. And so is -- IS! -- Bea.
@rocknrollunicorn: And a nice set of ta-tas!
@JohanPaladin: oh. okay, well...
@Dodgergirl: I don't trust tryna embed something without being able to preview, so here's a link:
+ Watch video
which is infinitely important, I think. Though it's more than a little stupid, she really sells it and I'm down.
@mbot in ... Hushed Rapings: i noticed that! Where does that come from?
@mbot in ... Hushed Rapings: I heard it as an old-school theater-trained accent...as a native New Yorker, it seems to me that the standard is pretty limited to people now 60 or older. Too bad, huh?
ritualtheory
@crustee: Yes. I mentioned that to my husband. Personally, I'll take Dorothy over Samantha any day.
Actually, the GG/SATC comparisons are superficial at best: a group of women who are (1) friends, and (2) over 30. And that's it. I have the feeling the Golden Girls would've seen the SATC women as frivolous twits who cared more about shoes than social justice and who didn't know the value of a damn dollar. But maybe I'm just projecting...
ritualtheory
@trianaorpheus: Or never even consider abortion. I annoyed everyone I knew for weeks by ragging on "Knocked Up" - like a young, up and coming production assistant in LA is going to keep the product of a drunken one night stand?
Laulau
@greeneyedfem: Wait, that's not what happens when you get an abortion?
I've seen it mentioned both here and on io9, so I think it would be silly not to raise a glass to Bea Arthur, the sci-fi nerd. She was on the truly dreadful and now classic Star Wars holiday special and also voiced Femputer, one of the best characters on what I consider to be one of the top 5 episodes of Futurama. In the commentary, all of the Futurama cast speak very fondly of her and John Dimaggio seems particularly ticked that he got to say "gimmie some of that" to her.
I loved Golden Girls, but I love her for Futurama as well. In the commentaries, the cast and crew never seemed to shy away from criticizing guests they didn't like, so the fact that they had nothing but glowing praise for Bea Arthur makes me think that yes, she really was that cool.
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: People used to tell my grandma they reminded her of Betty White. I will be very sad when Betty White dies.
Red-headed bookworm
@urbanspelunker: Nope, Manny had an abortion, Liberty gave the kid up for adoption. Gah, I'm too old to know this much about the show.
Red-headed bookworm
@bananastand: I thought they finally aired that one. Hmm, anyway, Degrassi is the only show I could think of that dealt with it and with adoption and with keeping a baby.
Red-headed bookworm
@urbanspelunker: Manny gets pregnant by Craig... I think he's cheating on, um, Ashley at the time?
@kad9k: Dr. Chen on ER went through with the adoption of her baby.
@bananastand: Was it Liberty that had an abortion? I stopped watching too soon to know what ever happened.
@Penny Plastic: Please tell me where you found a boyfriend that will watch GG with you?? And even has FAVORITES?!
That Golden Girls condom clip had me laughing until I cried.
Thanks so much, Bea, for all that you did for women through your television work.
AprilLayne
"Instead of fighting the aging process cosmetically, she used it to get a laugh and earn a buck, as seen in this Golden Girls clip."
I'm pretty sure she had a facelift (if not several) while on GG.
jorel845
Only TWO CBS affiliates didn't air the Maude abortion episode? I am sure many more stations would pull this now, thanks to the magic of online conservatives. :(
midwestdesigner
@rocknrollunicorn: I TOTALLY met him when I was 11 at a concert. Got my picture with him and his beautiful mullet. *le sigh* I was SOO in love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLITlAA0QM
RodolfoRabulous
@rocknrollunicorn: I second that!
otoacousticsparkles
That second clip, "condoms, condoms, condoms" was a medium to-do when it aired. Not only was it women buying prophylactics, but they were 'senior' women, and the (unspoken) issue was AIDS.
hello.kitty
The Golden Girls has been, is and will forever be my favorite television show. Dorothy was the best. Bea gave the greatest disgusted looks.
@Penny Plastic: We really have. Moved backwards, I mean.
On the one hand, from a storytelling standpoint, having a baby leads to more "drama" in a storyline that can last either 3 acts (in a movie) or as a season plot point. An abortion, however, is an "ending" and difficult to string out as a decision for that long, at least on a show. Or even a movie. The films I know that dealt with abortion (Fast Times, Last American Virgin) don't have it as the main story point in any sense. It's something that happens, but it's not usually the focus.
I think culturally we've gotten to the point where people know it's a choice but they don't want to see someone actually use it. It makes them too uncomfortable. They're cool if someone goes "oh, hey, great, I have options!" so long as the only option they use involves having the baby.
tiredfairy
@Penny Plastic: i knoooowwww!! where can i find one of those???
mulva
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: This picture is fantastic! Thank you so much for posting it!
killershrew
Another part of Bea Arthur's legacy:
+ Watch video
msanthropic
Don't forget her Star Wars contribution!
[starwarsblog.starwars.com]
These clips are fantastic - I can't believe I've never seen the condom episode!
IvyArbor
Thank you so much for the clips! Just a few months ago I was talking about how amazingly progressive Golden Girls was (specifically referencing the condom episode). But I am too young to have seen much Maude; it sounds like it too addressed a lot of important issues. It does really feel like we've slid back. I feel like if anything, seniors are portrayed in a less fair and realistic light now than they were in the Golden (Girls) Era.
Idra
@Laulau: Right? They wouldn't even fucking say the WORD in Knocked Up. Seriously. Jonah Hill had to say "it rhymes with Shmamortion, " or some kind of cop out stupid bullshit.
@bananastand: Seriously, I just burst into tears watching that clip. When was the last time you heard the word "abortion" on mainstream television?!? I fucking love the balls tv had in the early 70's.
I'll always remember her as the window lady in History of the World Pt. 1. "Oh, so you're a BULLSHITTER!"
Vixen: Return of the Lion - DO WANT, MUCH!
omg I'm watching the Golden Girls right now and I am reminded that we had a jokey blow-up doll (a dude doll) my freshman year of high school and we named him Freddy Peterson.
I mean, it was so good, they named it.
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: There should be snu snu in her honor!
darktruth
Dude, did I just read this?
Oh, wait, I read this instead: [www.nerve.com]
Almost the exact same list. Hee. :)
theatrically
@kad9k: there was a brief story arc on six feet under where claire had an abortion -- but hbo, not mainstream tv.
beautiful tribute.
@rowingrowingrowing:
I wondered about that scene. Were the boys so emotionally stunted and immature they couldn't say the freaking word?
It is heartbreaking to see how much she had deteriorated in the "Back to the Grind" clip. Jesus, time ravages.
@+ Watch video
anniehall77
@TheExperience: Priceless! How about when she played Dewey's babysitter in Malcom in the Middle?
Dreamdate
@greeneyedfem: Was that a play on words? Bea would have loved that comment!
Dreamdate
@IBleedGlitter: I grew up watching Maude, was a young mother during the Golden Girls years. Maude taught us plenty! She definately was a role model for growing gracefully (or at least humorously). Bea Arthur was a national treasure.
Dreamdate
@LaComtesse Mourns Bea Arthur: You guys are great. *sniff*
@Red-headed bookworm: They did, eventually, but I think it took a couple of years.
Geez.. when you guys said Degrassi my mind when straight to the Junior High 1980's version where there is a showdown in school between Spike, who kept her baby, and another girl (damn I can't remember her name) who chose to have an abortion. They had hard-hitting episodes that seemed plausible.
QadiraCaballerial
@bananastand: And we all made fun of the clothes because it was like 1993.
@QadiraCaballerial: OH YEAH! I forgot about that...we watched in sixth grade health class.
@maneki neko: Ditto. Bea was so awesome, I'll take just about anything.
Elizabeth Smith
@darktruth: We'll start with the most beautiful women. Then the large women. Then the petite women. Then the large women again...
It is a total loss..
I feel like in many ways what Bill Cosby did for black families, Bea Arthur did for women in the media. And continues to do so.
I'm just glad she was able to leave in peace without the sickening "death watch" that Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze are currently enduring..
Mellow Fellow, Jello?
Good news and bad news for Golden Girls fans:
There will be a remake of the series.
It will be in Turkish, with Turkish actresses.
Decide for yourself which of these is the good news and which is the bad.
It will be fascinating to see how they manage the cultural stuff for a Turkish audience.
If you're not in Turkey, you can probably catch it somewhere on the Internet.
Yengetch