Who can forget Bea Arthur's unique, sarcastic, gravely sounding voice? Somehow we all just knew that when she opened her mouth, we had a tongue lashing coming to us.
The voice of logic that was obviously her trademark. The voice suddenly silenced last Saturday due to Cancer.
In the 70's my mother looked forward to watching "Maude" (her favorite TV show during that time) each week.
Maude represented a strong woman who stood up without fear of repercussion for whatever issue she believed in. Better yet Bea was Maude!
Due to the era in which she grew up and by not wanting to appear confrontational, my mother was often either afraid or too self-conscious about speaking up. Thus Maude became her female hero.
In "Golden Girls" Bea played the role of sensible, serious "Dorothy". Dorothy who was her mother's semi-caretaker.
Again my mother identified with Bea (somewhat), in that she too was my grandmother's caretaker.
Bea Arthur (real name Bernice Frankel) from NYC, a Champion for Women's Rights, dead at 86. Gone but never, ever to be forgotten.
Even though I was a child when Maude was a hit sitcom, that voice will resonate in my memory through out eternity.
Perhaps one day I'll finally get to meet Bea just to say thanks for helping my mother become a stronger woman, even if only in her mind.
Bea Arthur, R.I.P. my sister.
In the episode of "Maude" below, Bea discusses the issue of choosing to have an Abortion with her sitcom husband, Walter and daughter, Carol. Including such a topic in the show's script was a real milestone for television in the 1970's.
Sources: MSNBC, LA Times, Museum of Broadcast Communications, Wikipedia, Flickr, Youtube
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