Arthur, Bea (1923—)

views updated

Arthur, Bea (1923—)

With her tall, rangy frame and distinctive, husky voice, actress Bea Arthur has never been anyone's idea of a starlet. However, using her dry humor and impeccable comic timing coupled with an exceptional comfort with her body, she has created some of the most memorable strong female characters on television, in film, and on the musical stage.

Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in New York City and grew up, the daughter of department store owners, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her first attempts on the stage as a torch singer failed when, as she said, "Audiences laughed when I sang about throwing myself in the river because my man got away." Her imposing height and deep voice suited her better for comedy, she decided, and she honed her skills doing sketch comedy at resorts in the Poconos. In 1954 she got her first big break when she landed a role off-Broadway playing opposite Lotte Lenya in The Threepenny Opera. Audiences loved her, and throughout her career she has looked back fondly on the role that started her successful career: "Of everything I've done, that was the most meaningful. Which is like the first time I felt, I'm here, I can do it."

Arthur continued to "do it," wowing audiences with her comedic skill as well as song and dance. She originated the role of Yente the matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and she won a Tony playing Angela Lansbury's "bosom buddy" Vera Charles in Mame. She reprised the role in the film version (1974), this time opposite comedy legend Lucille Ball. Her other films include Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and The Floating Lightbulb.

But it is on television that Arthur has created her most enduring characters. In the early 1970s, she guest-starred on Norman Lear's groundbreaking situation comedy All in the Family, playing Edith's abrasively opinionated cousin, Maude. Maude was so popular with viewers that she was spun off into her own Lear series. Finding a welcoming groove in the early years of women's liberation, Maude remained on the air for a six-year run, winning an Emmy for Arthur for her portrayal of a strong woman who took no guff from anyone. Tired of the "yes, dear" stereotype of sitcom wives, 1970s audiences welcomed a woman who spoke her mind, felt deeply, and did not look like a young model. In her fifties, Arthur, with her graying hair, big body, and gravelly voice, was the perfect embodiment for the no-nonsense, middle-aged woman, genuine and believable, as she dealt with the controversial issues the show brought up. Even hot potato issues were tackled head-on, such as when an unexpected midlife pregnancy forces Maude to have an abortion, a move that more modern situation comedies were too timid to repeat.

After Maude, Arthur made an unsuccessful sitcom attempt with the dismal Amanda's, which only lasted ten episodes, but in 1985, she struck another cultural nerve with the hit Golden Girls. An ensemble piece grouping Arthur with Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan (a co-star from Maude), and Betty White, Golden Girls was an extremely successful situation comedy about the adventures of a household of older women. The show had a long first run and widely syndicated reruns. All of the stars won Emmys, including two for Arthur, who played Dorothy Sbornak, a divorcee who cares for her elderly mother (Getty).

Arthur, herself divorced in the 1970s after thirty years of marriage, has brought her own experiences to the characters that she has added to the American lexicon. In spite of her exceptional success, she is a deeply shy and serious person who avoids talk shows and personal interviews. Though she does not define herself as political or spiritual, she calls herself a humanitarian and is active in AIDS support work and animal rights. She once sent a single yellow rose to each of the 237 congresspeople who voted to end a $2 million subsidy to the mink industry. In perhaps the ultimate test of her humanitarian principles, she assisted in her elderly mother's suicide.

Arthur has become somewhat of a cult figure in the 1990s. The satirical attention is partially inspired by the movie Airheads (1994) in which screwball terrorists take over a radio station, demanding, among other outrageous requests, naked pictures of Bea Arthur. Bumper stickers with the catch phrase "Bea Arthur—Be Naked" and a cocktail called Bea Arthur's Underpants, a questionable combination of such ingredients as Mountain Dew, vodka, and beer, are some of the results of Arthur's cult status.

—Tina Gianoulis