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Bea Arthur

Actor

Bea Arthur

Born May 13, 1922 in New York City, New York, USADied April 25, 200912 films

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).

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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.

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.

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The best way into Bea Arthur's work
History of the World: Part I posterFirst watchHistory of the World: Part I19816.7as Dole office clerk (uncredited)An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
The Star Wars Holiday Special poster3.4The Star Wars Holiday Special1978

Filmography

12 films as actor
  1. 2021Forever Golden! A Celebration of the Golden GirlsDorothy Zbornak
  2. 2000Enemies of LaughterPaul's Mother
  3. 1995For Better or WorseBeverly Makeshift
  4. 1988My First LoveJean Miller
  5. 1985The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
  6. 1984P.O.P.Rosalyn Gordon
  7. 1981History of the World: Part IDole office clerk (uncredited)
  8. 1978The Star Wars Holiday SpecialAckmena
  9. 1974MameVera
  10. 1970Lovers and Other StrangersBea Vecchio
  11. 1959That Kind of WomanWAC (uncredited)
  12. 1958The Gift of the MagiMrs. Abercrombie