Goodbye, Sweet Bea: Bea Arthur, star of the long-running hit TV sitcoms "Maude" and "Golden Girls" and award winning Broadway stage actress passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 25, at the age of 86. Arthur, a longtime friend of the gay community, was beloved for her acidic way with a wisecrack, her spot-on comedic timing, ribald sense of humor and one-of-a-kind baritone singing voice. Arthur's breakthrough came in 1955 when she played the role of Lucy in the legendary production of Bertolt Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" on Broadway opposite Lotte Lenya. Just over a decade later she essayed the memorable role of Vera Charles, the drunken hambone sidekick to Angela Lansbury's Mame, winning a Tony and introducing her signature song ( "The Man in the Moon" ) in the process. Arthur went on to recreate the role in the 1974 film version alongside Lucille Ball. But it is Maude ( 1972-1977 ) and Golden Girls ( 1985-1992 ) that brought Arthur lasting fame. Both shows continue to be extremely popular with LGBT audiences, something acknowledged by Arthur, and both television shows tackled gay subject matter with storylines that argued for equality for gay people.
In 2001, Arthur toured with her one-woman Tony-nominated show, Bea Arthur: Just Between Friends. She was overwhelmed by the reception the show received in front of a largely gay audience in Provincetown, Mass. "Oh my God, it was like I was visiting royalty. Truly, truly, I've never felt so loved and wanted and needed in my life," she told Instinct magazine. In 2003 she appeared in out director Rick McKay's documentary Broadway The Golden Age, reminiscing about the early days of her career on Broadway. Arthur also made a memorable cameo appearance along with Patrick Stewart in Out There, a television special produced by Comedy Central in 1993 that was one of the first television showcases of gay and lesbian comedians. "Everybody Today Is Turning On," a song from her 1979 CBS variety special, was dedicated to the pleasures of getting high and sung with another gay icon, Rock Hudson; the video has become a YouTube favorite. Locally, a reunion duet of "Bosom Buddies" with her Mame co-star Angela Lansbury from the 1987 Tony Awards has been a weekly staple at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted, for years.
"There is still so much intolerance," Arthur told Instinct magazine, referring to the attitudes the gay community faces. "We need to change that." Arthur, who was married and divorced twice, is survived by two sons and two granddaughters.
