Sadly, the great comedic actress Bea Arthur, who just passed away at 86, will likely be remembered mainly for her work on the Golden Girls. Here, in hopes of remedying that to some admittedly very tiny extent, is Arthur’s first appearance on network television as Edith Bunker’s feisty, liberal cousin Maude on All in the Family. (Archie referred to her, I believe in this episode, as a “New Deal fanatic,” a title that I’ve always been fond of.)
Arthur, I should add, also has the distinction of having appeared in the hilariously terrible Star Wars Holiday Special. (She sings at the 8:40 mark, if you follow that link to YouTube.)
[And, for those who are interested, an interview with Arthur talking about her work on the television show Maude can be found here.]
9 Comments
I’ve never seen it, but Bea Arthur also starred in the American remake of Fawlty Towers.
This time I heard about it from you first.
I remember watching Amanda’s when it was on, it think it only lasted a half season. Later I saw Fawlty Towers and saw how inferior Amanda’s was.
Thank you for being a friend
Wasn’t she famous for having a live partial birth abortion on television?
Not all Christmas specials in the late 70’s sucked. Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sySgoCy0_AM&feature=PlayList&p=1F2E0E64179DBC1F&index=0
It’s funny that we were having the same fight about “socialized medicine” over thirty years ago, when this episode was filmed.
I was always fond of her small part as the unemployment office worker in History of the World Pt. 1.
Hmmm… I’ll have to watch that one again. I don’t remember that, Thomas. Thanks.
And I’m sorry to hear that you got your leg sliced open over the weekend while playing bike polo.
What? No mention of Dom DeLuise? Too lowbrow for your audience, Mark?