Bea Arthur

Beatrice "Bea" Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress best remembered for her work in Maude and The Golden Girls.

• I... was not too happy to suddenly take on this public role thrust upon me. They just assumed I was the Joan of Arc of the women's movement. And I wasn't at all. It put a lot of unnecessary pressure on me.
  • Interview, Sun Sentinel (1982)

• Making lasting gifts for animals in our estate plans is perhaps the single most important thing we can do to ensure animals have the strongest possible voice for their protection.
  • Interview, Los Angeles Times (March 3, 1990)

• That town was stifling. Three of us got out. Me, John Barth and the guy who wrote "You Are My Sunshine." My dream was to become a very small blonde movie star like Ida Lupino and those other women I saw up there on the screen during the Depression.
  • In "Profile: A Star Without Even Trying; Having Conquered Stage and Television, Award-Winning Bea Arthur" by John Fitzgerald, The Globe and Mail (August 31, 1991), p. 7
    • Regarding the unspecified "You Are My Sunshine" composer (the actual identity[ies of whom never has been—and likely never will be—definitively established), Arthur appears to be mistaken, as none of the usual suspects—neither Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell, Paul Rice, nor Oliver Hood—seems to have any Cambridge connection.

• I can't imagine working without an audience.
  • Interview, The New York Times (December 6, 2000)

• PETA has a proven track record of success. Each victory PETA wins for the animals is a stepping stone upon which we build a more compassionate world for all beings - and we will never give up our fight until all animals are treated with respect and kindness.
  • Interview, The Human Society (January 7, 2004)

• I suddenly realized that comedy, for me, was just being honest, and playing it for real. I've seen so many wonderful actors who turn into creatures from another planet when they're told they are supposed to be playing comedy. I... was not too happy to suddenly take on this public role thrust upon me. They just assumed I was the Joan of Arc of the women's movement. And I wasn't at all. It put a lot of unnecessary pressure on me. I'd never even been to Wrigley Field. I never even enjoyed baseball that much, but I loved being there, the crowd was lovely, and they all sang with me!
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

• It was like the Beatles had arrived, you know. These four elderly ladies, and they were screaming for us-screaming for us. It was wonderful.
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

• You know, the way I'm accepted, I almost feel like Judy Garland, truly. It makes no sense to me because I don't think that I've been any more outspoken... Or maybe I have, I don't know. But everyone I know supports anything that has to do with raising money or with AIDS.
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

• I watch news programs and I love Comedy Central. I love The Daily Show-it's smarter than anything else. I also like The Critic and Celebrity Death Match and South Park. I love all of that.
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

• There were subjects we tackled that had never been even discussed, like I had an abortion. Nobody ever talked about that.
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

• I've been a Democrat my whole life. That's what makes Maude and Dorothy so believable, we have the same viewpoints on how our country should be handled.
  • Interview, TV Legends (August 6, 2005)

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Bea Arthur

• Beatrice Arthur on IMDb