Celebrity Biographies
Bea Arthur
Beatrice Arthur already had a solid career as a film, television and theater actress, when the sitcom The Golden Girls began to air in the mid-1980s . Dorothy’s role as Ella, the teacher with a sonorous voice and sarcastic humor, made her a huge celebrity around the world. The actress died on April 25, surrounded by her family at her residence in Los Angeles, as a result of cancer. She was 86 years old.
New Yorker Bernice Frankel –real name of the interpreter–, born on May 13, 1922, was the daughter of a couple who ran a clothing store. During World War II she became a volunteer nurse and dedicated herself to caring for wounded US Marines. She began acting as an amateur, and turned professional in the 1940s, when she joined an off-Broadway theater group in New York. In her hometown, she triumphed on the stage, especially when she became Yente, one of the characters in “Fiddler on the Roof”, in the first production of the famous musical. Although the character is secondary, she apparently stole the show night after night.
After divorcing Robert Alan Aurthur , screenwriter of All That Jazz (The Show Begins) , Beatrice Arthur joined director Gene Saks ( The Odd Couple , Barefoot in the Park ) for 30 years, with whom she had two children. Saks directed Beatrice in the play “Mame,” for which she won a Best Actress Tony. They also worked together on the film version, titled in Spain Ante todo, mujer . In 1978, Beatrice Arthur had a leading role in the disastrous Star Wars Christmas Special , along with the film’s stars.
Beatrice Arthur starred in the film in the comedy Lovers and Other Strangers , but she triumphed above all on television, with the series Maude , where she played the title character over 6 seasons, with great success. However, she will always be remembered for the series The Golden Girls , where her character, Dorothy Zbomak, was an older divorcee who shared a flat with her mother, Sophia, and her friends Blanche and Rose. This comedy had unprecedented success around the world, and has become a cathodic classic. It lasted seven seasons, at the end of which her character remarried Lucas, a character played by Leslie Nielsen himself .. Beatrice maintained a great friendship with the other three protagonists of the series, and she also appeared in some episodes of the spin-offs of the series: Golden Hotel and Empty Nest .
During her last years of life, the actress appeared in the series Larry David , playing the protagonist’s mother, and in an episode of Malcolm . In addition, she returned to the theater, starring in ‘And There’s Bea’ and doing stand-up comedy. She also collaborated with PETA, an association that defends animals.