I know I’m a few days late to be talking about dear departed Bea, but let me just add to the fray that I hope we won’t forget about her successful broadway career that was well under way before she hit the small screen. Â This included playing Lucy in Marc Blitztein’s 1956 American production of The Threepenny Opera.
Additionally, I’ll nominate what I consider to be the best Dorothy episodes of the GG’s:
“Stan Takes a Wife” :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja5B7z4cbmI
“Love Me Tender” :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjj_LRUOu5Y
“Sick and Tired”:Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCyvJ9gZYKU
Choosing Dorothy’s best episodes is naturally an exercise in futility — they were all her best. Â I know it’s sacrilege to say this about a show with the best ensemble cast ever, but the show really was about Dorothy. Â Her relationship with Sophia and Stan really defined so many episodes and her wedding at the end of the series is what ended the show.
So sniff, swig and puff one for Bea — her cares are gone now.
Weeham, we were BORN to become weirdly obsessed with a progressive show about saucy seniors that was popular when we were 5 years old, follow closely the careers of all of its aging stars, ransack the internet for variety show clips displaying the girls’ musical theatre chops, and add the ditties to our bag of party tricks. When is SSP going to actually happen? Soon. We must honor the memory of the late great Bea and how she makes our cares temp-o-rar-il-y gone.
PS- What you did to my Nanny was truly sick. Fernando would not approve.
I was coming to your blog to request a post on our beloved Bea. I should have KNOWN you would be on it. She was everything to everyone. For me, she was a hero where I had none. Who did I have to prove that a tall, sarcastic, vaguely shrewish Leo woman in tropical climes can be an American icon? Dorothy Zbornak, that’s who.
Be there or Bea Arthur.
BRILLIANT
Can I wear this shirt if I lose the bet? (I can’t lose, though, as Rue was born in ’34 and Betty in ’23.) I don’t remember what I’ve won, though.
QED