I learned very early this morning that Beatrice Arthur died of cancer at 86. She was an award winning actress, singer and comedienne. Her dry wit, independent spirit and impeccable timing made her a personal favorite of mine. As most of you know, one of my favorite movies is Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell. In the second movie version of the Mame Dennis Story starring Lucille Ball and simply titled Mame, Bea Arthur was cast as Vera Charles in the best friend role. I always felt Beatrice should have been cast in the original movie. It would have made an excellent move perfect, I am sure.Many of you know Arthur as the wisecracking Dorothy Zbornak of the Golden Girls. While I loved Dorothy and the rest of the cast, she will forever be Maude to me. It was one of my favorite sitcoms as a young child (far too young to be tuning in to such a controversial show), and it had a killer theme song to boot (yes, I do know all the words). Maude Findlay was fabulous, strong willed, and funny. Beatrice Arthur made it so. Rest in peace.
