Legendary Bea Arthur succumbs to cancer at 86.
The acid tongued Bea who’s sharp wit and deep-throated delivery of sarcasm made her a star with TV’s Maude, Norman Lear’s answer to his own Archie Bunker and then again with the Golden Girls in the 1980s, died peacefully at her home in LA.
Her family was by her side spokesman Dan Watt said.
Bea first burst onto the national scene after a long career on stage (winning a Tony as Mame) in the role of Edith Bunker’s cousin the liberal and outspoken Maude netting Arthur an Emmy in 1977.
She later returned to TV as one of the three Golden Girls as caustic Dorothy Zbornak – another hit for the former Bernice Frankel.
“Look – I’m 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," Arthur once said..
"What can I do about it? I can’t stay home waiting for something different. I think it’s a total waste of energy worrying about typecasting."
Arthur is survived by her sons and two granddaughters.
