Bea Arthur passed away yesterday

Washington Post:

Bea Arthur, 86, the actress whose well-timed put-downs, delivered with deep-voiced sarcasm, helped make her a comedy star and social spokeswoman in two major television sitcoms, "Maude" and "The Golden Girls," died April 25 at her home in Los Angeles.

A family spokesman attributed her death to cancer.

Once a wisecracking teenager growing up on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Ms. Arthur went on to an acting career that brought her two of television's Emmy Awards.

I tweeted this yesterday. I mentioned that The Golden Girls was one of my mother's favorite programs. I was often in front of the TV set with her at least before I was able to take command of the remote control and probably before cable.

I know less about Maude other than what I've read at Wikipedia. It almost reminds me of a time that you can catch programming on TV on any given time other than a talk show or a court show like you see on TV these days. Maude may never have been appropriate afternoon fare on TV, but one could catch it on TV in the evening after prime-time.

You know the only example of Maude that I can point out is the visit of the Bunker clan to Maude's home. This was when Maude's daughter was about to get married to a Jewish man, but by the end of the episode they chose to call off the marriage. The thing about this is that it wasn't exactly an episode of Maude, but in fact a crossover with All in the Family. In fact Maude and All in the Family was both created by Norman Lear.

Well I can say The Golden Girls was a great show very popular and I'm sure a lot of people are sad about the passing of Ms. Arthur. May she rest in peace.

PS: She was in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle. I haven't seen that show in a while, but for a good time it was close to becoming one of my favorite all-time TV series. :)