I don’t know what it was about a group of sassy old ladies that so enthralled a seven-year-old, but I loved watching The Golden Girls. They were bawdy and funny and kind of reminded me of my crazy grandma Iris who lived in Florida and sang Karaoke every week while drunken frat boys on spring break stuffed dollar bills down her shirt. So when I just read that Bea Arthur has died at the age of 86, I literally yelled, “noooooooo,” causing Luke to run into our office in a panic.
While Sofia was the funniest, Rose was the dippiest and Blanche was the sluttiest, Dorothy was the one with whom I always identified the most. She was the level-headed one; the one who kept everything together. Even as a child I admired that about her. While I know her almost exclusively as Dorothy Zbornack, she affected a whole other generation as the titular character in Maude. Arthur had already rocked the television world when her character decided to get an abortion, years before her deadbeat ex, Stan, was her biggest problem. Join me as we look at some of my favorite Bea Arthur moments.
At the age of 47, Maude discovers she’s pregnant and faces the biggest dilemma of her life:
“Condoms Rose, Condoms, Condoms, CONDOMS!” I actually remember seeing this when I was too young to know exactly what condoms were, but I was old enough to know that this was naughty. I also love that this came a good 5-10 years before every news outlet in the world started doing stories on “Elder Sex” like it was a brand new thing.
“Miami, Miami, you’ve got style…” To this day, I will randomly get this song stuck in my head. Watching this clip again just makes me remember how much ass it kicked and how it made me want to move to Miami. The funny part is, it was around this time that my family lived in Ft. Lauderdale, which is just a stone’s throw from Miami. I was so close, yet so far.
“I got you babe.” Fact: this is how I know this song. At the time, I knew who Cher was, but I had no idea that she used to be married to a little dude named Sonny and that they had a variety show together. I just thought this was the funniest thing I had ever seen. It still is.
“You’re angels. All of you.” I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry when The Golden Girls finally ended, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get teary all over again while watching this.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Apr 25, 2009 @ 17:24 EST5EDT
I never did see Maude, but I did love the character from All in the Family. In college, my friends (mostly gay guys) and I would go to great lengths not to miss the syndicated reruns of The Golden Girls. I still have a CD a friend made me with the theme song as the first track. Oh, I can’t even recount all the drunken sing-alongs there were. The Golden Girls = pure genius, and without Bea Arthur, it wouldn’t have been the same.
So so sad, such a long full life through.