by Ted Sherman

Created on: May 15, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

The late Bea Arthur was always the strong, no-nonsense, in-control woman on both the small and large screens. As with many of America's entertainment gods and goddesses, she seemed to be beyond merely human to her many fans. She had no faults nor need for anyone else. No star worshipper could ever picture George Clooney with bad breath, Angelina Jolie's nose dripping from a bad cold, nor Tom Hanks with a severe itch. Americans believe their Mount Olympus dwellers are perfect.

Just a few years ago, Bea Arthur sat directly in front of several of her fans in the audience at a Friars Roast. Close up, she was just as impressive as she was on TV and movie screens. Sharply dressed, tall and very good-looking in her no-nonsense Golden Girls manner.

Bea was there with a very elderly man, and throughout the program, she was very kind and gentle with him. She helped him to his seat, held his hand and then stayed close to him during the reception that followed. No one asked what the relationship was between them, if any. It could have been totally casual, and Bea had just volunteered for the evening to keep him comfortable. Many illusions of Bea as the ego-driven superstar changed that night because her fans discovered she was not from Mount Olympus. They gained a new dimension of respect for her as a basic example of a kind-hearted human being.

Another real-life incident happened just several years ago that proves, even into her 80s, Bea still had her wonderfully wry sense of humor she displayed in her performances. When going through security at Boston's Logan airport, Bea forgot she had left a pocketknife in her purse. When a clueless security guy took it out and started to lecture her, Bea screamed in that loud baritone voice, "The terrorists! The terrorists put a knife in my purse! We're all doomed!" Some news services misinterpreted it as an insane old woman going unreasonably ballistic, but to those who knew her, it was just Bea in character giving a farewell comedy performance.

Bea was born Bernice Frankel in New York City. The year is still, like Bea, controversial. She always claimed it was 1926, but some official records show it as 1922. She attended various schools in New York, then later near her father's clothing store in Maryland. She earned a bachelor's degree in medical technology, but didn't last long in that field. In 1947, she enrolled in drama studies at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan.

She gained extensive experience in roles that

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>