And Then There's Bea


I have just possibly done the gayest thing in my entire life. I changed my ring tone to the theme song from Maude. Of course this choice is in homage to the legendary deadpan Bea Arthur who passed away Saturday morning. (I guess my other choice could have been Thank You for Being a Friend from The Golden Girls. Yeah, not so much.) As a matter of fact, I was so taken with the moment, I not only bought And Then There's Maude, but the entire Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends album on iTunes. (Can I still say album? It sounds so wrong.)

When I first met Michael he would do this weird thing. He'd say a joke and then to punch the laugh he'd look away and do a take. Thing is, the take would be to no one. I finally pieced together that my man goes nowhere without his invisible camera. He was practicing his Bea Arthur technique, the standard comedic ba-dah-bum rhythm. Think of the typical Dorothy moment on The Golden Girls: "Shut up, Rose,"-beat-take to the camera. And my husband would do that. In a restaurant, in the park, sometimes in the bedroom, didn't matter. He longed to be the next Bea Arthur.

About seven years ago Michael and I went to see her show here in LA. We stood in line behind Sharon Stone waiting to get into the theatre. Sharon Stone! What a sighting, right? This was right after the komodo dragon attacked her ex-husband's foot. And she was talking to her friend about the problems she was having with her psychic. I thought I hit star sighting jackpot. I could spin this one out for years. But after Queen Bea stepped on that stage, the Sharon Stone thing became a distant memory. Bea was genius. She opened the show with a piece called Lamb, in which she tells the audience how she prepares leg of lamb. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she made this mundane Julia Child recipe hysterically funny. Tears were running down my face, I was laughing so hard. She probably could have read Moby Dick and I'd bust a gut. I think we will all miss this virtuoso of comedy.


Compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizin'...

Comments

KiKi said…
LOVE the clip...and the Maude ring tone? You're my new hero!
i am the diva said…
that's such a great clip... i'm gonna miss my Dorothy.... too young for Maude, but maybe i'll get the seasons on dvd
Ivanhoe said…
She was always my fave Golden Girl. I'll miss her.
Miranda said…
OMG that was a good clip. She will be missed. I loved her shows, they were all good.

LOL good on you and the ringtone ^5's you, always better to have something totally different on a ring tone!

(the word verification was 'menroc' thought that was kinda funny LOL)
Anonymous said…
OMG, I had no idea she passed away. Loved her :(
LegalMist said…
bummer. missed the clip; now it says it's unavailable...

great post, though. She was one of my early favorites, too.
Joanie said…
I always liked Bea Arthur. She always played such ballsy gals!

Too bad I didn't get to see the clip before viacom pulled it.
Amy said…
Great tribute. I just gave her a little blog love as well tonight. This morning...damn.

Your munchkins are beautiful little creatures, by the way and your husband is my kind of guy. I often make decisions based on how I think they'll play out when my life is made into a movie.
Bea,
Was a great actor. I will miss the hope of seeing her in something new but will continue to laugh hysterically at the reruns.
enjoy pjc
ShanaM said…
Maude ring tone? Very cool.
Bea was great!!
nitebyrd said…
What a lovely tribute.
Sue said…
The theme song from Maude, wow, how did you even find that? I always loved Bea and was touched by your post. BTW, you have an awesome blog and your two baby's are adorable.
Take care,
Sue
charlemagne said…
I forgot what a badass bea arthur was until I watched that clip. And, your charming blog has made me lose all interest in studying for my final! i'll have to bookmark it for when i've got a bit more free time, sadly. :(

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