Bea Arthur, star of Maude and The Golden Girls and who won a Tony Award for the musical “Mame,” died Saturday. She was 86.
Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side,in the early morning hours of April 25, 2009. She had been suffering from cancer.
Arthur earned her own spinoff, Maude, in 1972, and became one of the top-rated sitcoms on U.S. Bea first played the role of Maude Findlay on Norman Lear’s All in the Family. The series reached its peak when Maude accidentally became pregnant at 47 years old.
In an unlikely hit from 1985 to 1992 Arthur began her second hit role as Dorothy Zbornak, a divorced grandmother living her golden years with two friends, on The Golden Girls.
In addition to her sons, she is survived by a sister who lives in Montreal, Quebec, and two granddaughters. The family members have asked that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to two of her favorite causes, the ArtAttack foundation and the animal rights group PETA.
RIP 
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