This was the news I was hoping for after this long, sad weekend.

New York Times
Broadway to Dim Its Lights for Bea Arthur!

The marquees of Broadway theaters will be dimmed for one minute on Tuesday at 8:00pm in honor of Bea Arthur, who died on Saturday. She was 86.

Hope you are all holding up well! Thanks again for all the emails and messages. I am a little back logged but will try to get to them as soon as I can.

Kev!

You would think that I would be prepared for this day, because I certainly did. No. My jaw just dropped when a friend messaged me saying so sorry to hear about Bea. I said “WHAT?, where did you hear this”, being stuff like this is thrown at me all the time. But, as I have always said, I won’t believe it until I see it on CNN. Well, it was on MSNBC’s web site, so if that isn’t a confirmation enough, I don’t know what is. However, as I write this, I am now seeing it as breaking news on CNN. I am in shock, as I, nor anyway in the public knew that she had cancer. I’m sure more will be released in the future about these details.

In the meantime, let me just say that my thoughts and prayers to go her family and friends that had the private knowledge of Bea’s cancer and decline, in which I’m sure they have been secretly concerned about all this time.

I’m going to post this up right now, but will be updating it when more information is present. At of this moment, it is only breaking news that she passed away this morning from cancer. No further information is available as of this original posting. So stay tuned, as always.

She really appreciated her fans, you. So, don’t forget that! Don’t be sad today, instead break out your Golden Girls and Maude DVDs and remember why we loved that dry-wit sense of humor that got us through our own personal hard times in life. That is what friends are for, thank you Bea.

This site is understandably getting hit hard today, so it’s going up and down a lot. Feel free to follow my twitter as I will be posting on there as well. www.twitter.com/vectorlyme

Kev!

Beatrice Arthur – May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009

CNN.com
MSNBC.com
Foxnews.com
EOnline.com
Associated Press
TMZ.com
Huffingtonpost.com
joemygod.blogspot.com
popeater.com

:: Additional tidbits and points of interest from news sources ::

• “Maude,” “Golden Girls” star was at home with family in Los Angeles
• No funeral services are currently planned, family asked that donations be made to either the Art Attack Foundation or PETA in lieu of flowers.

A note I just received from Bea’s assistant/spokesperson ::

On be half of the Art Attack Foundation we are deeply saddened by the lost of one of Broadway and Television’s greatest, Bea Arthur.

Ms. Arthur broke onto the American theatre scene in 1954 when she performed in a production of Three-Penny Opera. Miss Arthur followed her stage debut with another successful off-Broadway musical, The Shoestring Revue. In 1964 it was the role of Yenter, the matchmaker, in Fiddler on the Roof, which made her truly famous. A year later she won her greatest Broadway acclaim in Mame. Starring opposite Angela Lansbury, her portrayal of Vera Charles, a savagely witty and serpent-tongued woman earned her a Tony Award in 1966.

Famed producer Norman Lear took note of Miss Arthur in The Shoestring Review, and convinced her to do a guest role as Edith Bunker’s cousin, Maude, on All in the Family. Her character was so intriguing that she got her own show in 1972. Bea won an Emmy for best actress in a comedy series for her work on Maude. Next, Arthur joined the cast of The Golden Girls, for which she also won an Emmy. The show ran seven years.

Bea’s career encompassed all area’s of the performing arts which is why she was the perfect fit to be our Chairperson. As a way to say “thank you” for Miss Arthur’s support through the years, the Art Attack Foundation has decided to create a special scholarship in her name that will be given to those with exceptional talent and drive in the performing arts. Bea, you were an inspiration to many and you will be truly missed.

With Love,

Dan Watt
Founder/Executive Director
Art Attack Foundation

Got some extra cash? Then donate to this web site! (Sorry, first thing that came to mind) Or, treat yourself to the new 19-disc DVD box set that is due to release on June 9th! Obviously, I am a fan of anything that Bea is in, but aside from her work alone, I have been a fan of Norman Lear just as long, if not longer. Growing up on hits like All In The Family, Good Times and The Jeffersons, it wasn’t until years later when focusing on Bea’s career that I put it all together of Lear being the brains behind all of these shows. So, click HERE to check out the full run down of what is in this box set. If interested in it, you can pre-order it now at a dandy of a reduced price on Amazon today!

Also, be sure to watching THIS video trailer of the release. There are some, short but sweet, clips of our Bea in it! They are quite recent and she is looking great as usual!

Until next time!
Kev!

This was the news I was hoping for after this long, sad weekend.
New York Times
Broadway to Dim Its Lights for Bea Arthur!
The marquees of Broadway theaters will be dimmed for one minute on Tuesday at 8:00pm in honor of Bea Arthur, who died on Saturday. She was 86.
Hope you are all holding up well! [...]

You would think that I would be prepared for this day, because I certainly did. No. My jaw just dropped when a friend messaged me saying so sorry to hear about Bea. I said “WHAT?, where did you hear this”, being stuff like this is thrown at me all the time. But, as I have [...]

Got some extra cash? Then donate to this web site! (Sorry, first thing that came to mind) Or, treat yourself to the new 19-disc DVD box set that is due to release on June 9th! Obviously, I am a fan of anything that Bea is in, but aside from her work alone, I have been [...]