Week of May 1: And Then There Was Bea

And then there will always be Maude. And Dorothy.

Beatrice Arthur, who died last week, put her eternal stamp on two television shows: "Maude" and "The Golden Girls."

Arthur was known primarily as a theater actress when Norman Lear tapped her to play Maude Finley, the outspoken, liberal cousin of Edith Bunker, in one episode of "All In the Family." When Maude went head-to-head with Archie Bunker, played so well by Carroll O'Connor, a new legend - not to mention a television show - was created. As Donny Hathaway sang in that wonderful theme song, she was "anything but compromising - Right On, Maude!"

"Maude" ran on CBS from 1972-77. The cast included Bill Macy, Conrad Bain (later on "Diff'rent Strokes"), Adrienne Barbeau, Esther Rolle (later on "Good Times") and Rue McClanahan (also later on "The Golden Girls"). Much has been made this week of "Maude's Dilemma," just the ninth and 10th episodes of the first season, in which Maude decided to have an abortion.

The episode, done months before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide, was gutsy then; it would take far more courage to do such a program today, when no one wants to offend advertisers, networks or viewers unless it's with sexual content or profanity. Issues made "Maude" the success it was; there is no way network or even cable television would make such a show today.

Later, Arthur and McClanahan joined Betty White and Estelle Getty in NBC's "The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985-92. Arthur played Dorothy Zbornak, daughter of Getty's character Sophia Petrillo. McClanahan was originally cast to play naive Rose Nylund, while White was to be the man-chasing Blanche Devereax, similar to previous roles they'd played. Before taping began, the roles were reversed; White played Rose, McClanahan played Blanche.

All four women and the show won Emmys, and no wonder: The show was part of then-NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's willingness to show some guts of his own in an increasingly youth-oriented medium. McClanahan, then in her 50s, was the baby of the bunch. While not as issue-oriented as "Maude," "The Golden Girls" could tackle some hot topics.

In 1992, Arthur decided she had had enough. Her character was married to Blanche's uncle Lucas Hollingsworth, played by Leslie Nielsen, and "The Golden Girls" ended. Unfortunately, NBC made the worst decision since CBS had tried "After M*A*S*H" and put Getty, White and McClanahan into a spinoff, "The Golden Palace," which didn't last long.

All seven seasons of "The Golden Girls" are available on DVD, and the series is currently shown on the Lifetime cable network. The first season of "Maude," which includes the two-parter "Maude's Dilemma," is also available on DVD, and perhaps interest following Arthur's death might trigger releases of other seasons.

Here's to you, Bea Arthur. Thanks to television, long may you live.