Rue McClanahan, The Golden Girls' "Blanche" & Maude's Best Friend "Viv," Has Died

Rue McClanahan's forty year TV career began with a regular role on soap opera Another World and guest roles on such series as All in the Family and Mannix. She's best known for her work on the series Maude, Mama's Family, and The Golden Girls. She won the Emmy Award in 1987 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as "Blanche Devereaux" on The Golden Girls.

Click here for Rue McClanahan's entire May 4, 2006 Archive of American Television interview.




Interview Description:
Rue McClanahan was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in New York, NY. McClanahan talked about her acting start on the stage and touched on some of her feature films from the 1960s. She discussed her first regular role in television as scheming nurse “Caroline Johnson” on Another World. She recalled how, when her character tries unsuccessfully to poison the mother of the twins she is caring for, she received a fan letter recommending a better poison. She spoke in great detail about her role as “Vivian Cavender” best friend to Bea Arthur on the television sitcom Maude. She described her character, talked about working with the ensemble cast, and commented on memorable series episodes. She then talked about her work as series regular “Aunt Fran” on Mama’s Family. Lastly, she discussed at length the production of the classic 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls and her role of “Blanche Devereaux.” She talked about the casting process, working with the series production personnel, and the transition of the show into The Golden Palace. The interview was conducted by Jim Colucci.

In this excerpt from her interview, she discusses how different The Golden Girls actresses were from their characters:

Actress Beatrice Arthur Dies at 86 - Interview Online

Bea Arthur, the Emmy-winning star of Maude and The Golden Girls, who also garnered a Tony Award for the musical Mame, died Saturday at 86. In January, one of her last public appearances, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. She was interviewed by the Archive in 2001. Click here for her New York Times obituary (with a reference to our interview). The entire 2-1/2 hour interview can be viewed here.

When asked in her interview how she'd like to be remembered, she responded: "As an artist. An important artist."

Here's a selection of clips from the Archive's interview:



Interview Description:
Beatrice Arthur was interviewed for two hours plus in Brentwood, CA. In the interview, Arthur talked about the origins of her stage name and how she started out in plays, off and on Broadway. She then talked about her first movie roles and her appearances on The George Gobel Show and Caesar’s Hour. She described her other early appearances on television in The Seven Lively Arts, Omnibus, Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall and her role in the play and feature film Mame (with Angela Lansbury and Lucille Ball, respectively). She talked about her appearances on All in the Family as the liberal cousin Maude. She then discussed the controversial issues and topics that the series Maude tackled, (such as alcoholism, abortion, death, infidelity and feminism). Arthur also talked extensively about working with Norman Lear on All in the Family and Maude, watching the show 20 years after it first aired and why she eventually left the show. She then briefly talked about her series Amanda’s and then talked affectionately about The Golden Girls. The interview was conducted on March 15, 2001.

A Tribute to Betty White at the Academy!

This August, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will hold an event honoring, "Betty White: Celebrating 60 Years on Television".  Many Archive interviewees will be on-hand for the event, including Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman, Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore, and Bob Stewart. For more information about the event, visit the Academy's website at emmys.tv/events

You can view an excerpt from Betty White's Archive Interview by clicking here, where she discusses her Emmy win for her role as "Sue Ann Nivens" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Interview Description: Betty White

In this 5-part oral history interview, Betty discusses her early career and television work, including "The Betty White Show", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Mama's Family",  and "The Golden Girls". Conducted June 4, 1997 by Tony Fantozzi. Click here to view the entire interview.

Archive News: We are very sorry to report that Estelle Getty, Betty's co-star on The Golden Girls, has passed away. We wish her family and friends the very best.

The TVLand Awards: A Sneak Preview!

Sunday marked the 6th Annual TV Land Awards, and the Archive was represented in full effect!

Archive staff attended the gala event, held in Santa Monica, which airs this Sunday June 15 on TvLand, one of our sponsor partners.

Many of our Archive Interviewees were honored, including a special tribute to producer Garry Marshall, and the Golden Girls' Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan!

Jonathan Winters (pictured here with Archive Digital Projects Manager Jenni Matz) was given the "Pioneer Award" by Robin Williams, and Mike Meyers was on-hand to receive a "Legacy of Laughter" award from Justin Timberlake.

The day began with a red carpet gala with special guests from Barry Williams to Cindy Williams. We spotted Get Smart's original 'Agent 99', Barbara Feldon, Star Trek's William Shatner, and 'The Fonz'-- Henry Winkler!

En route from the parking lot I bumped into Dick Van Dyke, who was gracious enough to thank ME for remembering HIM from his interview.

We can't spill the beans on ALL the surprises the night brought, but be sure to tune in to see it all.

For Golden Girls Fans in Los Angeles, the Sequel

Join author Jim Colucci for a look inside the world of The Golden Girls this Sunday, January 21st, 2 PM at the Santa Monica Public Library (601 Santa Monica Blvd). We attended his last book signing (Archive of American Television: For Golden Girls Fans in Los Angeles) and are happy to report that Jim is an engaging speaker and really knows the show. Also planned, a panel discussion focusing on the show's enduring appeal to the gay and lesbian community with writers Marc Cherry, Stan Zimmerman, Winifred Hervey, Robert Bruce, and Richard Vaczy. A booksigning follows.

Jim's book, The Q Guide to the Golden Girls chronicles the genesis and key gay-themed episodes of The Golden Girls with interviews with the stars, producers, writers and viewers. (Excerpts of Archive interviews are also included.)

For Golden Girls Fans in Los Angeles

This Wednesday, October 18th, those of you in the Los Angeles-area can join author Jim Colucci at 7:30 pm at the A Different Light bookstore (8853 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood) for a signing of his book, The Q Guide to The Golden Girls. Also to be in attendance: Sirius OutQ host Frank DeCaro, author of the book's introduction, and Glen Hanson, the book's cover artist.

The book chronicles the genesis and key gay-themed episodes of The Golden Girls with interviews with the stars, producers, writers and viewers. In fact, parts of Archive of American Television interviews with Rue McClanahan (which Jim conducted) and Beatrice Arthur were cited in the book.