Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both roles. A stage actress both before and after her television success, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Vera Charles in the original cast of Mame . Arthur was born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1922 to Philip and Rebecca Frankel in New York City. In... 1933 her family moved to Cambridge, Maryland, where her parents operated a women's clothing shop. She attended Linden Hall School for Girls, an all girls boarding school in Lititz, Pennsylvania, before enrolling in the now-defunct Blackstone College for Girls in Blackstone, Virginia, where she was active in drama productions. Arthur joined the United States Marine Corps in 1943. She worked at such jobs as typist and truck driver, and was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant in 1945.
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| Birthdate: | May 13, 1922 |
| Birthplace: | New York City |
| Date of death: | April 25, 2009 |
| Height: | 5' 10" |
| Education: | Blackstone College for Girls |
| Religion: | Judaism |
| Also known as: | Bernice Frankel, Bea Arthur, bea_arthur |