Bea Arthur was one of my favorites. It's terribly sad news that she has passed away.
I first encountered her in the 1966 Original Cast recording of Mame, where she played Vera Charles opposite Angela Lansbury's Auntie Mame.
A year later a bunch of us trekked up to New York City to visit a former classmate and attend a performance of Mame, where both Lansbury and Arthur were still in the cast.
Here's a clip of the two of them about thirty years later performing "Bosom Buddies" from that show.
In 1994 Bea Arthur, along with many other luminaries such as Jack Klugman and Celeste Holm, appeared at an AIDS benefit here in Philadelphia at the Academy of Music. Shortly before that performance a Gallop Poll had proclaimed Philadelphia as America's most hostile city.
When Bea Arthur stepped out on the stage (to a thundering ovation), she said, "I can't tell you how happy I am to be here in Philadelphia...because as you know, I am basically hostile."
Bye-bye, Bea. Miss you.
