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1-11 of 11
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Actress-comedienne Bea Arthur was born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1922 in New York City to a Jewish family. She grew up in Maryland, where her parents ran a dress shop. At 12 years old, she was the tallest girl in her school at 5'9".
She earned the title of "Wittiest Girl" in her school, and her dream was to be in show business, but she didn't think her family would support her. She then worked as a laboratory technician, and in the Marine Corps; she drove a truck, and worked as a typist. Her brief first marriage ended in divorce. Afterwards, she told her parents that she wanted to pursue a career in show business, and they supported her decision to join the New York's Dramatic Workshop for the New School for Social Research.
Arthur (her acting name based on a variation of her first husband's surname) played classical and dramatic roles, but it would be years before she found her niche in comedy. Her breakthrough came on stage while appearing in the musical play "The Threepenny Opera," with Lotte Lenya. For one season in the 1950's, she was a regular on Sid Caesar's television show,Caesar's Hour (1954). In 1964, she became truly famous as Yente the Matchmaker, in the original Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof". Despite this being a small supporting role, Arthur stole the show night after night.
In 1966, she went to work on a new Broadway musical, "Mame", directed by her second husband, Gene Saks, winning a Tony Award for the featured role of Vera Charles. The show's star, Angela Lansbury, also won a Tony Award, and she and Bea became lifelong friends. In 1971, Arthur appeared on the hit sitcom All in the Family (1971) as Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's cousin, who was forever driving Archie Bunker crazy with her liberal politics. The guest appearance led to Arthur's own series, Maude (1972). The show was a hit, running for six years, during which many controversial topics of the time, including abortion, were tackled, and Bea won her first Emmy Award. While doing Maude (1972), Arthur repeated the role of Vera Charles in the film version of Mame (1974), again directed by Gene Saks, but it was a dismal flop. She also appeared on The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). While appearing in Maude (1972), she raised her two sons, whom she had adopted with husband Gene Saks. After the show ended, so did her marriage to Saks. She never remarried. She became a lifelong animal rights' activist.
In 1983, she started working on a new sitcom, Amanda's (1983), patterned after Britain's Fawlty Towers (1975) but it was short-lived. In 1985, The Golden Girls (1985) made its debut. Co-starring Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show was about the lives of three middle-aged women, and one elderly mother, (played by Getty, who was actually younger than White and Arthur), living in Miami. It was an immediate hit, running for seven seasons. All of the cast members, including Arthur, won Emmy Awards during the show's run. She left when she thought each show was at its peak. The producers realized the shows wouldn't be the same without her. In 1992, The Golden Girls (1985) was canceled. Arthur kept a low profile, appearing in only two movies: For Better or Worse (1995) and Enemies of Laughter (2000).
In 1999, Arthur made an appearance at The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Jerry Stiller (1999). She did a one-woman stage show in 2001, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. In 2003, she reunited with Betty White and Rue McClanahan for The Golden Girls (1985) reunion special on the Lifetime Channel. Noticeably absent was supporting actress Estelle Getty, who was ill. The three lead actresses made appearances together for the rest of the decade to promote DVD releases of The Golden Girls (1985). They appeared together for the last time in 1998, at the TV Land Awards, receiving a standing ovation as they accepted the Pop Culture Award. She attended her induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, with Angela Lansbury.
On April 25, 2009, at home with her family, Arthur died of cancer. She was 86. She was survived by her two sons, Matthew and Daniel, and her grandchildren, Kyra and Violet. In her will, she left $300,000 to New York's Ali Forney Center, an organization supporting homeless LGBT youths.- Actor
- Writer
Joe Wright was born on October 28, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA as Joseph Anthony Wright. He was an actor and writer, known for Silver Bullet (1985), S.C.R.E.W.D. (2006) and Poison Ivy (1985). He had become rich in his later years and bought himself a mansion. He died on April 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Thin and gaunt-faced character actor Fernando Jose Hilbeck Gavalda was born on July 7, 1933 in Madrid, Spain. His father was English. Hilbeck studied in Peru, where he earned a degree in Humanities from the University of Lima. He started acting on stage and was a member of the Prandello y De Servi theatre for two years. Fernando moved to Rome, Italy and began acting in movies. He made his film debut in Michael Curtiz's "Francis of Assisi" in 1961. Hilbeck returned to Spain and embarked on a long, diverse and distinguished thirty-plus year cinematic career which encompassed everything from Westerns to dramas to thrillers to comedies to horror features to even Orson Welles' "Chimes at Midnight." Fernando was a favorite of writer/director Sidney W. Pink; he acted in such Pink productions as "Pyro," "The Tall Woman," "The Christmas Kid," and "Madigan's Millions." Hilbeck's most memorable roles include creepy zombie Guthrie in the supremely eerie and unnerving "The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue," twitchy nuclear holocaust survivor Arthur in the cruddy end-of-the-world sci-fi stinker "Refuge of Fear," and hypocritical priest Father Damian in the enjoyable Paul Naschy horror vehicle "Howl of the Devil." Fernando Hilbeck died from natural causes at age 75 on April 25, 2009 in Madrid, Spain.
- Brittanee Drexel was born on 7 October 1991. She died on 25 April 2009 in McClellanville, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA.
- Kalamandalam Kesavan was born on 18 May 1936 in Palakkad, Kerala, India. He was an actor, known for Soudamini (2003), Saivar Thirumeni (2001) and Valathottu Thirinjal Nalamathe Veedu (2003). He died on 25 April 2009 in Kochi, Kerala, India.
- Director
- Writer
Krzysztof Nowak was born on 19 February 1940 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for Akowcy (1999), Dolina Szczescia (1985) and Co lubia tygrysy (1989). He died on 25 April 2009 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Richard Bojarski was born on 24 May 1934 in New York, USA. He died on 25 April 2009 in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, USA.
- Antonio Pereira was born on 13 June 1923 in Villafranca del Bierzo, León, Castilla y León, Spain. He was a writer, known for La embajada toscana (2005) and El filandón (1985). He died on 25 April 2009 in León, Castilla y León, Spain.
- Yamil Chade was born in 1921 in Lebanon. He died on 25 April 2009 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
- Danny Kladis was born on 9 February 1917 in Crystal City, Missouri, United States. He died on 25 April 2009 in Joliet, Illinois, United States.
- Jadwiga Zylinska was born on 17 August 1913 in Breslau, Silesia, Germany [now Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland]. She was a writer, known for Rozstanie (1961) and Zofia Nalkowska - Zycie i twórczosc (1995). She died on 25 April 2009 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.