Rue McClanahan: 1934 – 2010
The world is a little less golden with the news of the passing of Rue McClanahan, who died early Thursday morning from a stroke. Rue had successfully fought breast cancer in 1997 and last year had triple bypass surgery. She suffered a stroke shortly after the bypass surgery and never fully recovered.
For those like me who grew up in the 1980s, The Golden Girls was a major part of what then really was must see TV. Watching the show in reruns now – and thankfully it is shown nearly round the clock on the cable channel WE – is a testament to how great the writing and acting was.
I have probably seen every episode at least ten times, yet the show still makes me laugh out loud. Along with Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Estelle Getty, Rue was part of what easily was one of the best sitcom ensembles ever.
The deaths of Arthur and Getty were very sad indeed. White, 88, is now the sole surviving Golden Girl and seems to be working more than ever, having a late-in-life career resurgence that culminated in her hosting Saturday Night Live last month.
Rue McClanahan was one of the nicest people in show business. She loved her fans, did great work for animal causes, and was a generous friend of the gay community. I was lucky enough to meet her on the street in Manhattan fifteen years ago. She was absolutely beautiful and loved being approached. She asked me where the Union Square Cafe was. We were about a block away from it so I offered to walk her there. On the way she saw Blue Water Grill and decided to eat there instead.
I know so many people who have similar stories of randomly meeting her. My late friend Billy Puzo told me that he saw her walk past while at a bar he frequented in her Murray Hill neighborhood. He went out and asked her if she would come in. According to Billy, she came in, let people buy her drinks, and thrilled everybody by her presence. A real class act.
In 1987 Rue won an Emmy for her role as the oversexed southern belle Blanche Devereaux. She was also memorable on Maude, Mama’s Family, and in a priceless guest appearance on All in the Family where she and Vincent Gardenia played swingers who mistook Edith Bunker’s friendly dinner invitation for something more. Rue McClanahan was married six times and is survived by her son from her first marriage, Mark Bish. She was a great lady and will be missed.
