RIP, Mr. Drummond

Diff'rent Strokes was never a favorite program of mine. But given that it premiered in 1979, that I was 13, and Gary Coleman was a national sensation, of course I saw it occasionally. Enough that I knew the character's names, the actors, the basics. I already knew Conrad Bain (the white adoptive father of the two black children that formed the basis of the show) from Maude, a much more adult sitcom from a time when I was much younger. Even still, I was genre savvy enough to know that Maude was a far superior program. It doesn't matter though, for he will always be known as "Mr. Drummond." RIP, sir. Even though (along with Jack Klugman and Charles Durning before you), I thought you'd already passed.

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Conrad Bain Dies at 89

Conrad Bain, the easygoing TV star who played the Park Avenue father on the 1978-85 sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, died in his hometown of Livermore, Calif., on Monday. He was 89. . .

Read more at: People

Beatrice Arthur Dead at 86. Blog Editor Sad at 43.

Photo from Kenneth in the (212)

In the words of Esther Rolle as Florida Evans from Good Times:, "Damn! Damn! Damn!" Florida once worked for Maude Findlay, who was of course played by the one-of-a-kind Beatrice Arthur. Known for her caustic characters, not only on Maude, but on The Golden Girls and (most memorably for me) her cameo as an unemployment office worker in Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I.

Two of the "girls" of The Golden Girls--Bea and Betty White--have seemed almost immortal. They've been prominent in pop culture for as long as I've been alive, and have always seemed to be "women of a certain age." So the aging of both seemed unnaturally prolonged. And they'd keep popping up here and there, vibrant and funny as ever. Bea showed up at Comedy Central roasts, in viral internet videos with Abe Vigoda and Charlotte Rae. She had a memorable turn as Dewey's babysitter on Malcolm in the Middle.

Bea Arthur has left an indellible mark on pop culture, and will live on forever, at least to this blogger. RIP, Bea. Now you can tell God personally to "get" Walter!

Bea Arthur Inducted Into TV Hall of Fame

Photo from source, Popbytes

Well, I have to say, it's about time. How could Beatrice Arthur not already be in the TV Hall of Fame? If the rest of the Golden Girls are already there, I'll bet she's pissed. And rightly so!

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BEA ARTHUR INDUCTED INTO TV HALL OF FAME!

hey hey! oh my gosh - i totally love bea arthur like she was my very own mother (bea is pictured below with the legendary angela lansbury) she's probably best known for her TV work playing maude (one of my top TV shows of all-time - that happens to be a spin-off from my favorite show ever all in the family - maude is edith's cousin!) and playing 'dorothy zbornak' on the golden girls! last night she was inducted into the television hall of fame here in los angeles at the ripe age of 86. . .

More at: Popbytes

And if you only know Bea from her Golden Girls days, here she is in her best show, Maude. Kick-ass theme song too.