Arthur returned to New York to study acting at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School, joining the famed Actors Studio where she would meet her second husband, Gene Saks. The couple got married shortly after the actress divorced her first husband in 1950.
The following year, she appeared for the first time on television in a series titled Once Upon a Tune, but getting the role of Lucy Brown in the U.S. premiere of Threepenny Opera is what marked the early years of her acting career. In 1966, Bea Arthur won a Tony Award for her supporting role in Mame.
In 1971, Arthur took a guest role on CBS’ All in the Family as Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker’s cousin, and a year later, starred in had her own spin-off show, Maude. She became very popular and earned five Emmy nominations for her role in Maude, which ran for six years on CBS.
About 13 years after Maude began, The Golden Girls premiered on television and Bea Arthur once again found herself in the national spotlight, forever cementing her place in the history of Hollywood as one of the greatest comic actresses. But Bea Arthur is way more than just a Hollywood star, becoming a symbol for the independent woman and a strong advocate for LGBT rights.
What remains a mystery about Arthur’s life is why she never chose to speak about her 30 months spent in the military. This part of her life remains an enigma.
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