How Bea Arthur Gave Back to the Gays Who Loved Her

is bea arthur gay

Goln Girls star Bea Arthur, née Bernice Frankel, died at home Los Angel at the age of 86 today. She passed away surround by fay members. She will be loudly mourned by the gays.

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WAS BEA ARTHUR GAY? WHAT WAS HER NET WORTH AND CSE OF DEATH?

* is bea arthur gay *

Wh the show, M lent her voice to the social and polil issu of the time, tacklg everythg om the Vietnam War, alholism, fily, women’s liberatn, racism, abortn, addictn to gay rights.

BEA ARTHUR, BELOVED GAY IN, 1922-2009

As a shelter for New York's homels LGBT youth prepar to open her name, the son of the edy legend opens up about dner parti wh Rock Hudson, ictn wh Betty Whe and her lifelong passn for "nocents — eher kids or animals or gay teens. * is bea arthur gay *

Like M, the show also portrays hot-button issu like agg, gun ntrol, gay rights, and domtic vlence. Was Bea Arthur Gay?

HOW BEA ARTHUR GAVE BACK TO THE GAYS WHO LOVED HER

She had a lastg personal relatnship wh Adrienne Barbe, her M -star, which, along wh her fervent fense of gay rights, sparked mors that she was gay/homosexual. " Her rol as Yente Fiddler on the Roof, the outspoken M Fley of All the Fay and M, and most famoly, the tic Dorothy Zbornak of Goln Girls, gaed her an avid gay dience.

Gays are postg this blasphemo Virg Dorothy mashup her holy memory:(Photo by AP/Wally Fong). The guts were by and large gay men — closeted, as most were back then — who were drawn to Arthur, like moths to a porch light.

“They were always exced to e to her hoe, ” says Matthew, now 55, of his mother’s many gay nfidant.

WAS BEA ARTHUR GAY? HER NET WORTH AND CSE OF DEATH

Arthur, who died of ncer 2009 at age 86, occupi a sgular space amid the pantheon of gay ins: Neher preeng show diva nor pill-poppg wreck, she was stead a pillar of liberal-md fortu, always at the ready to do battle wh the Archie Bunkers of the world. All of this held nsirable sway over the emergg gay-rights movement.

Fully aware of the appeal she held over her gay fans, Arthur cid to give somethg back, and left an endowment to the Ali Forney Center, an anizatn for homels LGBT youth New York Cy. The mostly-gay crowd very nearly flew to a enzy, “phg toward her, grabbg at her, eager for face time wh the great legend.

) “It seemed like all her chari were mostly about nocents — eher kids or animals or gay or lbian teens, who have a bigger fight than anybody n image, ” Saks says. Don’t let the gff fa fool you: Arthur was a softy through and through, as evinced by the Bea Arthur Rince for LGBT Youth — an honor, among gay ins, sure, but Saks puts thgs perspective.

WAS BEA ARTHUR GAY? WHAT WAS HER NET WORTH AND CSE OF DEATH?

“The kids at the Ali Forney Center are lerally dumped by their fai bee of the fact that they are lbian, gay or transgenr…this anizatn really is savg liv.

She had a long-lastg romantic volvement wh Adrienne Barbe, who played her -star M, and this, together wh her passnate support for gay rights, led to allegatns that she was lbian or homosexual. Throughout her work, people have wonred about her personal life, cludg whether or not she is gay.

Q: Did Bea Arthur ever talk about beg gay public?

WAS BEA ARTHUR GAY? WHAT WAS HER NET WORTH AND CSE OF DEATH?

She lent crence to the notn that women (really, everyone — Bea was a pneerg champn of gay rights and a legendary gay in) served the right to be not only fortable but betiful their own sk, too.

BEA ARTHUR LEAV $300K TO GAY YOUTH

Wh the show, M lent her voice to the social and polil issu of the time, tacklg everythg om the Vietnam War, alholism, fily, women’s liberatn, racism, abortn, and addictn to gay show was an stant succs, wh s Thanksgivg Special rerdg a reported 65 ln viewers.

Like M, the show also portrays hot-button issu like agg, gun ntrol, gay rights, and domtic Goln Girls earned Beatrice her send major actg award, wng an Emmy The Hollywood ReporterWhen me to feature films, however, Beatrice did not appear a lot of them spe her fame.

After Bea Arthur’s ath on April 25, 2009, her remag were cremated and Ash were given to her had a lastg personal relatnship wh Adrienne Barbe, her M -star, which, along wh her fervent fense of gay rights, sparked mors that she was gay/homosexual.

HOW BEA ARTHUR GAVE BACK TO THE GAYS WHO LOVED HER

While Arthur worked ont of screens, Robert opted for a backstage Arthur was alive, she was known to throw parti her home, vg her gay fans who were barely out of the uple was married om 1947 to 1950, wh which they built their Hollywood reers to a standard. | Photo: Getty ImagVOICE FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITYWhen Arthur was alive, she was known to throw parti her home, vg her gay fans who were barely out of the closet.

WHAT BETTY WHE DID TO PISS OFF BEA ARTHURLET'S JT SAY THEIR ACTG STYL WERE A LTLE {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}TVBY CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPHSEPTEMBER 30, 2016/4:08 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}ALICE S. HALL/NBCU PHOTO BANKTHE GOLDEN GIRLS -- PICTURED: (L-R) BETTY WHE AS ROSE NYLUND, BEA ARTHUR AS DOROTHY PETRILLO ZBORNAK -- PHOTO BY: ALICE S. 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HALL/NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY IMAGTHE GOLDEN GIRLS -- "LADI OF THE EVENG" EPISO 2 -- PICTURED: (L-R) BETTY WHE AS ROSE NYLUND, RUE MCCLANAHAN AS BLANCHE DEVEREX, BEA ARTHUR AS DOROTHY PETRILLO ZBORNAK (PHOTO BY ALICE S. HALL/NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY IMAG){BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN A NEW ARTICLE THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ABOUT BEA ARTHUR'S LIFELONG IENDSHIP WH GAY MEN—AND THE NEW CENTER FOR HOMELS LGBT YOUTH OPENG NEXT YEAR HER NAME—THE MAGAZE ALSO TALKS ABOUT ARTHUR'S TIME ON THE CLASSIC NBC S AND HOW SHE DIDN'T ALWAYS GET ALONG WH HER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“MY MOM WAS THE REAL AL,” ARTHUR'S SON, MATTHEW SAKS EXPLAED TO THR. “I THK SHE FELT SHE WAS MORE OF AN ACTRS THAN BETTY. MOM ME OM BROADWAY. BETTY STARRED ON A GAME SHOW AT ONE POT.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HE NTU:{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“WHEN THEY SHOT THE S, SOMETIM THEY HAD TO STOP. MY MOM WOULD STAY NCENTRATED, MAYBE STAY BACKSTAGE, STAND HER PLACE THERE. AND SOMETIM BETTY WOULD GO OUT AND SE AND CHAT WH THE DIENCE AND LERALLY GO AND MAKE IENDS WH THE DIENCE. WHICH IS A NICE THG — A LOT OF THEM HAVE E OM ALL OVER THE UNTRY AND ARE FANS."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I THK MY MOM DIDN’T DIG THAT. IT’S MORE ABOUT BEG FOCED OR NSERVG YOUR ENERGY. IT’S JT NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO TALK TO FANS BETWEEN TAK. BETTY WAS ABLE TO DO AND DIDN’T SEEM TO AFFECT HER. BUT BBED MY MOM THE WRONG WAY.” {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BUT DON'T WORRY, GOLN GIRLS FANS. THE TWO ACTRS NEVER REALLY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"THEY WERE IENDS," SAKS ADD. "AT ONE POT THEY LIVED CLOSE ENOUGH THAT THEY WOULD DRIVE EACH OTHER TO WORK.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CAN'T WE ALL AGREE THAT ROSE DID GET ANNOYG OM TIME TO TIME?{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WATCH THE GOLN GIRLS ON {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}H/T: THE HOLLYWOOD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Matthew once relled that his mom's gay guts were always exced to go to their 2005, Arthur raised funds for the Ali Forney Center, an anizatn for homels LGBTQ youth. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBea Arthur willed $300, 000 to support homels gay youthThe Ali Forney Center director, Carl Siciliano, was "overwhelmed" by her generosyThe funds will go toward buyg a rince, which will be named after ArthurArthur also raised more than $40, 000 a benef performance for the anizatn (CNN) -- "Goln Girls" star Bea Arthur's generosy liv on.

The amazg thg, he add, is that Arthur "didn't realize at that pot what a ser issue was, that so many thoands of gay kids were on the streets of our untry. "The kids at the Ali Forney Center are lerally dumped by their fai bee of the fact that they are lbian, gay or transgenr -- this anizatn really is savg liv.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* IS BEA ARTHUR GAY

How Bea Arthur Gave Back to the Gays Who Loved Her.

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