Meme Spirited

 

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Les filles d'or?

On tonight’s episode, Maude and Vivian were reminiscing about their college French teacher ... Madam(e) *Devereaux* 😊

Postcard From Tuckahoe

Having a blast rewatching the complete run of "Maude" as a fully formed person. (Damian bought me the Shout! Factory box set.) Last night was notable for two reasons: First Maude had a run-in with one of her subordinates at the real-estate office she manages -- played by one Herb Edelman, aka Stanley Zbornak. And then later, Robert Mandan -- aka Chester Tate on "Soap" -- popped up as Mrs. Findlay's snooty gay friend! (The episode was particularly hilarious until it missed the mark at the end trying to show that “even liberal Maude” has her deep-seated prejudices, only she really hadn’t done anything wrong.)

So far in the first two and a half seasons, Maude has had an abortion. Vivian has had a facelift. Maude has had a facelift. Walter all but had an affair. Walter's drinking spiraled out of control. Walter gave Maude a black eye. Walter became sober. And Maude couldn't stop talking about how the young girl she had staying at the house was from "the ghetto." 

I'd say it's hard to believe that my parents actually let me watch this back in the 1970s, only then I remember they really weren't paying much attention to anything my brothers and I did ... it was the '70s!

Shady Admission

As I've written before, I was the rare (gay) casual fan of "The Golden Girls." I remember being really excited when it premiered my freshman year in college -- I was a huge "Maude" fan, and always loved Betty White -- but it definitely never became one of my must-see shows the way "Family Ties" and "Kate and Allie" did for a while. (I remember Rue McClanahan showing up at the GLAAD Awards one year and screaming "Vivian!" while everyone else yelled "Blanche!" My 1970s sitcom devotion ran deep, so it was hard to accept them as other people.) Over time, of course, it became a gay classic. But even then, I never got hooked on the reruns (someone's making a killing of its syndication!), so cannot tell you the plot of a single episode and have probably not even seen quite a few of them. 

Rose places an order at Coco's

Cut to two nights ago when Damian mentioned that the entire run is now on Hulu -- and we watched the pilot. The only character that struck me as not being fully formed was Rose, who was slightly different in the same way Chrissy Snow and Karen Walker were in the beginning. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I remember reading that the gay chef character, Coco, had been axed because Estelle Getty's character had tested so well, so was added as a full-time cast member. (The producers didn't want too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.) So now that Damian and I are done with "Six Feet Under," I think we're going to watch "The Golden Girls" from start to finish -- god help me if "Golden Palace" is included! 

And what better way to rediscover this series than with Boy Culture's write-up about the best gay episodes they ever did, which you can read HERE.

'Golden Girls' Complete Run Arrives on Hulu in February

To celebrate this long-overdue news, Boy Culture remembers the 100 best guest spots on the classic '80s sitcom HERE.

Maude Slept Here

Go inside Bea Arthur's longtime Brentwood, Calif., residence -- on sale now for just $16 million -- HERE.

And Now There's 'Maude'

The reason I could never really get into "The Golden Girls" -- Bea Arthur was Maude and Rue McClanahan was Vivian. (And don't even get me started about the Happy Homemaker!)

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And Then There's Bawd

'Bea Arthur Naked' Could Sell for $2.5 Million

On Wednesday, Christie's is auctioning John Currin's (in)famous 1991 painting, although I don't think you can put a price on something this disturbing. 

Eighty-Sixed

Very sad in the (212) to learn that the great Bea Arthur has died of cancer at 86. I was never as huge a "Golden Girls" fan as my peers (we get it, Blanche likes to sleep around!), but will forever love Bea as Maude, one of the greatest sitcom women of all time. We will never see such a remarkable character on network television again (she had an abortion on prime-time television -- and made it hilarious!), but even more significantly there will never be another Bea Arthur. Read her full obituary HERE.

 

That old compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing, right on, Maude!