This story came out a whole month ago but this is the first I’ve heard of it, and I found it so interesting I wanted to repeat it. Golden Girls gem Bea Arthur had a secret past as a Marine in the early 1940s during World War II, where she worked as a truck driver and a typist. The Smoking Gun found plenty of official evidence that Arthur served in the armed forces for about two and a half years starting when she was just 21. She received an honorable discharge and left the Marines in September 1945. Arthur passed away in April, 2009, at the age of 86 after battling cancer. She publicly denied up until her death that she had served in the armed forces. The Smoking Gun may have found the reason why – Arthur contracted a venereal disease in late 1944 that earned her a misconduct report for being unable to work for five weeks. She seems to have recovered fine and to have served out her time. In Bea’s “personality appraisal sheet,” where she was first interviewed for the Marines, the boxes for “argumentative” and “over aggressive” were checked off!

While she strangely denied serving in the armed forces, military records show that the actress Bea Arthur spent 30 months in the Marine Corps, where she was one of the first members of the Women’s Reserve and spent time as a typist and a truck driver.

The “Maude” and “The Golden Girls” star, who died last year at age 86, enlisted in early-1943 when she was 21 (and known as Bernice Frankel). In a February 1943 letter included in her Marine personnel file, Arthur gave military officials a brief account of her prior employment as a food analyst at a Maryland packing plant, a hospital lab technician, and an office worker at a New York loan company.

Arthur was due to start a new job, but she “heard last week that enlistments for women in the Marines were open, so decided the only thing to do was to join.” While she hoped for an assignment in ground aviation, Arthur noted that she was “willing to get in now and do whatever is desired of me until such time as ground schools are organized.” She added, “As far as hobbies are concerned, I’ve dabbled in music and dramatics.”

As part of the enlistment process, Arthur underwent interviews that resulted in the production of “personality appraisal” sheets. One such analysis described her conversation as “Argumentative” and her attitude and manner as “Over aggressive.” In a handwritten note, the Marine interviewer remarked, “Officious–but probably a good worker–if she has her own way!”

Arthur is pictured here in an official Marine photo taken shortly after her enlistment. A second undated portrait can be seen above.

Arthur, who was fingerprinted during enlistment, started basic training in March 1943 and was initially assigned as a typist at Marine headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Over the following two years, Arthur was stationed at Marine Corps and Navy air stations in Virginia and North Carolina. During her military career, Arthur’s rank went from private to corporal to sergeant to staff sergeant, the title she held upon her honorable discharge in September 1945, according to one document…

The military records, released in response to a Freedom of Informaton Act request, include a single “misconduct report” filed against Arthur while she was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. That misconduct determination stemmed from Arthur’s contracting of a venereal disease, which left her “incapacitated for duty” for five weeks in late-1944. As a result, her pay was reduced for that period.

[From The Smoking Gun]

I just loved Bea Arthur, and I understand why she denied that part of her past. It was so stigmatizing to have had VD back then and she probably didn’t want anyone to find out. Blame her cheating boyfriend, not Bea! What an interesting story about an incredible woman.

In her will, Bea left $300,000 to the Ali Forney center for homeless LGBT youth. They’re going to build a new residence for teens in transition thanks to Bea’s donation and are naming it after her.

Here’s Bea denying that she was in the Marines:

Marines photo via The Smoking Gun, where there are more. Photos are from 1992, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Credit: WENN.com

James Taylor played the Beatles hit “In My Life” to the in memoriam clip at the Oscars last night. It included several directors, producers, actors, cinematographers and executives I’d never heard of who no doubt made an impact in the industry. There was even a public relations guy, writers, and a sound editor. Michael Jackson was included, as were other famous losses like Natasha Richardson, Brittany Murphy, and David Carradine. Two actresses we lost last year were notably absent, though: Bea Arthur and Farrah Fawcett. I don’t understand how they could include Michael Jackson but “forget” Farrah Fawcett, who died on the same day. Both Farrah and Bea were involved in films, as Michael K at D-Listed points out. Plus they included Michael Jackson and it’s not like he was known for much more than his music. The people responsible for the Oscars admit that they have to cut people due to time and that their choices aren’t necessarily popular.

RadarOnline.com caught up with Academy Awards rep Leslie Unger after the show who said, “It is highly unlikely that we forgot about Farrah Fawcett but we unfortunately don’t include everyone each year.” She added: “There are many angles that are looked at as to who to include and unfortunately we don’t include everyone.”…

Bruce Davis, the executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said days before the show that producing the segment is the toughest to do and his committee always has to make some tough cuts.

“It is the single most troubling element of the Oscar show every year,” he said. “Because more people die each year than can possibly be included in that segment.” His office keeps a running list of those who have passed away since last year’s segments which he and a small committee whittle down from more than 100 names to about 30. “You are dropping people who the public knows. It’s just not comfortable.”

[From Radar Online]

Well now that we’ve seen the overlong Oscars and heard their explanation for cutting people from the memorial segment we know that their priority is not the audience. They have their own agenda and will honor the people they see fit. I would much rather have seen a few more moments of memorial clips than all of the industry specific awards like costume design, makeup, sound editing and sound mixing. They’re never going to cut those, but they’ll easily cut beloved actors and actresses from the memorial clip in order to save time. Next year there will be even less people willing to sit through that bloated ceremony.

Oh, and another thing, I’m having trouble finding videos of the Oscars because they’re being pulled due to copyright claims. And Oscar.com only offers a highlight video, backstage “thank you” cam, and red carpet footage.

My favorite Golden Girl Bea Arthur died back in April of this year, after losing her battle with cancer. She had been a television and stage star for decades, and I was happy to hear that she had been smart with her money, which enabled her to live in comfort during her last years. She was so smart with money, she actually had a nice-sized estate when she died. Parts of her will have begun to become public, and we’re learning how Bea bequeathed her estate. As it turns out, Bea represented her beloved gay community (and they loved her right back) even in death. As per Bea’s will, she left $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center in New York. The Center houses LBGT kids, and with Bea’s donation, they will be adding a new property:

Late Golden Girls star Bea Arthur didn’t forget her gay fans in her will – the actress left $300,000 to help fund a shelter for homeless homosexual youths.

Arthur’s estate has bestowed the huge sum to the Ali Forney Center in New York, which helps home young members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities who have been disowned by their families.

Bosses at the charity have confirmed the money will go towards a new 12-person property, which is to be named in Arthur’s honor.

Ali Forney Center Executive Director Carl Siciliano says, “We work with hundreds of young people who are rejected by their families because of who they are. We are overwhelmed with gratitude that Bea saw that LGBT youth deserve as much love and support as any other young person, and that she placed so much value in the work we do to protect them, and to help them rebuild their lives.”

Arthur lost her battle with cancer in April. She was 86.

[From Starpulse]

The Ali Forney Center’s website states their mission is to simply provide a safe haven to LBGT teens. The site claims: “Tragically, as many as 25% of these teens are rejected by their families, and many end up homeless on the streets. Homeless LGBT teens are more likely than straight homeless teens to be subjected to violence on the streets, and in the homeless shelter system. They suffer from inordinate rates of mental illness, trauma, HIV infection and substance abuse.” How awesome is Bea Arthur? I love that represented her fan base in her will. The Ali Forney center even has a donation page where you can give directly to support the Bea Arthur Residence. Love it.

Photos are of Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury on 12/9/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Beloved Golden Girls star Bea Arthur has passed away at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 86. She was suffering from cancer. Bea started out performing in musicals and found success on television later in life. She earned a Tony award in 1966 for her role on Broadway as Vera Charles, the best friend to Angela Lansbury’s Mame. Bea went on to star in her own television series in 1972 at the age of 50 as acerbic outspoken Maude, a liberal feminist who faced polarizing issues like abortion, alcoholism and domestic violence, all with biting humor. Arthur is best known for for her Emmy-winning role as Dorothy in groundbreaking NBC series “The Golden Girls,” which aired from 1985 to 1992. She is survived by two sons, Matthew, 47, and Daniel, 44, and two granddaughters.

Beatrice Arthur, an icon of ’70s TV as the star of Maude, and then one of the staples of ’80s TV as one of the leads in The Golden Girls, has died at age 86, according to an Associated Press report. A family spokesman told AP the Emmy and Tony Award winner had cancer, and died peacefully at her home in Los Angeles.

Arthur’s best-known roles came in popular sitcoms that didn’t shy away from the serious issues of the day. On Maude, which aired from 1972-1978, Arthur’s pantsuit-wearing, feminist title character had an abortion, which resulted in a flurry of viewer protests. Arthur scored five Emmy nominations and one win for the role. The ribald, hilarious Golden Girls — which over seven seasons tackled hot-button issues such as menopause, homophobia, suicide, and racism — found Arthur playing gruff, wisecrack-spewing divorcée Dorothy Zbornak, who shared a Miami home with her mother and two loopy friends. Arthur picked up four more Emmy nods and one win as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.
In a 2005 interview with EW, Arthur recalled she “flipped” when she first read the script for The Golden Girls’ pilot episode. “After all of the crap I’d been sent, here was something so bright and adult and fabulously funny,” she said.

Arthur’s long-time friend Billy Goldenberg, who co-created 2002′s Bea Arthur on Broadway, tells EW.com that the actress was “never afraid to say anything that she believed in. The rest of us always took a moment before we said anything, maybe edited it. But she never did. And that was rather odd, because she was a very shy, private person.” Goldenberg says that while Arthur would often wonder why she inspired such widespread and passionate fandom, he surmised it was the way the actress championed underdogs, “people who felt like second-class citizens,” in both her on-screen and off-screen life.

After exiting Golden Girls in 1992, Arthur worked sparingly. Since 2000, she made guest-starring appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Futurama. She scored yet another Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for a role as a loopy babysitter on Malcolm in the Middle.

Earlier in her career, Arthur tasted success on Broadway and on the big screen, even winning a Tony Award for her roles as Vera Charles, formidable pal of Angela Lansbury’s title character in Mame. She would go on to play the same role in the musical’s big-screen adaptation, though in that instance opposite Lucille Ball.

[From EW.com]

EW also has some quotes from friends of Arthur that are touching.

From Betty White, Arthur’s co-star in Golden Girls:
“I knew it would hurt, I just didn’t know it would hurt this much. I’m so happy that she received her Lifetime Achievement Award while she was still with us, so she could appreciate that. She was such a big part of my life.”

From Angela Lansbury, Arthur’s co-star in Mame:
“Bea Arthur and I first met when we did ‘Mame’ together in 1965. She became and has remained ‘My Bosom Buddy’ ever since. I am deeply saddened by her passing, but also relieved that she is released from the pain. I spoke to Matt, her son, yesterday and I was aware that her time was imminent. She was a rare and unique performer and a dear, dear friend.”

It’s hard to believe that Arthur was 86 as she seemed so vibrant and young on The Golden Girls. The show has a kind of comic timelessness in reruns and when you watch it you can easily forget that it last aired over 15 years ago. RIP Bea Arthur, you will be sorely missed.

Here is Bea Arthur singing “What’ll I Do” on the Golden Girls:

Photo credit: WENN.com. The most recent pictures are of Arthur with Angela Lansbury on 12/9/09.