Bea Arthur, RIP

I first heard about Bea Arthur when my mother told me that she had met her - this tall, dynamic woman with a husky voice - at an audition in New York in the late 1960's. This was years before Bea Arthur became the popular television character Maude or the tall, striking "Golden Girl," Dorothy Spornak. What a great career she had in theater! Read her obit in today's NYT by clicking the title above.

She collected 11 Emmy Award nominations and won 2 - for “Maude” in 1977 and for “The Golden Girls" in 1988.

If anyone ever tells me I'm too old for an audition I hope I can conjure up the spirit of Bea Arthur and utter the right words in her formidable style.