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Sad news in entertainment today, as beloved Golden Girl and Broadway star Bea Arthur (born Bernice Frankel on May 13th, 1922) passed away this mornin
g in her Los Angeles home from a long bout with lung cancer. Best known for her breakout role as Maude Findley, Edith Bunker's feminist cousin on All in the Family, which led to her own very successful spin-off Maude. Years later Bea endeared herself to a whole new generation playing Dorothy Zbornak, the no-nonsense voice of reason to a group of gals known as the Golden Girls (Arthur won a 'Best Actress' Emmy for both series). But what many of you may not know is that aside from being an Emmy-winning actress and a Tony-winning Broadway performer, Bea Arthur still found the time to make her mark in geekdom, infamously performing a song and dance in the Mos Eisley Cantina as Ackmena in the rarely seen Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), she also had a brief cameo in Mel Brook's History of the World: Part I, later she would lend her voice to the Femputer in the hilarious Futurama episode 'Amazon Women in the Mood' (200
1). She has made such an impact, in fact, that for years she has been an object of affection for Marvel's Deadpool, who has made no qualms about his serious infatuation with the white-haired vixen. Unless the current writers have no idea what they're doing, I would expect a story dealing with Wade (Deadpool) coming to terms with Bea Arthur's passing. Fanboys love them some Bea Arthur, that's for sure. On April 28th, the marquees on Broadway will be dimmed for one minute in memory of Ms. Arthur. When asked about her dear friend's passing, Golden Girls co-star Betty White simply said, "I knew it would hurt. I just didn't know it would hurt this much." Rest in peace, Bea and thanks for making us smile...