Bea Arthur: 1922-2009

Bea Arthur poses for a photo in 1988. Family spokesman Dan Watt says the 86-year-old actress, who was born Bernice Frankel in New York City in 1922, died at home early Saturday, April 25, 2009. He says Arthur had cancer, but declined to give further details.

Hall of Fame inductee actress Bea Arthur gestures while speaking at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2008 Hall of Fame Ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. Other inductees included Dan Burke, Larry Gelbart, Merv Griffin, Tom Murphy and Sherwood Schwartz.

Bea Arthur arrives at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2008 Hall of Fame Ceremony in Los Angeles, Dec. 9, 2008. The star of TV's "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" died April 25, 2009, at age 86. Arthur won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame" and Emmy Awards for TV's "The Golden Girls" and "Maude."

Bea Arthur performs during "A Celebration of Cy Coleman" at the Majestic theatre in New York, Jan. 10, 2005. The tall, deep-voiced actress won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame" and Emmy Awards for "The Golden Girls" and "Maude." Her razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines helped make the sitcoms hits and turned the veteran stage and film actress into a popular TV star.

Actress Bea Arthur is shown April 26, 2004, after testifying before the Senate Business and Professions Committee, in support of a measure banning the production and sale of foie gras at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif.

Cast members of the TV series "Golden Girls," pose for a photo. Clockwise from left are, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty. The hit comedy concerned three middle-aged women - Arthur, White and McClanahan - and the mother of Arthur's character, Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. It ran from 1985-1992.

The stars of the television series "The Golden Girls" during a break in taping in Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 25, 1985. From left are, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Betty White.

Actress Bea Arthur poses for a photo in 1975. Family spokesman Dan Watt says the 86-year-old Arthur died at home early Saturday. He says Arthur had cancer, but declined to give further details.

Actress Bea Arthur along with her husband, Tony-winning director Gene Saks are shown in New York in April 1977. Arthur and Saks divorced in 1978 after 28 years. They had two sons, Matthew and Daniel.

Bea Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. Here she's shown with Esther Rolle in a scene from its spin-off comedy, "Maude." The show was a hit when it debuted on CBS in Sept. 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy for the role in 1977. "Maude" also became a standardbearer for the growing feminist movement in America.