Bea Arthur interview for Gaytime TV

you sing the songs you know where they live and of course you love the girls so when I heard that golden girl Bea Arthur was coming into town I just had to invite her over for a picnic and a bit of a chat Bea love doughnut you lovely nothing you lovely to be here isn't it's a lovely day for first thing I must ask you all those years you spent in the Golden Girls and all those kitchen scenes very all tuck into the cheesecake yes every time there was a real crisis we'd end up having cheesecake that must have been murder though getting through all that cheesecake was it it was it was terribly fond of it anyway you seriously didn't like yeah I really didn't like it but you know what you do for your art Golden Girls was so successful is really popular what was it like that made it so popular I don't know maybe it was fact that it number one dealt with older women but I don't think that was it really because as a matter of fact when I first read the script I wasn't even aware of the fact that it was older women I just thought my god what a witty adult intelligent you know well-constructed piece your character Dorothy with she was very down to earth wasn't yeah I was sort of like the sanity and the family you know everyone else was off on tangents yeah and I had some beautiful beautiful line yes I loved it so do you think they picked up on aspects of your own personality you know off screen but thing was written with me in mind I remember my agent called and said you didn't tell me you were doing a sitcom and I said I'm not he said well they're they're looking for a be our third type there were many he's the Artic types so they finally sent me the script and I said yes the show was hugely popular with with gay people I mean in this country we would have like golden girls nights in gay pubs and bars I mean why was it so popular with gay people do you think I may be very Pro gay but I think they're they have the greatest taste and the greatest width aside from being fabulous hair dress and everything else and I don't think you can show crap your pardon the expression to two gays I think there they're above it and then beyond it and that was our innate good taste exactly made exactly you you were like a family book but you weren't a family but also there was that thing of you of these four older women determined to sort of grow old without any grace at all and you were gonna party on do you think that's something that the gay people responded to sure of course I mean the weird let's face it I mean old ages and adversity or at least prior that certainly being gay has always been an adversity and to say no I'm gonna live it I'm gonna do it yeah so did you get a lot of gay people coming up to you the gay community finds me almost the successor to Judy Garland I don't anyway oh no but I really think it a lot of it has to do with them as you say the character of Dorothy I was sort of the bubble pricker you know the one who said come on let's let's level let's what let's face reality so how you enjoying your stay in the lovely UK I'm having a ball just a ball I love it London is has to be my favorite place on earth I'm going to theatre and having brilliant dinners the one thing though how about taking me through the gay section here what is it Soho so yeah I don't think I've ever been there would you take me down I'd love to tell you that I'd love to I'd love to visit this is about today coffeehouse my son's next show wanna go in there ah thanks very much P thanks for being such a school you just put my fire just before you go but just want to say one final thing wife thanks for being a friend bye

Channel: From Cult till Camp

Views: 212,055

Keywords: beatrice, arthur, bbc, gaytime

Id: QsXb-dwLaIY

Length: 4min 20sec (260 seconds)

Published: Mon May 04 2009