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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:50:11 GMT
June 3, 2010 Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, 76, has died. "She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," her manager, Barbara Lawrence, tells PEOPLE. She had a massive stroke." McClanahan, who played Blanche Deveraux in the beloved sitcom, Golden Girls, had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery. Lawrence added that at the time of her death Thursday, McClanahan “had her family with her. She went in peace.” ****************** BBC NewsUS actress Rue McClanahan, star of TV show The Golden Girls, has died following a stroke at the age of 76, her manager has announced. The award-winning performer played feisty Southern belle Blanche in the popular series. McClanahan, who underwent heart bypass surgery last year, is the third of the main cast members to pass away. Only Betty White remains, following the deaths of Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur, who died in 2008 and 2009. Drag queen mother White, 88, recently hosted Saturday Night Live, and fans are lobbying for her to present next year's Academy Awards. "I treasured our relationship," she said. "It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that's even possible." McClanahan had a varied stage career before landing the role of Blanche Devereaux in 1985 when The Golden Girls hit the small screen. The actress said of her seductive character: "She is in love with life and loves men. "I think she has an attitude towards women that's competitive. I think basically she's insecure." Betty White is now the sole surviving Golden Girl Blanche always referred to her father as "Big Daddy" and was the perpetual target of her housemates. McClanahan won an Emmy for her role in 1987. Five years later, after The Golden Girls ended, she co-starred alongside White and Getty in a short-lived spin-off called Golden Palace. Earlier in her career, she had appeared with Arthur in the 1970s sitcom Maude as her best friend and sidekick. In later years, she continued to appear on TV and on stage, playing the elderly mother of a drag queen in 2008 serial Sordid Lives, which included the filming of a sex scene. The actress was recovering from knee surgery at the time, but still hung onto a window sill when the bed she was using broke. McClanahan, who was born in Oklahoma, married six times and wrote a memoir in 2007 entitled My First Five Husbands... And The Ones Who Got Away.
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:50:51 GMT
NEW YORK – Rue McClanahan, the Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 76.
Her manager Barbara Lawrence said McClanahan died Thursday at 1 a.m. of a stroke.
She had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997 and later lectured to cancer support groups on "aging gracefully." In 2009, she had heart bypass surgery.
McClanahan had an active career in off-Broadway and regional stages in the 1960s before she was tapped for TV in the 1970s for the key best-friend character on the hit series "Maude," starring Beatrice Arthur. After that series ended in 1978, McClanahan landed the role as Aunt Fran on "Mama's Family" in 1983.
But her most loved role came in 1985 when she co-starred with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in "The Golden Girls," a runaway hit that broke the sitcom mold by focusing on the foibles of four aging — and frequently eccentric — women living together in Miami.
"Golden Girls" aimed to show "that when people mature, they add layers," she told The New York Times in 1985. "They don't turn into other creatures. The truth is we all still have our child, our adolescent, and your young woman living in us."
Blanche, who called her father "Big Daddy," was a frequent target of roommates Dorothy, Rose and the outspoken Sophia (Getty), who would fire off zingers at Blanche such as, "Your life's an open blouse."
McClanahan snagged an Emmy for her work on the show in 1987. In an Associated Press interview that year, McClanahan said Blanche was unlike any other role she had ever played.
"Probably the closest I've ever done was Blanche DuBois in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at the Pasadena Playhouse," she said. "I think, too, that's where the name came from, although my character is not a drinker and not crazy."
Her Blanche Devereaux, she said, "is in love with life and she loves men. I think she has an attitude toward women that's competitive. She is friends with Dorothy and Rose, but if she has enough provocation she becomes competitive with them. I think basically she's insecure. It's the other side of the Don Juan syndrome."
After "The Golden Girls" was canceled in 1992, McClanahan, White and Getty reprised their roles in a short-lived spinoff, "Golden Palace."
McClanahan continued working in television, on stage and in film, appearing in the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau vehicle "Out to Sea" and as the biology teacher in "Starship Troopers."
She stepped in to portray Madame Morrible, the crafty headmistress, for a time in "Wicked," Broadway's long-running "Wizard of Oz" prequel.
In 2008, McClanahan appeared in the Logo comedy "Sordid Lives: The Series," playing the slightly addled, elderly mother of an institutionalized drag queen.
During production, McClanahan was recovering from 2007 surgery on her knee. It didn't stop her from filming a sex scene in which the bed broke, forcing her to hang on to a windowsill to avoid tumbling off.
McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Okla., to building contractor William McClanahan and his wife, Dreda Rheua-Nell, a beautician. She graduated with honors from the University of Tulsa with a degree in German and theater arts.
McClanahan's acting career began on the stage. According to a 1985 Los Angeles Times profile, she appeared at the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse, studied in New York with Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman, and worked in soaps and on the stage.
She won an Obie — the off-Broadway version of the Tony — in 1970 for "Who's Happy Now," playing the "other woman" in a family drama written by Oliver Hailey. She reprised the role in a 1975 television version; in a review, The New York Times described her character as "an irrepressible belle given to frequent bouts of `wooziness' and occasional bursts of shrewdness."
She had appeared only sporadically on television until producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on "All in the Family" in 1971.
She went from there to a regular role in the "All in the Family" spinoff "Maude," playing Vivian, the neighbor and best friend to Arthur in the starring role.
When Arthur died in April 2009, McClanahan recalled that she had felt constrained by "Golden Girls" during the later years of its run. "Bea liked to be the star of the show. She didn't really like to do that ensemble playing," McClanahan said.
McClanahan was married six times: Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married husband Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997. She called her 2007 memoir "My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away."
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:51:33 GMT
I just did a search and found all of these articles. Note: Some feature the same photo and may have the same exact writing. wcbstv.com/lo....2.1730463.html,0,5365187.story ,0,6932319.story www.wtkr.com/...-rue-mcclanahan,0,6601174.story ,0,7108123.story ,0,6076534.story www.wqad.com/...-rue-mcclanahan,0,6605853.story www.wltx.com/...x?storyid=88211www.cbc.ca/ar...ue.html?ref=rsscbs2.com/nati....2.1730476.html,00.html
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:53:21 GMT
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:54:20 GMT
Celebs mourn Rue McClanahan www.zap2it.com/blogs/celebs_mourn_rue_mcclanahans_passing-2010-06Much like Gary Coleman's death last week and Dennis Hopper's passing over Memorial Day weekend, the stars are taking to Twitter to express their sadness over "Golden Girl" Rue McClanahan's death. hear hear. she will be missed RT @helloross RIP Rue McClanahan & thank you for being a friend. -- Alison Sweeney Sad news again: Golden Girl Rue McClanahan dies age 76 Emmy actress suffered a stroke. She beat 1997 breast cancer & 2009 heart surgery. -- Robin Leach Ah beloved Blanche passes away - Rue McClanahan RIP. She was so lovely and such a spitfire. It's just Rose now. -- Marlee Matlin RIP rue mcclanahan. sending love and prayers to her loved ones..... -- Mandy Moore
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jul 31, 2014 16:56:18 GMT
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Post by Pussycat on Aug 1, 2014 7:46:34 GMT
I remember reading about her passing - it was incredibly sad. She'd certainly be missed.
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Post by MC-Joe on Aug 16, 2014 15:16:19 GMT
i watched Golden Girls after she died, and cried a little she was amazing on GG and Mama's family. Rue thanks for the major laughter youve given to the world.
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Post by Jacques on Aug 16, 2014 15:43:54 GMT
I was stunned when Rue died. I thought she was going to live so much longer. She was a great actress, at her best in the Golden Girls, I think. I seldom cry for a death of a celebrity, but Rue (as well as Bea and Estelle) was surely an exception.
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Post by Frieda Claxton on Aug 16, 2014 18:54:56 GMT
I, too, was very stunned (stunned, just stunned) when I had heard this news. Knowing she was the youngest of the bunch, I always figured she'd be the last to go.
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Feb 21, 2015 20:02:26 GMT
Today would be Rue's birthday. She is still missed the world over...
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Post by Jacques on Feb 22, 2015 19:04:55 GMT
Today would be Rue's birthday. She is still missed the world over... Yes, she surely is missed.
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jun 3, 2015 16:58:15 GMT
It's hard to believe it's been five years since Rue passed away. I can only imagine her joining Betty on "Hot in Cleveland" for some wonderful laughs. I shared the collage on our Twitter account - be sure to share it if you use Twitter.
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Post by Jacques on Jun 3, 2015 18:26:21 GMT
She was sensational. And sometimes I forget she's dead. Thank goodness we have the Golden Girls on DVD.
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Post by Freddy Peterson on Jun 12, 2015 13:30:47 GMT
You have to appreciate that, in both 2014 and 2015, Rue's passing was trending on social media... almost as a "new event." This article from 2014 might help explain why: Time magazine has a 2015 update as well.
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