LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Emmy Award-winning actress Bea Arthur, best known as star of the hit TV comedies “Maude” and “Golden Girls,” has died at age 86, entertainment news websites reported on Saturday.
Arthur, a longtime stage actress whose comic timing and deadpan delivery were a perfect fit for her sharp-tongued roles on the two series, died of cancer at her Los Angeles home, celebrity website TMZ reported.
Representatives for the actress, who won best-actress Emmys — America’s top television award — for “Maude” and “Golden Girls,” could not immediately be reached for comment.
“Thirty-seven years ago she showed me how to be very brave in playing comedy,” one of Arthur’s co-stars, Rue McClanahan, told TMZ in a statement. “I’ll miss that courage and I’ll miss that voice.” She will be missed by all!
