LOS ANGELES � Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows �Maude� and �The Golden Girls� and who won a Tony Award for the musical �Mame,� died Saturday. She was 86.
Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She had cancer, Watt said, declining to give details.
Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series �All in the Family� as Edith Bunker�s outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O�Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur�s own series.
�I was already 50 years old. I had done so much off-Broadway, on Broadway, but they said, �Who is that girl? Let�s give her her own series,�� Arthur said.
�Maude� scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977.
The comedy flowed from Maude�s efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America.
�She was an incredible actress and a woman I will miss, and I think everyone else will,� said Bud Yorkin, producer of �Maude� with partner Lear.
The ratings of �Maude� in the early years approached those of its parent, �All in the Family,� but by 1977 the audience started to dwindle. A major format change was planned, but in early 1978 Arthur announced she was quitting the show.
�Golden Girls� (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience.
The interplay among the four women and their relations with men fueled the comedy, and the show amassed a big audience and 10 Emmys, including two as best comedy series and individual awards for each of the stars.
�Bea liked to be the star of the show, she didn�t really like to do that ensemble playing,� McClanahan said.
McClanahan first worked with Arthur on �Maude,� playing her best friend, Vivian. The women quickly became close friends in real life. McClanahan recalled Arthur as a kind and caring person with a no-nonsense edge.
The three other stars returned in �The Golden Palace,� but it lasted only one season.
Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in New York City in 1922. When she was 11, her family moved to Cambridge, Md., where her father opened a clothing store. At 12 she had grown to full height, and she dreamed of being a petite blond movie star like June Allyson. There was one advantage of being tall and deep-voiced: She was chosen for the male roles in school plays.
Bernice � she hated the name and adopted her mother�s nickname of Bea � overcame shyness about her size by winning over her classmates with wisecracks. She was elected the wittiest girl in her class. After two years at a junior college in Virginia, she earned a degree as a medical lab technician, but she �loathed� doing lab work at a hospital.
�A lot of that had to do with the fact that I felt, �Ah, yes, I belong here,�� Arthur said.
More plays and musicals followed, and she also sang in nightclubs and played small roles in TV comedy shows.
In 1983, Arthur attempted another series, �Amanda�s,� an Americanized version of John Cleese�s hilarious �Fawlty Towers.� She was cast as owner of a small seaside hotel with a staff of eccentrics. It lasted a mere nine episodes.
Between series, Arthur remained active in films and theater. Among the movies: �That Kind of Woman� (1959), �Lovers and Other Strangers� (1970), Mel Brooks� �The History of the World: Part I� (1981), �For Better or Worse� (1995).
In recent years, Arthur made guest appearances on shows including �Curb Your Enthusiasm� and �Malcolm in the Middle.� She was chairwoman of the Art Attack Foundation, a non-profit performing arts scholarship organization.
Arthur is survived by her sons and two granddaughters. No funeral services are planned.