Rue McClanahan

Rue died today at the age of 76.


I've been humming 'Thank You For Being A Friend' ever since I heard the news.
Rue appeared in 2 of my favorite TV series - 'Maude' and 'Golden Girls'
Both shows were way ahead of their time in portraying older women as more than Moms or bitter bitches.

Maude was the first prime time TV show to deal with the issues of abortion and menopause.



Golden Girls brought us four women who were in charge of their lives.




Older, divorced or widowed, they moved forward with grace and humor. They had careers, they had fun, they had men ...

Ahhhh - Rue as Blanche - what a sexy sassy wonder she was!

Something tells me Rue was born to play Blanche ...



"People always ask me if I`m like Blanche. And I say, `Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta -- and I`m not from Atlanta!"

You can view a collection of some of Blanche's best moments HERE

I was lucky enough to see Rue appear in 'Wicked' as 'Madame Morrible' - she was exquisite.



In her off stage life Rue worked tirelessly for animal rights. She was also outspoken on the issue of gay rights and the rights of all humans.

"Compassion is the foundation of everything positive, everything good. If you carry the power of compassion to the marketplace and the dinner table, you can make your life really count."

Rue McClanahan's life counted.

Peaceful Journey Rue

See Ya Sophia ...

Scroll Down for Ruby Tuesday

Estelle Getty died today, just three days shy of her 85th birthday.

I thought Estelle’s passing deserved pause because of what she represented to so many people, especially women “of a certain age”.

Estelle made her first professional stage appearance when she was 47 years old. She was 62 when she took on the once in a lifetime role of Sophia on the sitcom ‘The Golden Girls’. She took the part of a tiny, tough talking Italian Mama from Brooklyn and turned it into legend. Her timing was impeccable, her body language astonishing. Estelle spent close to 10 years playing a woman 20 years her senior. It always looked real, it always felt genuine.

‘The Golden Girls’ still is today, 23 years after it premiered, the best sitcom about women. Certainly the best about women over 50. Four women who were strong, funny, capable and independent. They were sexy (Blanche), and soulful (Rose) and smart (Dorothy)- and Sophia held them all together. No need for chubby husbands to outwit, no wacky sidekicks at a crappy job, no ill behaved children to roll their eyes about. Just four real women.

I think the title of Estelle Getty’s auto-biography speaks to how she lived her life - If I Knew Then, What I Know Now. . . So What?

Always present in the moment until advanced dementia took its toll, and even then she was reported to be always laughing, always loving.

Peaceful Journey Estelle.

You can read more about Estelle Getty at HER OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The photo of Estelle came from the NY Times
The Golden Girls shot came from cinemasource.com