We are running out of “friends” as another “Golden Girl” has died. Rue McClanahan died on June 3rd after suffering a stroke. She was 76.
McClanahan (Blanche, the man-crazed Golden Girl) follows Estelle Getty (Sophia, the oldest Golden Girl), who died in 2008 of natural causes and Bea Arthur (Dorothy, Sophia’s daughter), who died in 2009 of cancer. That leaves only Betty White (Rose, the dimwitted Golden Girl), the 88-year-old dynamo who has seen a recent resurgence in her career.
McClanahan was born in Healdton, Oklahoma and made her acting debut on stage in 1957 at the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania. That same year, she moved to off-Broadway in New York City. She would not make her debut on Broadway for another 12 years when she starred in “Jimmy Shine” with Dustin Hoffman.
She starred in “Another World” from 1970-1971, playing the scandalous character Caroline Johnson, who fell in love with her own father. In 1972, McClanahan would work with Bea Arthur for the first time on the set of “Maude.” McClanahan played Maude’s best friend Vivian Harmon until 1978, when the series ended.
The two would team up again in 1985 on the set of “The Golden Girls.” McClanahan played Blanche Devereaux, the saucy Golden Girl with the overactive love life. She would receive an Emmy in 1987 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. McClanahan played Devereaux until the series ended in 1992.
After “The Golden Girls” ended, McClanahan, White, and Getty appeared in the short-lived spinoff, “The Golden Palace,” which only lasted one year.
Over her career, McClanahan appeared in several feature films including The Rotten Apple, Walk the Angry Beach, and Some of My Best Friends Are…. She also guest starred on “Newhart” and played Aunt Fran in the first season of “Mama’s Family.” McClanahan did voiceover for such shows as “Annabelle’s Wish,” “Spider-man: The Animated Series,” and “King of the Hill.” She received a 2008 TV Land Award for her work on “The Golden Girls.”
Like her co-star Bea Arthur, McClanahan was a big supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).