Talk:Bea Arthur/Archive 1

Archive 1

Gay icon

Why is she a gay icon? --SPUI (talk) 02:09, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Because she's big and ballsy and has a history in Broadway. See her character as "Maude" and Auntie Mame: very gay-iconic characters. Moncrief 02:11, Mar 12, 2005 (UTC)

Hmmm, something about that should be in the article then. --SPUI (talk) 02:17, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Beatrice Arthur never got along with Betty White during the filming of The Golden Girls? Where is the proof?

I second that, I've never heard anything like that before. Gershwinrb 03:21, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

While its good a source was added to this article (at loooong last), to support this, it actually doesn't fully support the whole paragraph it's attached to. It should be possible to find all the necessary sources to back everything. Also, this uses the classic weasel words. The body of the article should explicitly state who says what. It should distinguish between what Arthur says of herself, and what others say about her. Now, I could edit the article to specifically refer the Advocate article, but I'm sure whoever put this gay icon stuff here didn't wish to speak solely about what one publication said (and a relay of a few others). It's probably best those pushing interested in the gay icon angle do this themselves. --Rob 06:34, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

http://hottopics.gay.com/2009/04/thank-you-for-being-a-friend.html

Playing liberal feminist Maude Findlay on the "All in the Family" spinoff would prepare her for the role of Dorothy, a snarky social commentator who regularly championed the civil rights of women, the elderly and the LGBT community. These roles would cement her status as an LGBT icon, an accomplishment she discussed in a 2001 "Out Magazine" interview.

Admitting that she once considered a lesbian tryst after an unhappy divorce, Arthur proved her allegiance with LGBT folk when asked what in her mind was the single greatest issue gay people face today. "With all the improvements and all the people who've become so much more knowledgeable, there's still an enormous amount of vicious homophobia," she said with classic Maude and Dorothy fearlessness.

There are also rumors in the gay community that she was a lesbian. 98.242.74.75 (talk) 09:04, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Saying that there are rumours means that it has no place here. Thank you. She was married twice - as far as anyone is concerned, she was not.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 23:32, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Star Trek: Voyager appearance

The IMDb claims [1] that Arthur appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Cold Fire" as the voice of Suspiria; however, IMDb is notorious for being inaccurate. Furthermore, no other reliable source credits her with the role or even mentions it in background info and if you watch the episode, it's fairly apparent that it's not Arthur's distinctive voice. Therefore, the category (and any mention of her appearing in the episode) should be left out of the article. -- SmokeDetector47^{( TALK )} 04:11, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

It's now Bea Arthur, it's Majel Barret Roddenberry (Who also provides the voice for the Computer, Any link bumpers between two parters and played the Nurse in the Origanal series and Troy's mother in Next Gen and DS9. However Bea and the Rose White have a very breif apperence in Voyager epesode "Future's End" when the ship travels to modern day Earth and moniter TV channels a snipped of the Golden Girls is shown. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Djarra (talk • contribs) 14:06, 23 February 2007 (UTC).

What's with all the links

Why all the links on this page. It is almost like any word that is in the Wiki has been linked. voice, wit, parents, volunteered, female, television, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, community, husband and this is only the first three paragraphs. Lumberjack Steve 19:26, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

YouTube links

This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed or you would like to help spread this message contact us on this page. Thanks, ---J.S (t|c) 03:46, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Marriages

Are these dates correct? Was Arthur secretly married to another man for 7 years during her marriage to Gene Saks?Jdfox 06:37, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Steaming up windows

Where is the proof that "even in her eighties, she still steams up windows across America"? --Wikismile 20:25, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Was Bea Arthur a Marine or not?

List of famous U.S. Marines mentions Mrs. Arthur as a famous Marine. If it's true, the article should mention it; if not, she should be removed from that list. --Johnny (Cuervo) 08:18, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

According to this source: http://www.corpsstories.com/ArthurBea.htm she was a recruit during WW2 Surfeited 08:38, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Good looking out. Odd, though; the Navy handles all our medical stuff nowadays. I don't know about back then. --76.227.80.87 03:21, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Her membership in Marine Corps should be noted in the article Ratherthanlater (talk) 19:33, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

This webpage http://www.lgt2.com/bea/fibsfacts.php says "In Bea's interview with the Archive of American Television, she denies ever being in the Marines. However, during the WWII period, there had been talk of a enrollment for a short period, which has been brought up numerous times." It also includes a detailed bio that leaves no gaps in the 40's and never mentions being in the Marines. The whole web site looks like a work of love by dedicated fans who've made themselves pretty expert in this topic, so they should know.

I Googled "Archive of American Television", which you can do too, and then searched for Bea Arthur. There I found a link to a series of YouTube videos, parts one through five, of Bea being interviewed. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2PUgDa1jy4) If you are a fan, (I am not, just curious about whether see was a marine or not) you could watch all of these and see if it's true or not that Ms Arthur therein denies ever having been in the Marines. This would be significant, as the "fact" that she was in the marines is ALL OVER the internet, including Wikipedia and IMBD. The bottom of this must be gotten to! Chrisrus (talk) 02:48, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

She debunks it at around 5:30 in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2PUgDa1jy4 It should be removed from the article 174.100.233.207 (talk) 05:05, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

I've just realised the link i used as a reference says it was a quote from Wikipedia. Looks like it's well debunked now.--Dmol (talk) 06:03, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Not so fast

While she does say "uh, no" to being a Marine during WWII, a number of pretty reliable sources say she was connected to the Marines (as a medic).

• the USMC itself said she was a Marine in Marines magazine (Vol. 36, #1, January–March 2007)
• Stanford University Quizbowl, p.5 (PDF)
• The book Marine Pride: A Salute to America's Elite Fighting Force by USMC Captain Scott Keller

—MJBurrage^(T•C) 05:04, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

There is some new discussion about this at Talk:List of U.S. Marines#Bea Arthur Part2. bahamut0013^words_deeds 05:11, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

`

Is it possible to contact Scott Keller, the author of Marine Pride, to cite his source? He has none in the book I can see. Is it possible to do the same with the unknown author of http://www.mcnews.info/mcnewsinfo/marines/2007/20071ST/divisions/factfile.shtml?

And the author of this Stanford University Quizbowl, p.5 (PDF), one "Jason Keller", says only "She became a medical technician just before World War II and was one of the first women to be recruited by the Marine Corps" and cites no source. Can he be contacted and asked where he got this piece of information?

Why can't this be settled once and for all by someone in the Marines with records? Who could we ask?Chrisrus (talk) 06:37, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Also, note the similarity in text here: http://www.corpsstories.com/ArthurBea.htm "She became a medical technologist before World War II, when she volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps, becoming one of its first female recruits." What's the difference between a technician and a technologist? Chrisrus (talk) 06:51, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

There has been more information posted in the references for the article List of Famous Marines, where she is still listed. It reads " ... service record at National Archives under Bernice Frankel/Bernice Aurthur service # 755 043 shows service 3/26/1943-9/26/1945 with the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, mostly in the motor pool at Marine Corps Air Station,Cherry Point,NC where she achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant." Chrisrus (talk) 05:43, 20 July 2009 (UTC) I will check more into it but as you can see it sounds legit. This is truely bizzare, and the bottom of it should be gotten to. If it is true, this bio is wrong and should be changed. If it is not, the same could be said of that article. If we still can't know for sure, this article should reflect that instead of ignoring the issue as is done now. Readers want to know. Chrisrus (talk) 05:43, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Getting to the bottom of this

This webpage http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=8025, gives information about Scott Keller, the author of Marine Pride, the what seems to be the oldest reliable source we have that claims Arthur had been a Marine. It says

"Scott Keller, Capt. U.S.M.C., has enjoyed a distinguished career in the Marine Corps, during which he has logged airtime in F-18, F-16, A-4 and F-5 fighter aircraft. In addition to flying CONUS air defense missions over the continental United States, he has flown combat missions in Operation Southern Watch during a posting to Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the summer of 2000. Following the terror attacks of September 2001, Captain Keller was heavily involved in Operation Noble Eagle, which coordinated air defense for the entire United States. He is currently attached to the 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington, Vermont, flying the F-16. He lives in Still River, Massachusetts."

Can anyone use this information to contact this author and find out where he learned that Arthur was a Marine? It may be a dead end, but we could follow the train back and back to the original source and determine this definitively once and for all.Chrisrus (talk) 04:32, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Friars Club association

Almost every Comedy Central friars club Roast shows her somewhere in the crowd and even roasting someone. I was wondering if she may have some sort of formal or informal association with the club and hoping that someone may shed some light on this area of her life.

PETA Gore ad

Is Bea Arthur one of the people decapetated and skinned in a PETA ad currently running in the UK (in Cinema's with an 18 Cert film) ? It looks like her but is hard to tell. The whole thing is very strange.Djarra 16:58, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Image

does anyone think their should be a new image, the one ae the moment looks horrible —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.194.141.92 (talk) 16:03, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

i have uploaded a better image, buti do not know how to put it on herpage. Can someone else do it, just press undo in the history page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Patkirkwoood (talk • contribs) 21:23, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

"I have studied the user" in the edit summary makes no sense. How have you done that? The image description page lacks the basic details needed to fulfil our criteria for fair use. The image comes from beatrice.arthur.com and there is nothing on the site to say who took the photo or who owns the copyright. How is it that you have "studied the user"? This is not good enough. We have a free image of her and although it's older, her appearance has not changed very much. It is against policy to remove an image that we know is free and safe to use - and can prove is free and safe to use - and replace it with an image that is listed for deletion, that has questionable copyright and that may or may not be free. If it is free PROVE it to the standard required by Wikipedia's policies BEFORE you add it. It's not enough to just make a vague edit summary. Also you continue to force the unfree image into the article. I have explained why this is not acceptable, so if you continue to do it, I will consider it as vandalism. Please make yourself familiar with Wikipedia:Copyright, Wikipedia:Fair use and any other related articles or policy pages that these pages refer to. Rossrs (talk) 23:45, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Appearance listings

These seem way too extensive to me. Do we really need a selective list of every place that Arthur's one-woman show has played, or guest appearances on talk shows? Unless someone can provide a good rationale, I'm going to go ahead and trim both these areas. Gusworld (talk) 04:21, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Birthdate

It seems to be a dispute between 1922 and 1923, and I've linked to a scan of her birth certificate. If anyone has any better evidence, please produce it. Meanwhile, there are better things to do than bicker over one year in the lifetime of a venerable actress and nice lady. So 1922 it is, then. --Rodhullandemu 02:26, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Appearance on Star Trek: The Original Series

The role of 'Tamoon' in the second series episode 'The Gamesters of Triskelion' is credited to "Jane Ross". According to this article: http://www.answers.com/topic/beatrice-arthur-classical-musician, Beatrice Arthur was billed as "Jane Ross" when she appeared in two 'forgettable movies' in 1961 and 1964. The article also states that she appeared in 'The Gamesters of Triskelion'. I recently watched the re-mastered version of the episode on DVD and the voice is unmistakable. Apparently the only scene in which 'Tamoon' speaks, a humourous scene between Tamoon and Chekov, was edited out of syndicated versions of the episode which may explain why this appearance has gone largely unnoticed. – Jarod63 (talk) 15:12, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

This IMDB listing http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1026424/ seems to contradict that article.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Desweds (talk • contribs) 23:12, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

IMDB is not a reliable source for anything.LifeStroke420 (talk) 17:59, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

I love how Wikipedians snidely dismiss IMDb for being useless as a source since it is partly user generated content, when the exact same thing is true about us.

As for the "Jane Ross" rumour, The multi-part interview currently available on YouTube has a bit where the interviewer asks Arthur about being on Star Trek, and Arthur responds by describing her part on the Star Wars Holiday Special. When the interviewer mentions "Jane Ross" it is clear that Arthur has no idea what the interviewer is talking about.

The same year in another interview Arthur was directly asked if she had used the name "Jane Ross" or been on Star Trek, and she said no. —MJBurrage^(T•C) 04:37, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

You have to add sources to stuff here you dont there LifeStroke420 (talk) 05:37, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

In my experience there is little fact checking on Trivia submissions, but the database stuff (who's who, cast lists, etc.) is very accurate.

We have the same problem with fluff being inaccurate, and often unsourced; and press coverage of that means that our rep is probably worse than IMDb to most people.

Note, I am not saying that IMDb is great, just that dismissing it entirely is no better than dismissing Wikipedia entirely just for a few well publicized mistakes. —MJBurrage^(T•C) 05:52, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Request for unprotect

{{Editprotected}} perhaps i'm reading "history" page for article wrong, but i don't see heavy evidence of vandalism in last 48 hours. at most perhaps it should be semi-protected, but i question even the need for that. i'm sure the page is closely watched by reliable editors who can quickly undo any nonsense. also, there appears to have been no disucssion (or, as a result, any concensus) prior to protecting the page. full protection seems contrary to spirit of WP:NO-PREEMPT.--71.183.238.134 (talk) 22:38, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

First you should ask the protecting admin to reconsider his protection; failing that, you can ask at WP:RFPP for an independent review, but I am not going to overturn this decision, which seems to be quite usual for recent deaths when multiple editors pile in and add stuff without full knowledge of our policies. Sorry. Rodhullandemu 22:46, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Extraneous

"Getty was actually a year younger than Arthur in real life, and was heavily made up to look significantly older. Dorothy had a caustic sense of humor and was prone to making witty and sarcastic wisecracks."

These bits of trivia regarding Estelle Getty are not pertinent to the article at hand.

PCB —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.162.163 (talk) 23:20, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

I agree with the second sentence going. But the first one is quite relevant. It's not every day that an actor gets to play the mother of someone who's actually older than them. It would be very relevant to Estelle Getty's article if it;s not already there, and it's very relevant here. -- JackofOz (talk) 06:06, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Spokeswoman for Shopper's Drug Mart

Does anyone have a source other than YouTube for Bea as the Spokeswoman for Shopper's Drug Mart? She appeared many times as the spokesperson, and should be recognized for her contribution to advertising. Skrivitor (talk) 16:40, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Title of article

Since she was born Bernice and adopted the nickname "Bea" (source, every obituary I've seen), why is this page at Beatrice Arthur? Beatrice was not her name and no one ever called her that. I see that her IMDB page is under "Beatrice", but her IBDB and IOBDB pages are both "Bea". Since the titles of articles should be under what most English speakers would recognize, this page should be moved over the redirect to Bea Arthur. 69.137.130.101 (talk) 17:53, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

I'm watching an episode of "The Golden Girls". She is identified in the opening credits as "Beatrice Arthur", which was her professional name. --Ericdn (talk) 19:55, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:MOSBIO#Names says we go with "the name by which the subject is most commonly known"; I'd say "Bea" is a popular, but informal, contraction, but per credits and her professional name, "Beatrice" should be the title. Rodhullandemu 20:00, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

From the New York Times obituary, her own words on the subject, though paraphrased by the author:

'Familiarly known as Bea, Ms. Arthur was billed in the theater and on television as Beatrice, but the name was one she made up. She was born Bernice Frankel in New York City on May 13, 1922, according to Mr. Watt. But she preferred to be called B — “I changed the Bernice almost as soon as I heard it,” she said — and later expanded it to Beatrice because, she said, she imagined it would look lovely on a theater marquee.'

I had initially had the same instinct about Jimmy Stewart—and never refer to him as James. But his article is found at James Stewart (actor) because that is how he chose to be billed throughout the majority of his career. I was actually surprised to find this out, even though I've seen at least a dozen of the guy's films, some more than two or three times. While she used the more informal "Bea" for her Broadway show and tour, she was billed as "Beatrice" for those roles for which she is most popularly remembered. Of course, "Bea Arthur" should redirect here, and does. Abrazame (talk) 04:23, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

Recent death

Regarding this, "recent" doesn't necessarily have to be within the last 24 hours. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 23:57, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Certainly agree with your analysis above. However, there does not appear to be any "breaking" news about this death which would indicate a need for the tag to remain - or am I missing something? -- The Red Pen of Doom 00:34, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

We still don't have a reliable enough reference for whether or not she died of lung cancer, and don't know anything about her funeral. In any case, seven days after the subject's death is the soonest the tag should be removed. Best name (talk) 21:15, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Cancer - lung?

None of the news articles about her death specify what type of cancer it was. Therefore I'm going to remove the word "lung" from the line about her having cancer. If someone can provide a reference for it being lung cancer, by all means feel free to add it. —BMRR (talk) 02:27, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

None of the refs state lung cancer. NNDB and Rotten state lung, but I believe they are not considered reliable enough. The sources that state the organ all agree on lung. Has anyone seen her death certificate? Best name (talk) 21:15, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

I think most of us can agree that CNN and the New York Times are at least marginally more reliable sources than NNDB and Rotten; with that in mind, I think it's best to leave it as just "cancer" unless some other reliable source can say definitively what type of cancer it was. I think some people may simply be speculating based on her deep voice, which sounded even more gravel-y in recent years, but that certainly doesn't mean she had lung cancer. —BMRR (talk) 21:33, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

findadeath.com also states that it was lung cancer, due "to a lifetime of smoking," but doesn't say where they got that information from. I'm still inclined to not include it in the article until it appears in a somewhat more mainstream source. —BMRR (talk) 00:46, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree that it should not be inserted until it is widely reported by more reputable sources. Happyme22 (talk) 05:18, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Did Bea do Pornographic Content?

Does anybody know if the Bea Arthur nudes are real? If they are should this be mentioned, as they were very controversial for a personality of her day? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.171.139.126 (talk) 09:37, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Where was Bea?

Where was Bea Arthur from 3/26/1943 to 9/26/1945? Chrisrus (talk) 12:02, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

In regard to her alleged USMC service

Today, October 5, 2009, someone of my confidence is searching the National Archives as to if and when Bea Arthur served in the USMC. If no evidence is found that she indeed served, then it can be assumed that she was not a Marine (considering that she herself never admitted to such a claim) and I no longer see any reason for her name to be included in the "List of notable United States Marines". I hope that you all agree with me. Semper Fi, Tony the Marine (talk) 00:13, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, Tony, for getting to the bottom of this matter. Please let us know what happens. Salute! Chrisrus (talk) 01:52, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Please make sure that your friend searches for her original name (Bernice Frankel), since she may not have been married at the time, and/or she may not have been going by the name Beatrice at that time. Thanks! —BMRR (talk) 02:20, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

• Yes, the search will be made under Bernice Frankel and I should have an answer at least within a day or two. Tony the Marine (talk) 06:39, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Search Results

Today, October 11, 2009, I have received confirmation that there is nothing in the National Archives in regard to Beatrice Frankel a.k.a. Bea Arthur, to indicate that she was a member of the USMC. As far as I am concerned this should bring to an end the speculation of her military service in the USMC and her name should be removed from the "List of notable U.S. Marines". I will wait for a period of 5 days for any further comments before removing her from the list. I hope that this has been to the satisfaction of all and that we all agree on the course of action that I will take. Tony the Marine (talk) 01:37, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

I support the removal. It would be a fascinating story if she had been, but particularly given that she denied it during her lifetime, this fact of there being no record in the archives should put an end to the speculation. I thank those involved for their time and effort researching this rumor. I'm awed by Tony's pages and thank him for his service, as well as his devotion to honoring the history and biographies of notable marines and Puerto Ricans at this project. Best, Abrazame (talk) 03:26, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

• I have posted my recommendation of total removal, however there are those who still have some doubts as you all can witness here: Talk:List of notable United States Marines. Everyone in this page is more then welcomed to post their comments, opinions or suggestions. Thank you all. Tony the Marine (talk) 23:25, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

(P.S. Abrazame, thank you for the compliments, I appreciate them. Tony the Marine (talk))

Thanks for taking the time to research this, Tony. Just to clarify -- and I apologize if this seems repetitive -- did your colleague search for Bernice Frankel? The only reason I ask is because that was her birth name, and you mentioned in your October 12 post that your colleague searched for Beatrice Frankel, A.K.A. Bea Arthur, and it seems unlikely (in my humble opinion) that she would have been listed under those names. Again, thanks for your time and effort. —BMRR (talk) 00:03, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

• Just to clarify, she was searched under "Bernice Frankel" and "Beatrice Frankel" just to be on the safe side. The reason that I had her searched in the archives in the first place was because my colleague and I are doing some research in regard to the citizenship status of some Puerto Rican soldiers who served in the "Porto Rico Regiment", prior 1917. I figured that we might as well check up on "Bea" (both Bernice and Beatrice) while we were at it. Tony the Marine (talk) 00:28, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Excellent. Thanks so much for looking into it! –BMRR (talk) 01:09, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Leaving Golden Girls

Why did Bea leave the Golden Girls? --Reverend Edward Brain, D.D. (talk) 04:12, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

How is this person or Dorothy Zbornak an icon to LGBT?

I added dubious because there is no citation of that statement and because there should be evidence. --George Ho (talk) 05:10, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

Name

Her military records show her name as "Bernice Frankel" =//= Johnny Squeaky 21:35, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Nonsense

The only source for Bea Arthur having been a Marine is this Smoking Gun website, which has no evidence. It should be removed from the article. 174.89.31.223 (talk) 17:33, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

I was about to write the same thing. She might, in fact, have been a Marine, but there is no reference to this information in the articles from Reuters, New York Times or National Public Radio. The information would be more believable without the derogatory slant of the piece, as well. The Smoking Gun website seems a questionable as a source for any subject, thus I will remove the item under WP:BOLD.Catherinejarvis (talk) 15:46, 2 February 2013 (UTC) I have not deleted the reference to her husband in footnote 12, but there should be a better source for this information than The Smoking Gun. There must be some kind of reliable source somewhere.Catherinejarvis (talk) 15:52, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

How about this one - http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/persons-of-prominence.html#R. Quis separabit? 20:02, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

And yet that photo of her --- which looks like a booking photo of some sort --- clearly shows her wearing the usual Marine Corps pins on either collar. Maybe she was embarrassed about having been arrested and/or dishonorably discharged. Or maybe, being such a thoroughgoing lefty, she was embarrassed about having served her country. Her first husband was a fellow Marine. And if you're looking for her records, you'll find them under "Bernice Frankel." (edited to fix typo in name) 38.115.185.4 (talk) 21:02, 16 May 2013 (UTC)HelenChicago

The site in question does seem quite sleazy and the reference to her having contracted a venereal disease is disgraceful. I saw no mention of a dishonorable discharge, just a reference to one alleged incident of bad conduct, related to the above claim, which I already called disgraceful. The photos seem to be of her in 1943 in military garb and there is nothing to be ashamed of having spent "spent 30 months in the Marine Corps, where she was one of the first members of the Women’s Reserve and spent time as a typist and a truck driver", if true. This reflink seems legit. Quis separabit? 20:01, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Updated work history - should it be moved to a separate "Bea Arthur Filmography" page

She was a prolific entertainer in her life. Would it be better to show a 'Selected Filmography' on the main article and link to the remainder as a separate page? Ckoerner (talk) 16:14, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

Ashes over Miami

Can we get rid of the part about spreading her ashes over Miami? I have searched and not found ANYTHING that mentions it. --RyanDanielst (talk) 09:25, 26 April 2018 (UTC)