Bea Arthur had a specific dream as a child: “My dream was to become a very small blonde movie star like Ida Lupino and those other women I saw up there on the screen during the Depression.”
Of course, Arthur went on to become a star, winning a Tony Award for Mame on Broadway, and winning Emmy Awards for her iconic roles on Maude and The Golden Girls. But she quickly outgrew the idea of being petite—she was 5 foot 9 by the time she was 12—and her hair obstinately refused to turn blonde.
Arthur is the subject of a new film, Bea Arthur: The Documentary—“I’ve Done Everything but Porn,” directed and produced by Dan Watt. It will make its world premiere at the Palm Springs Cultural Center on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Watt was Arthur’s personal assistant for six years before she died of cancer in 2009, and her family spokesman afterward. The film shows never-before-seen interviews with the notoriously private Bea Arthur, focusing on her career and life starting in 1947, when she moved to New York City and studied drama at The New School.
“It taught her not only to be a better actress, but also a better human being,” Watt said of her studies in New York. “She started reading newspapers from cover to cover, so she knew what was going on in the world, a practice she continued until she passed away. She was always interested in what was going on in the world and loved having good conversations.”
The film includes conversations with friends, colleagues and collaborators from television, Broadway, off-Broadway and cabaret—plus Watt’s interview with her.
“I made this film to celebrate her legacy for decades of fiercely supporting the LGBTQ+ community,” Watt said. “So in every city we are having a screening in, a portion of the proceeds will go to a local LGBTQ+ nonprofit, including Oak Grove Sanctuary in Palm Springs, and the Ali Forney Center in New York City.”
Arthur left $300,000 in her will to the Ali Forney Center, which enabled them to buy a brownstone and turn it into apartments for queer youth who are disowned by their families and have nowhere to go. Oak Grove Sanctuary provides safe, transitional housing and resources to LGBTQ+ foster youth as they move to adulthood at age 18.
Arthur remained involved in LGBTQ+ causes at a time when other celebrities refused because of the risk to their careers. She sang with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, hosted many events and galas, and helped raise funds—even after her death.
She knew what it was like to be an outsider, Watt said.
“She was taller in school than everyone else,” Watt said. “Her family was one of the only Jewish families living in Cambridge, Md., and being in theater at 20 years old, she had a lot of gay friends.”
Arthur became a TV star when Norman Lear created her iconic character Maude Findlay, who first appeared on All in the Family before getting her own show a year later. Lear first saw her perform in the off-Broadway play Shoestring Revue in 1955, and recognized her sharp comedic wit and commanding presence. As the story goes, Lear told her, “You’re very talented, and one day, I’m going to write a part for you.” Sixteen years later, he wrote the part of Maude. Arthur quipped, “What the hell took you so long?”
“People think Bea was ‘discovered’ at 49 years old when she got the role of Maude, but she trained for over 30 years playing Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, and the lead in two (classical) Greek plays,” Watt says. “People know her as a comedic genius, but she got her start in drama, including Greenwich Village’s Cherry Lane Theatre. Arthur and her then-husband, Gene Saks, an actor and director, became influential early members of the off-Broadway theater community. Arthur’s career officially took off with her critical breakthrough as Lucy Brown in the 1954 (Broadway) run of The Threepenny Opera.
“Bea was always working and getting in front of an audience to hone her craft, no matter the part,” Watt continued. “Her timing and her honesty were unmistakable onscreen and off.”
Watt remembers Arthur as grounded. She loved being at home with her two sons and her dogs, growing roses, cooking and throwing dinner parties. When she did go out, her many fans adored her.
“We used to go to her favorite restaurant in Santa Monica,” Watt said. “People very rarely recognized her, because she didn’t do anything to draw attention to herself, but once she started talking, you could see everyone sit up tall and go, ‘Wait a minute. I know that voice; why do I know that voice?’ Heads would start turning around, then some would come over.”
She wasn’t fazed by her fame, Watt said.
“I asked Bea if we should go around the side door,” Watt said. “She always said, ‘No. They want to meet Bea Arthur, Dorothy or Maude, and this might be their first and only chance to meet me.’ Bea could be hilariously brassy and always got those parts, but she was also fearless, sensitive, shy and deeply compassionate.”
Matt Berman agrees. The acclaimed theater lighting and sound designer, stage manager and tour manager worked with Arthur on her one-woman show on Broadway, Just Between Friends, in 2002. The collection of stories and songs—with composer, pianist and Bea’s best friend, Billy Goldenberg—is based on her life and career. Berman appears in Bea Arthur: The Documentary—“I’ve Done Everything but Porn.”
Berman said Arthur was always ready to listen, and she treated all people equally. That helped her tackle sensitive subjects in her sitcoms like abortion, alcoholism, domestic abuse, mental health, divorce and politics.
Berman said Arthur was his matron of honor at his wedding in Amsterdam.
“She schlepped there, at 83 years old, and after the ceremony, rented a canal boat from the Pulitzer Hotel, where she was staying, for all of us—my husband’s parents, my parents and Billy Goldenberg—so all of us would have a nice day out,” Berman said.
The world premiere of Bea Arthur: The Documentary—“I’ve Done Everything but Porn” will take place at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, at 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets start at $27.35, available via Eventbrite.
