27. A Star Comedienne Who Was Once a US Marine
Star comedienne, actress, and singer Beatrice “Bea” Arthur (1922 – 2009) had a rich career in entertainment that spanned seven decades. In that stretch, she became famous for her signature sitcom roles as Maude Findley in All in the Family and its spinoff Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls. Before that, however, she had been a WWII US Marine. Bea attended a girls’ boarding school where she was the tallest pupil and was also voted “wittiest girl” by her classmates. She became an avid participant in drama programs and theatrical productions. Arthur entertained her friends with imitations of Mae West and fantasized about a career in show business, but did not think that her parents would support her dreams.
Arthur downplayed her WWII contributions and often denied that she had served. She often steered questioners away by pointing out that others had done far more in the war. However, the documentary record shows that in 1943, when she was twenty-one, Arthur enlisted in the US Marine Corps under her birth name, Bernice Frankel. She worked as a typist and truck driver and moved up the ranks from private to staff sergeant before her honorable discharge in 1945. While serving in the Marines during the war, she met and married her husband, Robert Arthur, whose last name she took. The marriage was short-lived, but she kept the name and became Beatrice “Bea” Arthur. In hindsight, admirers of her no-nonsense character would probably nod their heads at how apt it is that Maud or Dorothy Zbornak had been a United States Marine sergeant.
