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The Golden Girls' Dorothy loved the last word, but Bea Arthur preferred her privacy
She may not have loved the attention, but audiences couldn't get enough of her!
The Golden Girls' Dorothy Zbornak never met a conversation she didn't want to join, but Bea Arthur was much more content to stay out of the spotlight. The private actress rarely appeared on the TV talk show circuit, preferring to let her character do the talking.
While Dorothy may have loved the cameras, interviews and endless questions, Bea Arthur felt quite differently. In a 1986 interview with the Telegraph-Journal, she admitted that she resented TV talk shows and interviews.
"I resent having my brains picked," Arthur said. "What do you want to know about me? That I have a sister living in Canada, I love to cook Chinese food like cucumber and Szechuan cabbage and pork. Will that do it? Or do you have to know that I drive my own car to work..."
She loved her job, her castmates, and the success that came with it. She just wished fame came with an off switch.
According to the interview, she rarely felt famous in her day-to-day life. To her, she was simply doing what she loved: acting. But to fans, she was so much more than that.
In fact, even Bea Arthur needed an occasional reality check! According to the interview, each morning, she'd pinch herself and say, "Hey, wait a minute. I have a hit show, money, and a beautiful home."
Dorothy may not have been Arthur's real-life twin, but that didn't mean she couldn't find a few Golden Girls of her own! Away from the cameras, Arthur was close with her castmates, who saw a much different side of the actress.
In the interview, co-star Rue McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux, described Arthur as one of the most down-to-earth people in show business.
"Bea's low-key, easy, anything but boring," McClanahan said. "In fact, she's so unpretentious that she arrives on the set without any makeup, and quite often barefoot. During lunch breaks, she never wants to be approached by outsiders; she's very private."
She may have preferred life outside the spotlight, but Arthur's place in television history speaks volumes.
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