Maude Findlay

Maude Traynor Findlay
First appearance	Cousin Maude's Visit (All in the Family)
Last appearance	Maude Goes to Washington, Pt's. 1, 2 & 3
Portrayed by	Beatrice Arthur
In-universe information
Nickname	Maudie
Species	Female
Gender	Female
Occupation	Congresswoman
Family	Carol Traynor (daughter) Edith Bunker (cousin) Archie Bunker (cousin-in-law) Philip Traynor (grandson)
Spouse	Barney (1945-?) Chester (November 1950) Albert Hilliard Walter Findlay (married)

Maude Findlay is a fictional character on the controversial 1970s sitcom Maude. She was portrayed by the late seven-time Emmy-winning television actress Beatrice Arthur.

Background

Maude Findlay first appeared on All in the Family in December 1971, and is the cousin of Edith Bunker. Maude cared for Edith and disliked her racist husband Archie Bunker, as shown by Maude telling Edith she could have done a lot better instead of marrying Archie. Archie and Maude were both known for getting on each other's nerves.

After her appearance on All in the Family, Maude received her own series, which debuted on CBS on September 12 1972. On her own show, Maude lives in Tuckahoe, New York, is quite no-nonsense, and is married to Walter Findlay. Maude's recently divorced daughter, Carol Traynor, and Carol's son, Philip, also live with the couple. Carol was the product of Maude's second marriage (Maude had been married four times in all, Walter was her fourth husband).

Maude hired the first Housekeeper, Florida Evans, an African-American woman who always had the last laugh at Maude's expense. Florida gave Maude a dose of her own medicine, but Florida always knew Maude was mostly a level-headed and feminist-like attitude. Florida left in 1974. (Esther Rolle got her own show, Good Times which premiered on February 8, 1974). Maude next hired Nell Nagatuck, a British housekeeper who drank too much and lied constantly, and she left in 1977 with her husband to move to Ireland to care for her mother. And in the final season (1977—1978), Maude hired Victoria Butterfield, and she remained with the series until it ended.

Maude also had neighbors: The Harmons, Vivian Cavender-Harmon (Rue McClanahan) and Dr. Arthur Harmon (Conrad Bain). Maude got along with Vivian, having known her since they were in college; Vivian was well-meaning but scatterbrained. Maude did not, however, get along as well with Arthur. Arthur, who was conservative, and was Maude's foil in lieu of Archie Bunker, simply called her "Maudie". Widower Arthur and Vivian met each other after she divorced her husband, Chuck Cavender after 21 years, and the two (Arthur and Vivian) were married in the middle of the second season of Maude (1973—1974).

In the series, Maude mostly dealt with the events happening in her life, but in the most-watched, controversial two-part episode of the first season, entitled Maude's Dilemma Maude discovered at age 47 that she was pregnant. Maude and the entire family and friends are shocked, and daughter, Carol tries to persuade Maude to get an abortion, which is now legal in New York state. The episode was seen by an estimated 9.94 million viewers. Although Maude's ratings were very high, the show had dealt with menopause, boredom, and women's liberation.

In the final episode, Maude runs for office and she and her husband Walter move to Washington, D.C..