Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan | |
|---|---|
 Rue McClanahan at a book signing in 2007 | |
| Born | Eddi Rue McClanahan |
| Spouse(s) | Morrow Wilson (1997–present) Tom Keel (1985-1986) (divorced) Gus Fisher (1976-1978) (divorced) Peter DMaio (1964-1971) (divorced) Norman Hartweg (1959-1961) (divorced) Tom Bish (1958-1959) (divorced) 1 child |
Rue McClanahan (born Eddi Rue McClanahan on February 21, 1934 in Healdton, Oklahoma) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, best known for her roles on the television sitcoms Maude and The Golden Girls.
Early life
McClanahan is of Scots-Irish and Choctaw Indian ancestry, and grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma; she graduated from Ardmore High School in 1952. At the University of Tulsa, she majored in German and Theatre and was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. She began acting on stage in New York City in 1957, but her breakout role was of maniacal nanny Caroline Johnson on Another World from July 1970 - September 1971. In the show, while taking care of twins Michael and Marianne Randolph, Caroline fell in love with their father, John, and began poisoning their mother, Pat. Due in part to McClanahan's performance, the short-term role was extended to over a year before Caroline was finally brought to justice after kidnapping the twins. McClanahan expected negative fan reaction but was generally popular, even getting one letter advising her on the best poisons with which to kill Pat. Unlike a number of actors who become famous after leaving soaps, McClanahan has always praised daytime drama and the people who work in it.
Film
Rue McClanahan starred in 1961's The Rotten Apple, as well Walk the Angry Beach in 1968.
Television
Early work
McClanahan started in the 1970 – 1971 television series Another World, and later starred in the early seasons of Mama's Family as "Aunt Fran" Crowley. In Maude, broadcast from 1972 to 1978, McClanahan played Maude Findlay (Bea Arthur)'s best friend, Vivian Harmon.
The Golden Girls
In The Golden Girls, broadcast from 1985 until 1992, McClanahan portrayed man-crazed Southern belle Blanche Devereaux. Deveraux was the owner of a house inhabited by four roommates: herself, Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). She received an Emmy Award in 1987 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Golden Girls.
In fact, she made a nod to her beginnings on Another World in an episode of The Golden Girls, called "The Flu" when, as Blanche, she, along with Dorothy and Rose, were sick with the flu, and Blanche wanted to watch Another World over the strenuous objections of Dorothy.
Other work
In May 2005, McClanahan took over the role of Madame Morrible in the hit Broadway musical Wicked, for which she received mixed, but somewhat negative reviews. She received positive notice from the "New York Times" though: "The former Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan, dressed in flamboyant kimonolike costumes, is doing maaahvelous things with vowel sounds as Madame Morrible, the flamboyant headmistress of the witches' school. She steals scenes with a flip of a hand."
Later life
A lifelong animal-rights advocate and vegetarian, McClanahan was one of the first celebrity supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She is also a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party. In December 2003, she wrote a letter informing Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that his pheasant hunting had cost him her vote. (Which went to Ralph Nader instead.)
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 1997 and survived with the help of cancer expert Dr. Larry Norton and her sixth husband, the much younger Morrow Wilson. She is also the mother of one child, a son, Mark Bish, from a previous marriage.
Her autobiography, My First Five Husbands, was released nationwide in the spring of 2007.
Emmy Award Nominations
McClanahan was nominated for four Emmy Awards:
- 1986 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - "The Golden Girls" - (Nominated)
- 1987 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - "The Golden Girls" - (Won)
- 1988 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - "The Golden Girls" - (Nominated)
- 1989 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - "The Golden Girls" - (Nominated)
Selected TV Work
- Another World (cast member from 1970 – 1971)
- Where the Heart Is (cast member from 1971 – 1972)
- Hogan's Goat (1971)
- Maude (1972 – 1978)
- Mama's Family as Fran (cast member from 1983 – 1985)
- The Golden Girls (1985 – 1992)
- The Man in the Brown Suit (1989)
- The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1991)
- The Golden Palace (1992 – 1993)
- A Saintly Switch (1999)
- King of the Hill brief 2007 appearance
- Hope & Faith brief 2005 appearance
Selected filmography
- The Rotten Apple (1961)
- Walk the Angry Beach / Hollywood After Dark / The Unholy Choice (1968)
- They Might Be Giants (1971)
- Message from Nam(1993
- Out to Sea (1997)
- Starship Troopers (1997)
- The Fighting Temptations (2003)
Personal life
McClanahan is the aunt of author Amelia Kinkade.
Rue also appeared as a leader of Al-Anon in a 1970s informational video called "Slight Drinking Problem," in which Patty Duke played the enabling and eventually self-empowered wife of an alcoholic.
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Please use a more specific IBDB template. See the documentation for available templates.
- A True Golden Girl