‘Golden Girls’ star Rue McClanahan dead at 76
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Rue McClanahan, known to TV fans as Vivian Harmon on “Maude” and most famously as the oversexed Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on the 1980s sitcom “The Golden Girls,” died early Thursday morning after suffering a major stroke, her manager said.
The Emmy winner, who was working into 2009, had a minor stroke in January while recovering from heart bypass surgery in November. Recent roles included a 2009 spot on “Law & Order” and a lead on the first season of the Logo series “Sordid Lives.”
She was married six times -- most recently in 1997, to Morrow Wilson.
McClanahan is the third of the four “Golden Girls” costars to pass away; Estelle Getty died at 84 in 2008 and Bea Arthur died at 86 in 2009. Fans of the gang might enjoy hearing White and McClanahan remembering Arthur in a discussion on NBC’s “Today” show (click here for the video).
Betty White is now the sole surviving “Girl.”
— Christie D’Zurilla
Click and scroll down for more news of celebrity passings. Want the headlines? Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we’re @LATcelebs), or Like us into your news feed when you visit our Facebook page.
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
