#(@lynnie i am officially in awe of you so if you want to see me fumble an invitation for a drink out hit me up please and thank you)

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

another anecdote she gave "I'm first and foremost, very candidly and obviously, a Bea Arthur fan. I was a fan of hers from the theater in New York. I took her very seriously as an actress and I was aware of her performances outside of television, and I was- I was just an acolyte. I just thought she was wonderful, and because she was a dark, tall, beautiful-- and an intelligent, forceful woman who really broke down just every ceiling in the world - there was nobody like her in show business who wasn't the butt of the joke. instead she MADE the jokes and the big moments. as a woman who wasn't considered traditionally attractive or traditionally feminine, to get that kind of respect and admiration and attention it - it made it possible for you to possibly believe that there could be a place for you in the business when she broke down doors. So I was always interested in what she was doing." she read for a daughter part but told her friend "this is totally generic, I can't do these lines. this isn't Bea" and he said "just do it like Bea would" so she went in and did it like Bea and they called her next day and said they were writing something special for her. "I worked very hard on studying her and internalizing her as much I could." "I wanted it very badly, because you know when you're a fan of somebody and you just-- it meant so much to me because I was such a fan of hers. That I got to be in her presence. I got to sit next to her when we were getting out makeup done and talk to her about her career."

Anon I could just about kiss you honestly. This is a goldmine.

I'm so far removed from traditional beauty standards that the idea Bea could be considered unattractive is so foreign to me, even in Golden Girls. I see her like Lynnie describes here -- tall, dark, beautiful, intelligent, forceful; I can't help but admire her!! But Lynnie's absolutely right -- I get to see her in that way because she herself broke all the ceilings that stood before her. It's easy to say that she was a legend, but anecdotes like this really make you appreciate just how revolutionary she was, how much she changed the game. We're truly lucky to live in a time and place where we get to admire her work!!

And Lynnie is incredible too -- the fact that she read the lines and immediately clocked them as something that wouldn't fit Bea? And then she read them as Bea anyway? And she did it so well that they rewrote the part of young!Dorothy specifically for her?? Honestly, let me give a special shout-out to Dorothy as a character because she's just so awesome she was especially written for two incredible actresses -- but apart from that, wow. The sheer talent! The love and diligence she put in this part! I'm in awe!!

I am so happy she got to work with Bea and interact with her. She sounds like she has a true (and very relatable!!) devotion for her and I really don't think they could have picked anyone better for the part of young!Dorothy. What a champ.