Bea Arthur: That Voice, That Wit

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Bea Arthur, who used her husky voice, commanding stature and flair for the comic jab to create two of the most endearing battle-axes in television history, Maude Findlay in the groundbreaking situation comedy "Maude" and Dorothy Zbornak in "The Golden Girls," died Saturday at 86. Left, Ms. Arthur in the show "Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends" at the Booth Theater in New York in January 2002.

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Bea Arthur: That Voice, That Wit

Ms. Arthur, who died at 86, was an accomplished theater actress and singer before she became a television celebrity in midcareer.