Rue McClanahan
Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress and comedian best known for her roles on television sitcoms, including Vivian Harmon on Maude (1972–78), Aunt Fran Crowley on Mama's Family (1983–84), and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls (1985–92), and its spin-off series The Golden Palace (1992–93).
Rue McClanahan
June 3, 2010 (aged 76)
- Actress
- comedian
- author
- fashion designer
1957–2010
1
Amelia Kinkade (niece)
McClanahan won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1987 for her role in The Golden Girls.
Early life[edit]
Eddi-Rue McClanahan was born in Healdton, Oklahoma, on February 21, 1934. She was the daughter of Dreda Rheua-Nell (née Medaris), a beautician, and William Edwin "Bill" McClanahan, a building contractor.[1][2][3][4]
She was raised Methodist and was of Irish and Choctaw ancestry.[4] Her Choctaw great-grandfather was named Running Hawk, according to her autobiography, My First Five Husbands... and the Ones Who Got Away (2007). She grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma; she graduated from Ardmore High School,[5] where she acted in school plays and won the gold medal in oration.[6] A National Honor Society member, McClanahan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, at the University of Tulsa, where she majored in both German and theater and joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority,[1] serving as vice president.[7]
Activism[edit]
An animal rights advocate and vegetarian,[1][18] McClanahan was one of the first celebrity supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.[1] She supported Alley Cat Allies,[20] a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to transforming communities to protect and improve the lives of cats, and appeared in a public service announcement for the organization in early 2010.
McClanahan was a supporter of gay rights, including advocating for same-sex marriage in the United States. In January 2009, she appeared in the star-studded Defying Inequality: The Broadway Concert—A Celebrity Benefit for Equal Rights.[21]
Personal life and death[edit]
In June 1997, McClanahan was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she was treated successfully.[22]
On November 4, 2009, McClanahan underwent triple bypass surgery after being hospitalized for cardiac related symptoms. An event scheduled for November 14, 2009, to honor her lifetime achievements, Golden: A Gala Tribute to Rue McClanahan, at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California,[23] had to be postponed. On January 14, 2010, Entertainment Tonight reported that while recovering from surgery, the actress suffered a minor stroke. In March 2010, fellow Golden Girls cast member Betty White reported on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that McClanahan was doing well and that her speech had returned to normal.[24]
McClanahan died on June 3, 2010, at age 76, at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered a brain hemorrhage.[25][26][22] After cremation, her ashes were given to her family.
White told Entertainment Tonight that McClanahan was a "close and dear friend."[27]
McClanahan was survived by her sixth husband, Morrow Wilson (from whom she separated in 2009); her son from her first marriage, Mark Bish (of Austin, Texas); her sister, Melinda Lou McClanahan (of Silver City, New Mexico); and other family, including her niece, actress and author Amelia Kinkade.[28][2][29]
No funeral service was held for McClanahan; her family created an official memorial page on Facebook,[30] and memorial services were held during the summer of 2010 in New York and Los Angeles.[28] On June 10, 2010, her New York apartment went on the market for an asking price of $2.25 million.[31][32]
In February 2017, a Golden Girls–themed eatery named Rue La Rue Cafe, owned by McClanahan's close friend Michael La Rue (who inherited many of the star's personal belongings and in turn decorated the restaurant with them), opened in the Washington Heights section of the New York City borough of Manhattan.[33] However, after less than a year in business, the cafe closed in November 2017.[34]