Comments by "Glamdolly" (@glamdolly30) on "Betty White: Bea Arthur was not fond of me" video.

  1. I met Bea Arthur in the early 'nineties when she guested on a BBC chat show, and I had to look after her as a young TV researcher. As I recall she was quite an impenetrable character, in a world of her own. Not rude exactly, just closed off, with cold body language (she barely looked at you when she spoke to you). The fact she was stone deaf didn't help - she constantly hollered one word at me: "WHAAAAAT???" She was quite elderly then, but I imagine when younger she could be an intimidating presence, especially to people less powerful than herself. In my view it doesn't reflect well on her that she didn't adore the universally loved Betty White. This is interesting, especially when you consider the two women had known each other for many years as members of that small, elite Hollywood world. Betty said her natural positivity irritated Bea. The way she explained it, her very presence on the 'Golden Girls' set, put Bea's hackles up. The two women were such opposites in terms of their image, it's perhaps not surprising they weren't best buddies. But when you hear how warmly Betty speaks of Bea, in spite of her cool indifference, it suggests something else to me. It's a cliche I know, but could there have been a touch of the green eyed monster in Bea's attitude to Betty? After all, she was extremely popular, and one of the very few people in Hollywood no one had a bad word to say about. I suspect her sweet nature and huge popularity were a source of resentment to Bea - despite being the star of 'The Golden Girls' with no reason to feel threatened by her co-star. By all accounts Betty was a warm and likeable character on and off screen. She didn't have children, but all her life loved animals. She was involved in many animal charities and supported Los Angeles Zoo. She once told a newspaper that as well as for her acting: "I also want to be remembered as a lady who helped the animals". God bless her beautiful soul.
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