R.I.P. Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan)

This is so sad. I loved her! RIP Rue!

Golden Girls Star Rue McClanahan Dies at 76



"She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," her manager, Barbara Lawrence, tells PEOPLE. "She had a massive stroke."

McClanahan, who played man-happy Blanche Devereaux on the still-popular '80s sitcom Golden Girls, had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery. Lawrence adds that at the time of her death Thursday, McClanahan "had her family with her. She went in peace."

PHOTOS: Rue McClanahan: Celebrating a Golden Girl


Still in syndication, Golden Girls ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992. Only last year, McClanahan's costar, Beatrice Arthur, died from cancer. Estelle Getty died in 2008. Surviving star Betty White, 88, is currently enjoying a remarkable resurgence in her career, having recently hosted Saturday Night Live.

Born in Healdton, Okla., Rue lived in six towns by the time she was 8. Her father was a road builder who moved from one project to another. She found solace in acting ("the only thing I ever wanted to do") and after four years at the University of Tulsa moved to New York, where she worked as a part-time file clerk while trying to find jobs in the theater.

VIDEO: Remembering Rue – Her Best Blanche Moments


Her first job was off Broadway, in 1957, and she finally hit Broadway in 1969. TV work came from soap operas, until she made it on CBS's Maude, starring Beatrice Arthur, starting in 1972. She played Maude's best friend Vivian.

But it was Golden Girls that put her on the map and led to fame, fortune – and several husbands. In all, she had six, including actor Morrow Wilson, whom she wed in 1997 and who survives her, as does a son, Mark Bish, from her first marriage.

As McClanahan told PEOPLE in 1986: "I've always been lucky enough to marry good cooks. One cooked Greek. One cooked Tex-Mex – chili and stuff." Then, with a laugh, she added, "True, one needed a recipe to make a peanut butter sandwich ..."

 

I loved her, too!! Now the only one left is Betty White!

LONG LIVE BETTY WHITE!!

 

Amen to that sista!

She's really doing her thing. I just want her to keep on prospering and stay healthy!

 

She certainly is. I always loved The Golden Girls...even now I still watch it if I catch a rerun or something. It was just a classic, hilarious show.

*moment of silence for Rue*

 

RIP Rue.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiQzUEc_FmI&feature=related

:smt034love the golden girls

 

R.I.P. to the original Southern Belle.

 

How sad. Where is my Golden Girls Sister (KG)?! RIP Blanche!!!!

 

Last thing I saw her on was an episode of Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.

 

Very Sad.

I still watch the reruns...they were the best.

RIP Rue.

 

It was sad that she had passed. It was her second stroke. I remember her from Maude years ago. She and Bea Arthur were a great team.

 

Yep, that programme was a BIG FAVE of mine Back In The Day....

Just like when Larry Fine died; This devasted Moe Howard, who was the last surviving member of The Three Stooges.....You *know* Betty White has to be pretty damned torn up about being the only survivor in the Golden Girls....

So sad to see.






I observe 5 Minutes Of Silence in Honour of Rue's Memory.
























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