# Rue McClanahan

Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles on television sitcoms, including Vivian Cavender 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).
McClanahan won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1987 for her role in The Golden Girls.

## Early life

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. Her name combined her father's middle name of "Edwin", to create Eddi, and her mother's middle name of "Rheua", to create Rue. She stopped using "Eddi" because it was mistaken for a male name, and once led to her accidentally receiving a conscription notice.
She was raised Methodist and was of Irish and Choctaw ancestry. Her Choctaw great-grandfather was named Running Hawk, according to her autobiography, My First Five Husbands... and the Ones Who Got Away (2007). Due to her father's work, her family moved frequently. She graduated from Ardmore High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where she acted in school plays and won the gold medal in oration. 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, serving as vice president.

## Career

A life member of the Actors Studio, McClanahan made her professional stage début at Pennsylvania's Erie Playhouse in 1957, in the play Inherit the Wind. She began acting off-Broadway in New York City in 1957, but did not make her Broadway début until 1969, when she portrayed Sally Weber in the original production of John Sebastian and Murray Schisgal's play with music, Jimmy Shine, with Dustin Hoffman in the title role.
Her role as Caroline Johnson on the TV show Another World (from July 1970 to September 1971) brought her notice. Once her role on Another World ended, McClanahan joined the cast of the CBS soap opera Where the Heart Is, in which she played Margaret Jardin.
In the 1972 episode of All in the Family "The Bunkers and the Swingers," McClanahan and Vincent Gardenia play a swinging couple who meet the unsuspecting Bunkers. McClanahan first worked with actress Bea Arthur on the sitcom Maude (1972–78). Arthur played Maude Findlay, and McClanahan played Maude's best friend Vivian Cavender Harmon, who eventually married Maude's next-door neighbor Dr. Arthur Harmon (played by Conrad Bain).
After Maude, McClanahan starred in Apple Pie, a series created for her by Norman Lear, but which aired only two episodes before it was canceled. In an interview, McClanahan said she also did another of the pilot episodes The Baxters for Lear but told him she did not want to do the series itself. It is unknown if her appearance was in the actual pilot or an unaired pilot, presumably the latter given she is not credited and the show is not attributed to her anywhere. It is also possible she never actually filmed the episode but was just considering it. Many years later, a script binder entitled The Baxters was discovered to be a part of her collection.
On Mama's Family (1983–90), McClanahan portrayed Aunt Fran Crowley, an uptight spinster sister to Mama Thelma Harper (Vicki Lawrence). Fran was a journalist for the local paper. Also in the cast was McClanahan's future Golden Girls costar Betty White. McClanahan and White appeared on the first two seasons before the show was canceled by NBC and then retooled for first run syndication.
On The Golden Girls (1985–92) and its short-lived spin-off The Golden Palace (1992–93), McClanahan portrayed man-crazed Southern belle Blanche Devereaux, owner of the house she lived in and rented out to her three roommates and best friends: Dorothy Zbornak (Arthur), Rose Nylund (White), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). McClanahan received four Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show, winning the award in 1987.
She appeared as a leader of Al-Anon in a 1970s informational film called Slight Drinking Problem, in which Patty Duke played the enabling and eventually self-empowered wife of an alcoholic. In feature films, she appeared in The Rotten Apple (1961) and Walk the Angry Beach (1968). She appeared in the Walter Matthau-Jack Lemmon comedy Out to Sea (1997).
On television, she appeared as Matilda Joslyn Gage, mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum in the made-for-TV movie The Dreamer of Oz (1990). She made guest appearances on Murder, She Wrote, Charles in Charge and Newhart. In the early 1990s, McClanahan appeared as Margaret Becker in a trilogy of made-for-television films: Children of the Bride, Baby of the Bride, and Mother of the Bride. She voice-acted in cartoons, voicing Scarlett in the 1997 Fox Christmas special Annabelle's Wish. She played the role of Steve's grandmother in the Blue's Clues video Blue's Big Treasure Hunt (1999). On Spider-Man: The Animated Series, she appeared in the 1994 episode "Doctor Octopus: Armed And Dangerous" as Anastasia Hardy. She played a biology teacher in 1997's Starship Troopers. She voiced the role of Bunny in a 2007 episode of King of the Hill, "Hair Today, Gone Today." In 2009, she appeared in an episode of Law & Order as a woman who had an affair with John F. Kennedy.
On Broadway, McClanahan appeared in the all-woman cast of The Women in 2001-2002, alongside Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Coolidge, among others. She replaced Tammy Grimes as "The Visitor from New York" (Hannah Warren) in the Neil Simon comedy California Suite from April 4, 1977, until the show closed on July 2 of that same year.
In 2003, she appeared alongside Mark Hamill in the two-hander Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida. She chose not to continue with the production and was replaced by Polly Bergen for the Broadway performances. The same year, she appeared in the musical romantic comedy film The Fighting Temptations as Nancy Stringer, which costarred Cuba Gooding, Jr., Beyoncé Knowles, Mike Epps, and Steve Harvey. On Broadway, she replaced Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked on May 31, 2005. She played the role for eight months until January 8, 2006. She was replaced by Carol Kane on January 10, 2006.
Her autobiography, My First Five Husbands ... and the Ones Who Got Away, was released in 2007. In June 2008, The Golden Girls was awarded the Pop Culture award at the Sixth Annual TV Land Awards; McClanahan accepted the award with co-stars Arthur and White. McClanahan's final acting role was as Peggy Ingram in the cable series Sordid Lives on the Logo network, which premiered July 23, 2008.

## Activism

An animal rights advocate and vegetarian, McClanahan was one of the first celebrity supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She supported Alley Cat Allies, 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.

## Personal life and death

McClanahan was married six times, and had a son.
In June 1997, McClanahan was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she was treated successfully.
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, 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.
McClanahan died on June 3, 2010, at age 76, at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered a brain hemorrhage. After cremation, her ashes were given to her family. White told Entertainment Tonight that McClanahan was a "close and dear friend."
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.
No funeral service was held for McClanahan; her family created an official memorial page on Facebook, and memorial services were held during the summer of 2010 in New York and Los Angeles. On June 10, 2010, her New York apartment went on the market for an asking price of $2.25 million.
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. However, after less than a year in business, the cafe closed in November 2017.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
| 1969 | Obie Award for Best Actress | Who's Happy Now | Won |
| 1986 | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1986 | Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1986 | Golden Apple Award for Female Star of the Year | The Golden Girls | Won |
| 1987 | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1987 | Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Won |
| 1988 | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1988 | Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1989 | Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 2003 | TV Land Award for Quintessential Non-traditional Family | The Golden Girls | Won |
| 2008 | TV Land Pop Culture Award | The Golden Girls | Won |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The Grass Eater | Loraina | |
| 1961 | Five Minutes to Live | Pamela | Uncredited |
| 1963 | Five Minutes to Love | Sally "Poochie" | Alternate titles: The Rotten Apple / It Only Takes Five Minutes |
| 1964 | How to Succeed with Girls | Lorena | |
| 1965 | Angel's Flight | Dolly | Alternate title: Shock Hill |
| 1968 | Walk the Angry Beach | Sandy | Alternate titles: Hollywood After Dark / The Unholy Choice |
| 1970 | The People Next Door | Della | |
| 1971 | The Pursuit of Happiness | Mrs. O'Mara | |
| 1971 | They Might Be Giants | Daisy | |
| 1971 | Some of My Best Friends Are... | Lita Joyce | |
| 1973 | Blade | Gail | |
| 1978 | Having Babies III | Gloria Miles | TV movie |
| 1978 | Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force | Mat's Mother | TV movie |
| 1978 | Rainbow | Ida Koverman | TV movie |
| 1979 | Topper | Clara Topper | TV movie |
| 1980 | The Great American Traffic Jam | Adele Sherman | TV movie |
| 1981 | World of Honor | Maggie McNeill | TV movie |
| 1982 | The Day the Bubble Burst | Barbara Arvey | TV movie |
| 1986 | Picnic | Flo Owens | TV movie |
| 1987 | Little Match Girl | Frances Dutton | TV movie |
| 1988 | Liberace | Frances Liberace | TV movie |
| 1988 | Take My Daughters, Please | Lilah Page | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Man in the Brown Suit | Suzy Blair | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Wickedest Witch | Avarissa | TV special |
| 1990 | Modern Love | Mrs. Evelyn Parker | |
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Blanche Devereaux | TV special |
| 1990 | After the Shock | Sherra Cox | TV movie |
| 1990 | Children of the Bride | Margret Becker | TV movie |
| 1990 | To My Daughter | Laura Carlson | TV movie |
| 1990 | The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story | Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage | TV movie |
| 1991 | Baby of the Bride | Margret Becker-Hix | TV movie |
| 1993 | Mother of the Bride | Margret Becker-Hix | TV movie |
| 1993 | Message from Nam | Beatrice Andrews | TV miniseries |
| 1993 | Nunsense | Reverend Mother Regina | TV movie |
| 1994 | A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story | Grandma Stephens | TV movie |
| 1994 | Nunsense 2: The Sequel | Reverend Mother Regina | TV movie |
| 1995 | A Holiday to Remember | Miz Leona | TV movie |
| 1996 | Innocent Victims | Marylou Hennis | TV miniseries |
| 1996 | Dear God | Mom Rue Turner | |
| 1997 | This World, Then the Fireworks | Mrs. Tessa Lakewood | |
| 1997 | Out to Sea | Ellen Carruthers | |
| 1997 | Annabelle's Wish | Scarlett (voice) | TV movie |
| 1997 | Starship Troopers | Ruth the Biology Teacher | |
| 1998 | Border to Border | Mrs. Eda Kirby | |
| 1998 | Rusty: A Dog's Tale | Edna Callahan | Alternate title: Rusty: The Great Rescue |
| 1998 | Nunsense 3: The Jamboree | Reverend Mother Regina | TV movie |
| 1999 | A Saintly Switch | Aunt Fanny | TV movie |
| 2000 | The Moving of Sophia Myles | Mary-Margaret | TV movie |
| 2001 | Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical | Reverend Mother Regina | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Miracle Dogs | Katherine Mannion | TV movie |
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Nancy Stringer | |
| 2005 | Wit's End | Dean Madison | |
| 2005 | Back to You and Me | Helen Ludwick | TV movie |
| 2008 | Generation Gap | Kay | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The Aquanauts | — | Episode: "The Double Adventure" |
| 1964 | Burke's Law | Waitress | Episode: "Who Killed April?" |
| 1970–71 | Another World | Caroline Johnson | Unknown episodes |
| 1971 | Love of Life | Mrs. Baylee | Unknown episodes |
| 1971–72 | Where the Heart Is | Margaret Jardin #2 | Unknown episodes |
| 1971 | Great Performances | Josef Finn | Episode: "Hogan's Goat" |
| 1972 | All in the Family | Ruth Rempley | Episode: "The Bunkers and the Swingers" |
| 1972–78 | Maude | Vivian Cavender Harmon | 101 episodes |
| 1972 | Great Performances | Cora | Episode: "The Rimers of Eldrich" |
| 1973 | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | Carol Babcock | Episode: "My Secret Mother" |
| 1974 | Mannix | Gloria | Episode: "Game Plan" |
| 1975 | Great Performances | Faye Precious | Episode: "Who's Happy Now" |
| 1978 | Apple Pie | Ginger-Nell Hollyhock | 8 episodes |
| 1978 | Grandpa Goes to Washington | Grace | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1978–84 | The Love Boat | Various Characters | 6 episodes |
| 1979 | $weepstake$ | | Episode: "Vince, Pete and Patsy, Jessica and Rodney" |
| 1979 | Supertrain | Janet | Episode: "Where Have You Been Billy Boy" |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Margaret Fielding | Episode: "Bowling/Command Performance" |
| 1980 | Lou Grant | Maggie McKenna | Episode: "Guns" |
| 1980 | Here's Boomer | Thelma | Episode: "Private Eye" |
| 1981 | Gimme a Break! | Marian | Episode: "The Second Time Around" |
| 1981 | Darkroom | Mrs. Louise Michaelson | Episode: "Daisies" |
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Mary Renquist | Episode: "John's Other Life" |
| 1982 | Fantasy Island | Gertie | Episode: "Dancing Lady/The Final Round" |
| 1983 | Newhart | Eleanor Smathers | Episode: "The Way We Thought We Were" |
| 1983 | American Playhouse | Fortune Teller | Episode: "The Skin of Our Teeth" |
| 1983 | Small & Frye | Miss Parsifal | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1983–84 | Mama's Family | Aunt Fran Crowley | 24 episodes |
| 1984 | Gimme a Break! | Katrina | Episode: "Grandpa's Secret Life" |
| 1984 | Alice | Mother Goose | Episode: "Big Bad Mel" |
| 1984–85 | Charles in Charge | Irene Pembroke | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Cover Up | Mattie Bernstein | Episode: "Murder in Malibu" |
| 1985 | Crazy Like a Fox | Angie | Episode: "Turn Off the Century Fox" |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Miriam Redford | Episode: "Murder Takes the Bus" |
| 1985–92 | The Golden Girls | Blanche Devereaux | 180 episodes |
| 1988 | Empty Nest | Blanche Devereaux | Episode: "Fatal Attraction" |
| 1989 | Nightmare Classics | Madam | Episode: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" |
| 1992 | Nurses | Blanche Devereaux | Episode: "Moon Over Miami" |
| 1992–93 | The Golden Palace | Blanche Devereaux | 24 episodes |
| 1993 | Boy Meets World | Bernice Matthews | Episode: "Grandma Was a Rolling Stone" |
| 1994 | Burke's Law | Jinxy Duke | Episode: "Who Killed the Host at the Roast?" |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Amelia Bowthorpe Archinald | Episode: "Manny" |
| 1994 | Spider-Man | Mrs. Hardy | Episode: "Dr. Octopus: Armed and Dangerous" |
| 1995 | The Mommies | Amanda Kellogg | Episode: "The Mother of All In-Laws" |
| 1997 | Promised Land | Valerie Carter | Episode: "Intolerance" |
| 1997 | Murphy Brown | Virginia Redfeld | Episode: "Mama Miller" |
| 1998 | Columbo | Verity Chandler | Episode: "Ashes to Ashes" |
| 1998 | Love Boat: The Next Wave | Abigail Jordan | Episode: "Captains Courageous" |
| 1999 | Safe Harbor | Grandma Loring | 11 episodes |
| 1999 | Blue's Clues | Steve's Grandma | Episode: "Blue's Big Treasure Hunt" |
| 2000 | Ladies Man | Aunt Lou | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Intimate Portrait | Herself | Episode: "Rue McClanahan" |
| 2001 | Touched by an Angel | Lila Winslow | Episode: "Shallow Water" (Parts 1 & 2) |
| 2002 | Stage on Screen | Countess de Lage | Episode: "The Women" |
| 2003 | The Golden Girls: Their Greatest Moments | Herself (co-host) | TV special |
| 2004 | Whoopi | Marion | Episode: "American Woman" |
| 2004 | Wonderfalls | Millie Marcus | Episode: "Barrel Bear" |
| 2005 | Hope & Faith | Sylvia | Episode: "O, Sister, Where Art Thou?" |
| 2007 | King of the Hill | Bunny | Episode: "Hair Today, Gone Today" |
| 2008 | Sordid Lives: The Series | Peggy Ingram | 13 episodes |
| 2009 | Law & Order | Lois McIntyre | Episode: "Illegitimate" |
| 2009 | Meet the Browns | Lorraine | Episode: "Meet Mr. Wrong" |

## Book

* McClanahan, Rue. (2007) My First Five Husbands..And the Ones Who Got Away. New York: Crown Archetype. ISBN 0-7679-2676-5