Rue McClanahan

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 television show Another World (from July 23, 1970 to September 20, 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 Harmon, who was introduced as Vivian Cavender and eventually married Maude's next-door neighbor Dr. Arthur Harmon (played by Conrad Bain) after divorcing her first husband.

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 only considering it. Many years later, a script binder entitled The Baxters was discovered to be a part of her collection.

On the first two seasons of Mama's Family (1983–84), 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 before the show was canceled by NBC after two seasons and then retooled for first run syndication.

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, Mark Bish, born in 1958, from her first marriage to Tom Bish. Her fourth husband, Gus Fisher, who appeared alongside her on the television game show Tattletales in 1976, died on February 22, 2004.

McClanahan lived in the Encino and Studio City neighborhoods of Los Angeles for several years before moving to New York City in 1994, where she would live for the rest of her life.

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. 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.

Filmography

Book

McClanahan, Rue (2007). My First Five Husbands...And the Ones Who Got Away. New York: Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-0-7679-2676-8.