Rue McClanahan played one of those characters on “The Golden Girls” that sticks with you for a long time. People wonder if art imitated life.
McClanahan, who had earlier TV success on CBS’s classic TV sitcom “Maude,” offered a rather interesting response in a 2007 interview with the Cape Cod Times newspaper.
“People always ask me if I’m like Blanche,” McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux on “The Golden Girls,” said. “Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern belle from Atlanta — and I’m not from Atlanta.”
McClanahan Said She’s Different From ‘Golden Girls’ Character
McClanahan pointedly said in the interview that “The Golden Girls” character really isn’t like her real-life self.
“Blanche didn’t read books,” she said. “She was very self-centered, insecure, and vain. She was always trying to look as gorgeous as possible in case there was a man in the vicinity. I’m down-to-earth.”
Now McClanahan was married six times in her life. While she said that she was a “down-to-earth” person, one might look at her personal life and wonder if that’s true.
Besides her time on “The Golden Girls” and “Maude,” she also played Aunt Fran Cowley for two seasons on “The Carol Burnett Show” spinoff “Mama’s Family.” It turns out that on “Mama’s Family,” McClanahan shared screen time with her future “Golden Girls” costar, Betty White. Both were on the show just for two seasons.
Soon, though, they would find themselves alongside Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty. The hilarity would ensue from “The Golden Girls.” McClanahan did win an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series” in 1987. As it turns out, all four stars of the show would capture individual Emmy honors during the show’s run on NBC.
McClanahan died on June 3, 2010, at 76 years old.
Rue McClanahan Once Swore Off Marriage But Married A Sixth Time
As mentioned earlier, McClanahan was married six times in her life. She even declared that she would remain single after her fifth marriage ended in divorce.
Obviously, those plans changed when “The Golden Girls” star got married for a sixth time.
In 1997, she married actor Morrow Wilson. According to his IMDb.com page, they were married from Dec. 25, 1997, until her death.
It’s interesting that Rue McClanahan admitted that she’s really a little different from Blanche. Yet some aspects of her personal life might lead a person to see a lot in common. In conclusion, McClanahan, an Oklahoma native, tried finding love a lot in her life.
