Beautiful Cynicism III

Photo: hln.be

How did I miss this in the news? Two months ago today, Wendy Richards passed away… I had no idea until this evening. While she may be best-known for her role on Eastenders, she will always be Miss Brahms to me. Are You Being Served is one of my favourite television shows of all time, and although it wrapped up when I was still a young child and many of its eclectic cast have already passed on, I still feel a little loss with each death. Because I still watch the show regularly, the characters still feel so alive to me, as if the show was still in production – despite the dated wardrobe and set design.

I believe that Trevor Bannister, Mollie Sugden and Frank Thornton (Mr. Lucas, Mrs. Slocombe and Captain Peacock) are the only regular cast members still alive today – and all are still actively performing on stage and screen.

My favourite Golden Girl, Dorothy, is no more. Bea Arthur was 50 years old before being “discovered” for television. After having spent the first part of her life doing stage work on and off Broadway, she started a second career as an actress on the small screen. Tall and with a deep voice, she was often cast as a strong-minded, independent woman who needed no man to get by. Her two main TV characters fit that mold to a T: Maude (who began as a guest character on the excellent All in the Family, as Edith’s cousin, before getting her own show) and Dorothy (on The Golden Girls). Her cutting wit and biting sarcasm caught my attention even as a child, when I used to watch The Golden Girls in the evening as I ate my bedtime snack…

Below, a few clips. Be entertained.

Photo: sacramento365.com

O nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy choir,–
To be a meteor in thy sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.

Henry David Thoreau