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How Bea Arthur's guest appearance on All in the Family evolved into an entirely new series
Arthur earned her place on Maude.
Because Maude Findlay was such a force to be reckoned with, it can be easy to forget that at first, she began as a mere guest star on All in the Family. Audiences only caught a glimpse of Bea Arthur on the popular series, but somehow, that brief moment was good enough for producers to see that viewers adored Maude.
In Sally Bedell’s book, Up The Tube: Prime-Time TV and the Silverman Years, she recounts the birth of Maude’s spinoff in a phone call between Lear and CBS executive Fred Silverman, who had just watched Maude’s first episode of All in the Family. “Who is that woman?” Silverman asked Lear, according to Bedell. He said, “She’s like Jackie Gleason. Bring her back.” Previously, Silverman had been pushing creators to develop new spinoffs around existing characters, and Maude seemed to be the perfect fit.
Despite Silverman’s endorsement, Maude’s domineering personality proved bothersome for many CBS executives. “She was their scourge,” said Lear. “She was anathema, but they never threatened her because the ratings were big and this is, after all, a dollar-oriented business.”
Bedell also quotes Lear in her book as he discusses his wife, Frances. Lear was willing to acknowledge the parallel trajectories Maude and his wife journeyed on. He commented, “As she and I grew stronger—separately and together—Maude probably grew more venturesome, too.”
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