Maureen Arthur

Maureen Louise Arthur (April 15, 1934 – June 15, 2022) was an American actress born in San Jose, California, whose career spanned film, television, and stage from the late 1950s through the early 1990s. She died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 88 from natural causes following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Arthur trained in New York, where she studied singing and pursued drama instruction under Wynn Handman at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Before establishing herself in film and television, she made repeated appearances on The Steve Allen Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, and later performed at the Rivera Hotel in Las Vegas with the Latin Quarter Review. Her early film work included Hot Rod Gang, Thunder Alley, and Killers Three.

Her Broadway career ran from 1961 to 1967 and centered on two productions. She auditioned for the national touring cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, winning the role of Hedy La Rue, and spent two years touring the United States before joining the Broadway production for one year. In 1967, she reprised the role of Hedy La Rue in the film adaptation of the same show, which represented one of her most prominent single movie roles. Her second Broadway credit was Something Different, a play written and directed by Carl Reiner that starred Bob Dishy and Linda Lavin. Following the close of that production, Arthur relocated permanently to Los Angeles.

Her film work extended beyond the How to Succeed adaptation to include the 1969 comedy The Love God?, in which she co-starred with Don Knotts, and How to Commit Marriage, a romantic comedy featuring Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, and Jane Wyman. On television, Arthur accumulated an extensive list of credits, appearing in Bourbon Street Beat, The Red Skelton Hour, Perry Mason, Branded, I Spy, Get Smart, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Love American Style, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Night Gallery, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Sanford and Son, Laverne & Shirley, Alice, Mork & Mindy, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and The Red Hand Gang, in which she played child-kidnapper Lola.

During the mid-1960s, Arthur recorded for the Carlton record label, releasing the singles "Don't Make the Angels Cry" and "What Does He Do with Her." A third single, "Don't Leave Me," was never officially released, though an acetate recording of it exists. Her stage work outside of Broadway included a production of Guys and Dolls with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, in which her portrayal of Miss Adelaide earned her a Drama Critics' Best Performance Award.

Arthur was married to musician George William Weidler from 1957 until their divorce in 1970. She subsequently married television producer and creator Aaron Ruben on October 30, 1971, and remained married to him until his death on January 30, 2010. Her philanthropic work was extensive and long-running: she performed at the Variety of Iowa Telethons annually for more than 25 years, held membership in the Iowa Chapter of Variety, served as a longtime president of Variety, the Children's Charity of Southern California, Tent 25, and received the designations of First Lady of Variety Clubs Telethons and, subsequently, International Ambassador.