Maude Findlay is a fictional character and protagonist on the controversial 1970s

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Maude'', portrayed by the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning actress Bea Arthur.

''All in the Family''

Maude Findlay first appeared on ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' in December 1971, in the second-season episode, "Cousin Maude's Visit", as the cousin of Edith Bunker. According to Norman Lear, the creation of Maude stemmed from the idea to bring on someone who could hold their own with Archie Bunker verbally.Archived a
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The debut episode, and character's name, were loosely based upon a 1968 episode of '' Till Death Us Do Part'', the British sitcom on which ''All in the Family'' was based, in which Maud, the sister of Else Garnett (the analog to the American Edith Bunker), visits Alf Garnett (Archie's progenitor) while Alf is ill. The character was also loosely based on Lear's then-wife

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

. Maude cared for Edith, but disliked her husband, Archie Bunker. Archie and Maude were known for getting on each other's nerves, especially since she was a liberal and Archie was a conservative. Because she was a liberal, Maude was also an ally of Edith's daughter Gloria (

Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie Bunker, Archie and Edith Bunker in ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emmy Awards, and Babette on ''Gilmor ...

) and her husband Mike (

Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...

). In her first appearance on ''All in the Family'', it was said that Maude was widowed twice. Her first husband, Fred, died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

, and her second husband, Bert, died of a heart seizure. (Archie remarked they both had smiles on their faces at their funerals.) When ''Maude'' premiered, Fred was now renamed Barney and Bert became Albert Hilliard, her third husband. A second appearance on ''All in the Family'' (the final episode of the second season) depicting Archie and Edith visiting Maude for a family wedding, essentially set up the premise for the forthcoming series.

''Maude''

''Maude'' debuted on CBS on September 12, 1972. On her own show, Maude lives in Tuckahoe, New York, and is married, for the fourth time, to Walter Findlay ( Bill Macy), the owner and operator of an appliance store called Findlay's Friendly Appliances. They met during the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

, where she had ardently supported

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Maude Fictional characters from New York (state) Findlay, Maude Fictional Democrats (United States) Fictional members of the United States House of Representatives American female characters in sitcoms