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 Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedienne and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work o ...

''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 Edith Bunker is a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom ''All in the Family'' (and occasionally '' Archie Bunker's Place''), played by Jean Stapleton. She is married to Archie Bunker, mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathe ...

. 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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Wayback Machine
The debut episode, and character's name, were loosely based upon a 1968 episode of ''

Till Death Us Do Part ''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a '' Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitc ...

'', 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 Alfred Edward Garnett is a fictional character from the British sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part'' and its follow-on and spin-off series '' Till Death...'' and '' In Sickness and in Health''. He also appeared in the chat show ''The Thoughts of Ch ...

(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 Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional character from the 1970s American television sitcom ''All in the Family'' and its spin-off '' Archie Bunker's Place'', played by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker, a main character of the series, is a World War II ...

. 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 Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

(

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 Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

(

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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

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 Wolf Martin Garber (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film and stage actor known for his role in the CBS television series '' Maude'' (1972–1978). Early life 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