Maude Findlay
Maude Findlay (née Chadbourne; formerly Hilliard) is a fictional character and the main title character on the controversial 1970s sitcom Maude. She was portrayed by the Emmy-winning actress Bea Arthur.
| Maude Chadbourne Findlay | |
|---|---|
 Maude, played by Bea Arthur | |
| First appearance | "Cousin Maude's Visit" (All in the Family) |
| Last appearance | "Maude's Big Move: Part 3" (Maude) |
| Portrayed by | Bea Arthur |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Maudie (referred to as such by Arthur Harmon and was given nickname by her late aunt Gertrude) |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Housewife, Realestate Agent, Congresswoman |
| Family | Florence Chadbourne (mother; deceased) Philip Traynor (grandson) Edith Bunker (cousin) Gertrude Baines (cousin) Helen Baines (cousin) Gertrude (aunt) Henry (uncle) Marta Findlay (aunt by marriage) Lola Ashburn (aunt) |
| Spouse | Fred Barney (1945–1950) Chester Claiborne (1952–1958) Albert Hilliard (1963–1964) Walter Findlay (married 1968) |
| Children | Carol Traynor |
All in the Family
Maude Findlay first appeared on All in the Family 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.[1] The character was also loosely based on Lear's then-wife Francis.[2][1]
Maude cared for Edith, but disliked her husband, Archie Bunker. Archie and Maude were both 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) and her husband, Mike (Rob Reiner).
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, and her second husband, Bert, died of a heart seizure. (Archie remarked they both had smiles on their faces at their respective 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 Democratic National Convention, where she had ardently supported Hubert Humphrey.
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoyWkMuK_P4
- Campbell, Sean (24 December 2014). The Sitcoms of Norman Lear. ISBN 9781476602554.
