Breakfast w/Greg: Bea Arthur’s R-rated tribute in NY; Tyra’s drag and BFF advice

Good Morning everyone.

There was a star-studded tribute to the late Bea Arthur in New York City on Monday who died earlier this year at the age of 86. From what I’ve read, it was pretty R-rated! Rue McLanahan, Miss Arthur’s co-star on both Maude and The Golden Girls led the way when she shared the story of introducing Bea to her (current) husband Morrow Wilson at a party after they had watched her perform one-woman show on Broadway.

Rue quoted a tipsy Bea as saying to Wilson: “Rue I love. Betty’s a cunt.”

Sounds like a riot! I assume Betty White, whom Bea was referring to, was not in the audience. People.com reports that audible gasp ricocheted through the crowd – before it erupted into the longest and heartiest laugh of the afternoon.

Shortly after Miss Arthur’s death, Rue discussed the open secret of Bea’s intense dislike of Betty. But the dislike was not mutual. Whatever. They sure had great chemistry on screen.

Angela Lansbury hosted the event Broadway’s Majestic Theatre. The two women had remained close after starring together in Mame on Broadway. It was Lansbury who indicted Miss Arthur into the Television Academy Hall of Fame last December – her last public appearance.

“On stage, yes, we were bosom buddies (the title of their famous ‘Mame’ duet) but it wasn’t until years later after we both had successful TV series under our belts that we really got together,” Lansbury recalled. “That’s when we became … bosom friends.”

Also present, according to the Associated Press, were Rosie O’Donnell, Adrienne Barbeau, Chita Rivera, Miss Arthur’s two sons and her sister, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Coco Peru, and Maude creator Norman Lear.

“No one seems less gone to me or more alive to me than Bea,” said Lear. “I am sure that’s because laughter lingers and no one made me laugh like Bea Arthur. I have spent most of my life in the company of extraordinary laugh-makers, performers and writers, killers of the art, but Bea Arthur had me laughing in nooks and crannies of my body, places I didn’t even know existed.”

TYRA’S TIPS: When Tyra Banks came backstage a few weeks ago after winning a Daytime Emmy, she answered out questions but also expertly plugged every single thing she is involved in – and there are many things from her TV shows to a new online vetture.

But somehow she found the time to talk to Brandon Voss for The Advocate who asked Tyra what it would take :to break into your posse” as her new gay BFF. Here are the requirements: “The most important quality you need is honesty. I don’t need a friend telling me I look fierce, but I need one that tells me when I smell funky. People might think that I’m really into fashion and glamour all the time, but I’m not. So when I’m just chillin’, my BFF can’t be afraid to tell me that I need some mascara or I’ve got a weave track showing. … I’d also want my new gay BFF to not talk about work. I spend the week working on Top Model and the talk show, so even if I’ve done fun stuff like tape backstage with Beyoncé or hang out with Miley Cyrus, I don’t want to think about work on the weekends. I love to laugh, and sometimes being silly with a good BFF is just what I need. … A potential BFF should also have a love—no, an obsession for good food like I do. I am obsessed with trying new restaurants and exploring cool cuisines, but you can just as easily find me dipping into a movie on a Saturday afternoon for buttery popcorn and a soda. The last movie I took in with a good gay best friend was Brüno—pure craziness!”

Then there’s Tyra’s advice on how to best be her – in drag: The key to a drag queen doing me is overdoing me. You’ve got to go all the way over the top, times 10. First of all, get a honey brown weave or wig, some green contact lenses, and some big-ass chicken cutlets to stuff the bra. You also need a killer runway walk, but that weave has to be fly. The bigger the better, but quality is key—no cheap weave hair! And always be ready to smile with your eyes—or “smize”—at the drop of a hat.