Maude

Norman Lear created Maude as a character on All in the Family who could challenge Archie Bunker more forcefully than previous antagonists, making her his political and social opposite as Edith Bunker's cousin.

Lear said the role was shaped around Bea Arthur's distinctive stage persona after he had admired her since seeing her in the 1955 Off-Broadway revue Ben Bagley's Shoestring Revue.

According to Lear, CBS programming executive Fred Silverman called immediately after Arthur's guest appearance on All in the Family aired and urged that the character get her own series.

Television Academy sources describe the character of Maude as having been inspired in part by Norman Lear's then-wife, Frances.

Doris Roberts had initially been offered a regular role on Maude (as neighbor Vivian Harmon) but was dropped before appearing because producers felt she was too similar to Bea Arthur; the part went instead to Rue McClanahan.

In the original All in the Family backdoor pilot for the character, Carol Traynor was played by Marcia Rodd rather than Adrienne Barbeau, who took over the role for the series.

Norman Lear had known actors Rue McClanahan and Conrad Bain, who played neighbors Vivian and Arthur Harmon, from the Off-Broadway scene before bringing them to California for the show.

Maude's catchphrase during arguments with her husband, 'God'll get you for that, Walter,' came directly from Bea Arthur herself rather than being written into the scripts from the start.

The opening theme song, 'And Then There's Maude,' had lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, music by Dave Grusin, and vocals by Donny Hathaway, and its references to historical women like Betsy Ross, Joan of Arc, Lady Godiva and Isadora Duncan framed the show's feminist themes.

When CBS repeated the 1972 two-part abortion episodes 'Maude's Dilemma' in August 1973, 39 stations pre-empted the broadcast rather than air it.

Norman Lear later recalled that the first broadcast of 'Maude's Dilemma' generated relatively little reaction, and that the strongest public backlash only came when the episodes were rerun.

Maude spun off the character Florida Evans into the series Good Times, after Esther Rolle's performance was considered a standout on Maude.

Maude was internationally adapted as the British sitcom Nobody's Perfect (ITV, 1980-1982), starring Elaine Stritch and Richard Griffiths, and as the French sitcom Maguy, which ran on Antenne 2/France 2 from 1985 to 1994.

In the episode 'The Analyst' (also known as 'Maude Bares Her Soul'), Bea Arthur was the only performer to appear on screen, speaking to an unseen psychiatrist.