‘Golden Girl’ Rue McClanahan Dies
Rue McClanahan, the Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 76.
Her manager Barbara Lawrence said McClanahan died Thursday at 1 a.m. of a stroke.
She had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997 and later lectured to cancer support groups on “aging gracefully.” In 2009, she had heart bypass surgery.
McClanahan suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery.
Two of her co-stars on the series, Beatrice Arthur and Estelle Getty, have died in the last three years.
Surviving star Betty White recently hosted Saturday Night Live.
