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BLANCHE DEVEREAUX
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Rue McClanahan ("The Golden Girls") has
passed away. We'll all miss her humor. The Yiddish words
meaning "to miss" or
to "long for" is "benken nokh."
"The Golden 'meydlekh' (Girls) was the comedy which focused on "fir" (4) women spending their golden years in Miami, who share their "heym," their stories and a lot of "kezkukhen" (cheesecake). The program ran for seven seasons and ended in 1992. The only surviving member of the four stars is Betty White.
Shown below is the Yiddish guide to Rue McClanahan.
"akhzoryesdik" (cruel)
"Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all
do without."
Quote by McClanahan
"bluze" (blouse)
On "The Golden Girls," Sophia (Getty)
would tell Blanche, "Your life's an open
blouse."
"bukh" (book)
McClanahan's 2007 memoir was titled,
"My First Five Husbands...and the Ones Who
Got Away."
"elektronik" (electronics)
On "The Golden Girls" we hear:
Blanche: Dorothy, where's my heating pad?
Dorothy: How should I know?
(Blanche lifts a cord running under Dorothy's "koldre" (blanket).
Blanche: Well, if this isn't it. I'd like to know
what
other electrical appliances
you
are using under that blanket.
"eynikl" (grandchild)
On "The Golden Girls" Blanche wants to spend time with her granddaughter,
Aurora, because Blanche's boyfriend thinks
Aurora is Blanche's "tokhter" (daughter).
"farlegnhayt" (embarrassment)
On "The Golden Girls" Blanche is highly
embarrassed when she attempts to return
a "kleyd" (dress) she had already worn. The
salesperson found the dry-cleaning tags on
the dress.
"gayvedik" (vain/conceited)
"People always ask me if I'm like Blanche.
And I say, 'Well, Blanche was an oversexed,
self-involved, man-crazy vain Southern
Belle from Atlanta--and I'm not from
Atlanta.'"
McClanahan quote
"geboyrn-tog" (birthday)
McClanahan was born on 2/21/34.
"hunt" (dog); "kats" (cat)
In real life, McClanahan had eight cats and
six dogs in Los Angeles.
"influentsie" (influenza/flu)
In one episode of "The Golden Girls," a week before an awards ceremony
for the
Volunteer of the Year, Blanche, Dorothy,
and Rose each come down with a flu.
"Zolst nit visn fun azelkhe tsores."
(May you not know of such troubles.)
"khasene" (marriage)
In real life, Rue McClanahan was married
six times. Her husbands were: Tom Bish,
Norman Hartweg, Peter DiMaio, Gus Fisher,
and Tom Keel. She married Morrow Wilson
in 1997.
"khaye" (animal)
McClanahan was an Honorary Director for
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"klub" (club_
On "The Golden Girls," Blanche was refused
entry into the Daughters of the South "klub" because her family tree
revealed that she was partly Yankee and
Jewish!
"lektsye" (lecture)
McClanahan lectured to cancer support
groups on "aging gracefully."
"nomen" (name)
The first clothing line that Rue McClanahan
had was called "Very Rue." Then it was
changed, moved to QVC, and became "A
Touch of Rue."
Obie
McClanahan won an Obie in 1970 for "Who's Happy Now," playing the "other
woman" in a family "drame" (drama).
"oytomobile" (auto/car)
On "The Golden Girls" Blanche gets in a
fender bender in Rose's "oytomobile," and
the man sues Rose. Blanche tries to disprove his injuries by dressing
in a nurse's
"kostyum" (costume).
"paskudne" (nasty)
On one episode of "The Golden Girls," Blanche, while sick, wants to watch "Another
World." (Rue briefly appeared on that soap from 1970-1971,
portraying Caroline Johnson.)
"ponim" (face)
In one episode of "The Golden Girls,"
Blanche is convinced that her beauty is
fading after attending her "mitlshul"
(high school) reunion and discovers many
of her classmates have had face lifts. She
decides to have major cosmetic surgery.
The episode goes:
Blanche: I'm thinking of getting Bette
Davis'
eyes and Cheryl Tiegs' nose
and
Carol Burnett's chin.
Dorothy; I think you can get that chin from
a
catalog.
"rachmones" (compassion)
"Compassion is the foundation of everything positive, everything good. If
you carry the power of compassion to the
marketplace and the dinner table, you can
make your life really count."
McClanahan quote
"royt" (red)
On "The Golden Girls," every year Blanche
squeezed back into her "royt" wedding gown on her"yortog" (anniversary). In
one
episode Blanche diets to ensure she will fit
back in. When she goes to try on the dress,
the "blitsshlesl" (zipper) splits.
"tsvey" (2) hours
"I take the longest to get ready [for "The
Golden Girls"] of anyone. I've been going
in two hours before the show every
performance."
McClanahan quote
"rak" (cancer)
In real life, McClanahan had undergone
treatment for breast cancer (1997). She
also had bypass surgery in 2009.
serial dater
On "The Golden Girls," Rue is a "barimt"
(famous) "serial dater."
"tante" (aunt)
Rue McClanahan played Aunt Fran for two
years (1982-1984) in "Mama's Family."
"tate-mame" (parents)
McClanahan's father was a building
contractor; her mother was a beautician.
"tsaytung" (newspaper)
McClanahan told The New York Times that
The Golden Girls aimed to show "that when
people mature, they add layers. They don't
turn into other creatures. The truth is we all have our child, our
adolescent, and your
young woman living in us."
"tsunemenish" (nickname)
Rue McClanahan had the nickname, "Ruesy." Betty White called her
"Roozie."
"universitet" or "kaledzh" (college)
McClanahan graduated cum laude from the
Univ. of Tulsa, with a degree in German and
Theater Arts. She was also the only female
member of the school's "visnshaft" (science) "klub" (club). She
became a sister
of Kappa Alpha Theta.
"yinger" (younger)
On "The Golden Girls"), when Blanche's
"yinger" date, Dirk, says she reminds him of
his mother. Blanche comfortS herself with
a "tsveyendik" (double) shot and an order
of duck a l'orange.
"zhurnal" (journal)
On "The Golden Girls," Blanche keeps a
journal of all her sexual trysts and on the
"fornt" (front) cover are her initials:
B.E.D. (Blanche
Elizabeth Deveraux)
"zun" (son)
In real life, McClanahan, had a son, Mark
Bish.
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