Series Description:

The Maude TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on CBS about a tough, abrasive, women's libber lady named Maude Findlay who was living with her 4th husband Walter. Other characters included her twice divorced daughter Carol, Carol's son Philip, Doctor Harmon who was Walter's best friend and often a "punching bag" for Maude, and Vivian Cavender-Harmon who was mentally challenged enough to become Maude's best friend and then also marry her arch-nemisis Doctor Harmon. Maude also always had a maid to pick on ... until they finally quit in frustration with her!

Maude TV Show Cast:

Beatrice Arthur ............ Maude Findlay
Bill Macy .................. Walter Findlay
Adrienne Barbeau ........... Carol Traynor
Conrad Bain ................ Doctor Arthur Harmon
Brian Morrison ............. Philip Traynor (Seasons 1-5)
Rue McClanahan ............. Vivian Cavender-Harmon (Seasons 2-6)
Hermione Baddeley .......... Nell Naugatuck (Seasons 3-5)
Esther Rolle ............... Florida Evans (Seasons 1&2)
J. Pat O'Malley ............ Bert Beasley (Seasons 4-5)
Fred Grandy ................ Chris (Season 2 Only)
Kraig Metzinger ............ Phillip Traynor (Season 6 Only)
Marlene Warfield ........... Victoria Butterfield (Season 6 Only)

Maude Theme Song Lyrics

Title: "And Then There's Maude"

Written By: "Dave Grusin and Andrew Bergman"

Performmed By: "Donny Hathaway"

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
She didnt' care if the whole world looked.
Joan of Arc with the Lord to guide her
She was a sister who really cooked.

Isadora was the first bra burner
And you're glad she showed up. (Oh yeah)
And when the country was falling apart
Betsy Ross got it all sewed up.

And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
And then there's

That old compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing,
Right on Maude.

Maude Trivia:

The Maude TV show was a spin-off series of "All In The Family" where Maude was Edith Bunker's cousin. She drove Archie Bunker nuts with her far left-wing liberal political views which were in total opposition to Archie's views. Maude's "stabbing" attacks and "no nonsense" talk made her the perfect character for a series of her own.

On Maude, the character, "Doctor Arthur Harmon" kind of took the place of Archie Bunker as the guy who has the exact opposite political views as Maude and, therefore, gets regularly abused by Maude's attacks.

The storylines took advantage of Maude's "in your face" attitude to cover serious and controversial issues as did Norman Lear's other shows "All In The Family" "One Day At a Time" and "Good Times".

Maude was so hard to get along with, you can imagine what it might have been like to work for her. During the six seasons of the Maude TV show, Maude and her "coarse" personality went through three maids!

Maude was nominated for 6 Emmy Awards during its time on the air and in 1977, Beatrice Arthur won for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series". The series was also nominated for 7 Golden Globe Awards. Again, it only won one of those nominations in 1976 when Hermione Baddeley won in the "Best Supporting Actress - Television" category.

When Norman Lear wrote the series, he based Maude on the woman he was then married to, "Frances Lear".

Bea Arthur once said in an interview that she actually got her start in comedy when audiences laughed during her lounge singing performances because she was so tall and had such a deep voice. Her nightclub manager suggested that she drop the singing career and take up comedy instead.

If you think Bea Arthur looks and acts like a tough gal, you're right! She even spent a hitch in the United States Marine Corps.

Maude aired an extremely controversial episode on November 21, 1972 (Maude's Dilemma - Part 2) when Maude decided to have an abortion. At that time, abortion was a state's rights issue and was only legal in certain parts of the nation. Just two months later, on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women nationwide should have the right to choose whether or not to terminate their pregnancies in the landmark case, "Roe Vs. Wade".

Both "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" were canceled when Bea Arthur decided to leave the casts when she got tired of playing the same old characters.

Towards the end of the series, Maude was slipping in the ratings so CBS decided to make a major change in the storyline. In the final three episodes of Maude (Maude's Big Move - Parts 1-3), Maude ran for political office and became a congresswoman. It ended out not mattering what would happen to ratings, however, because Bea Arthur decided to leave the series regardless of the outcome.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

The First Season

Maude's Problem (aka: "Maude and the Psychiatrist") (9/12/1972)
Doctor, Doctor (9/19/1972)
Maude Meets Florida (9/26/1972)
Like Mother, Like Daughter (10/3/1972)
Maude and the Radical (10/10/1972)
The Ticket (10/17/1972)
Love and Marriage (10/24/1972)
Flashback (10/31/1972)
Maude's Dilemma - Part 1 (11/14/1972)
Maude's Dilemma - Part 2 (11/21/1972)
Maude's Reunion (11/28/1972)
The Grass Story (12/5/1972)
The Slumlord (12/19/1972)
The Convention (1/2/1973)
Walter's 50th Birthday (1/23/1973)
Maude and the Medical Profession (1/30/1973)
Arthur Moves In (2/6/1973)
Florida's Problem (2/13/1973)
Walter's Secret (2/27/1973)
Maude's Good Deed (3/6/1973)
The Perfect Marriage (3/13/1973)
Maude's Night Out (3/20/1973)

The Second Season

Walter's Problem - Part 1 (aka: "Life of the Party - Part 1") (9/11/1973)
Walter's Problem - Part 2 (aka: "Life of the Party - Part 2") (9/18/1973)
Walter's Holiday (9/25/1973)
Maude's Facelift - Part 1 (10/2/1973)
Maude's Facelift - Part 2 (10/9/1973)
Florida's Affair (10/16/1973)
Maude Takes a Job (10/23/1973)
The Double Standard (10/30/1973)
Vivian's Problem (11/6/1973)
Maude's Musical (11/13/1973)
The Will (11/27/1973)
Carol's Problem (aka: "The Wedding Gift") (12/4/1973)
Music Hath Charms (12/11/1973)
The Office Party (12/18/1973)
The Love Birds (1/1/1974)
Maude's Guest (1/8/1974)
The Wallet (1/15/1974)
Maude's Revolt (1/22/1974)
The Commuter Station (1/29/1974)
Florida's Goodbye (2/5/1974)
The Tax Audit (2/12/1974)
The Investment (2/19/1974)
Phillip's Problem (2/26/1974)
The Runaway (3/5/1974)

The Third Season

Maude Meets the Duke (9/9/1974)
The Kiss (9/16/1974)
Walter's Heart Attack (9/23/1974)
The New Housekeeper (9/30/1974)
Speed Trap (10/7/1974)
Lovers in Common (10/14/1974)
Walter's Dream (10/21/1974)
A Night to Remember (11/4/1974)
Last Tango in Tuckahoe (11/11/1974)
Vivian's Party (11/18/1974)
Maude the Boss (11/25/1974)
Maude's New Friend (12/2/1974)
Walter's Ex (12/9/1974)
Nostalgia Party (12/30/1974)
All Psyched Out (1/6/1975)
The Telethon (1/20/1975)
And Then There Were None (1/27/1975)
The Emergence of Vivian (2/3/1975)
Mrs. Naugatuck in Love (2/10/1975)
Walter's Pride (2/24/1975)
Walter Gets Religion (3/3/1975)
The Cabin (3/10/1975)
Maude's Mother (3/31/1975)

The Fourth Season

The Split (9/8/1975)
Consenting Adults (9/15/1975)
Rumpus in the Rumpus Room (9/22/1975)
Maude's Big Decision (9/29/1975)
The Election (10/6/1975)
Viv's Dog (10/20/1975)
For the Love of Bert (10/27/1975)
The Fling (11/3/1975)
The Analyst (aka: "Maude Bares Her Soul") (11/10/1975)
Arthur's Medical Convention (11/17/1975)
Arthur Gets a Partner (11/24/1975)
Walter's Ethics (12/1/1975)
Poor Albert (12/8/1975)
The Christmas Party (12/22/1975)
The Case of the Broken Punch Bowl (1/5/1976)
Walter's Stigma (1/12/1976)
Maude's Mood - Part 1 (1/26/1976)
Maude's Mood - Part 2 (2/2/1976)
Tuckahoe Bicentennial (2/9/1976)
Mrs. Naugatuck's Citizenship (2/16/1976)
Maude's Nephew (2/23/1976)
Maude's Rejection (3/1/1976)
Carol's Promotion (3/8/1976)
Maude's Ex-Convict (3/15/1976)

The Fifth Season

Vivian's First Funeral (9/20/1976)
Maude and Chester (9/27/1976)
Bert Moves In (10/4/1976)
Walter's Crisis - Part 1 (10/11/1976)
Walter's Crisis - Part 2 (10/18/1976)
Walter's Crisis - Part 3 (10/25/1976)
The Election (11/1/1976)
The Game Show (11/8/1976)
Arthur's Worry (11/15/1976)
Mrs. Naugatuck's Wedding (11/22/1976)
Maude's New Friends (11/29/1976)
The Rip-Off (12/13/1976)
Walter's Christmas Gift (12/20/1976)
Captain Hero (1/3/1977)
Maude's Adult Relationship (1/17/1977)
Arthur's Crisis (2/7/1977)
Maude's Desperate Hours (2/14/1977)
Maude's Reunion (2/21/1977)
Feminine Fulfillment (2/28/1977)
Maude's Aunt (3/7/1977)
Arthur's New Best Friend (3/14/1977)
Vivian's Surprise (3/21/1977)
The Household Feud (3/28/1977)
The New Maid (4/4/1977)

The Sixth Season

Maude's Guilt Trip (9/12/1977)
Phillip and Sam (9/19/1977)
The Flying Saucer (9/26/1977)
Victoria's Boyfriend (10/3/1977)
Walter's Temptation (10/17/1977)
Phillip's Birthday Party (10/31/1977)
The Doctor's Strike (11/7/1977)
The Ecologist (11/14/1977)
The Gay Bar (12/3/1977)
Businessperson of the Year (12/12/1977)
Maude's Christmas Surprise (12/19/1977)
Maude's New Client (1/2/1978)
The Obscene Phone Call (1/16/1978)
Musical '78 (1/28/1978)
My Husband, the Hero (2/4/1978)
Maude's Foster Child (2/11/1978)
Vivian's Decision (2/18/1978)
Carol's Dilemma (2/25/1978)
Arthur's Grandson (3/4/1978)
Mr. Butterfield's Return (3/11/1978)
Phillip's Mature Romance (3/25/1978)
Maude's Big Move - Part 1 (aka: "The Chinese Dinner") (4/8/1978)
Maude's Big Move - Part 2 (aka: "The Wake") (4/15/1978)
Maude's Big Move - Part 3 (aka: "Washington") (4/22/1978)