The Television Artistry of Norman Lear

Abstract

The November 10, 1975, episode of “Maude” was a brilliant presentation. Bea Arthur, the star, offered a tour-de-force performance, a one-woman show, a monologue in which she revealed to her psychiatrist her deepest fears, her most profound sense of self, of personal loss, and the search for personal meaning. The psychiatrist was present; we saw the back of his nodding head, an occasional movement of his hand scratching notes on a pad. He grunted at times. Arthur moved about a large ornate set. The office was decorated in high Victorian style with drooping plants, mirrors, heavy carved furniture, oriental rugs, and the psychiatrist's high-backed chair. This decor lent depth and richness to the scene, providing contrast to the single performance, the single moving actor.