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Lot 151
A Bea Arthur as "Dolly Parton" costume with original costume sketch
27 March 2017, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$562.50 inc. premium
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A Bea Arthur as "Dolly Parton" costume with original costume sketch
Two-piece hot pink ensemble consisting of a rhinestone-studded thigh-length top with heart designs and large bell sleeves, with a cleverly designed heart-shaped opening at the chest made of painted nude material which gives the illusion of cleavage, with matching bell-bottom pants studded with rhinestone hearts at the bottom, and arguably the largest padded bra in show business history. Together with an original Ret Turner costume sketch of the outfit comprised of mixed media on illustration paper with "Ret Turner" printed to bottom margin, n.d. [1980], "Bea / Dolly" in marker and "2943-2" in pencil to lower right, with a swatch of pink cloth. Known for her popular and groundbreaking TV series, Maude, which had been canceled two years prior, Bea Arthur hopped on the variety show bandwagon (even though the genre's success had been waning since the late 1970s), with The Beatrice Arthur Special, which aired on January 19, 1980, on CBS. Arthur wore the costume in a segment where she dressed up as different celebrities, such as Carol Burnett's "Charwoman" character and Cher. Five years later, Arthur would appear in the series, The Golden Girls, which ran for seven years and is now considered a TV classic.
Costume sketch: 11 x 17 in
Costume sketch: 11 x 17 in




















