Maureen Arthur, the TV, film and stage actress best known for her role of dim-witted Hedy La Rue in the 1967 musical-comedy, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” died June 15 of natural causes. She was 88.
“I can’t overstate how important she was to me,” her friend actress Ilene Graff (“Heart of Dixie”) announced on Facebook Monday. “Her amazing talent and skill were only a small part of who she was. A tireless advocate for children in need, especially those with physical, emotional and/or intellectual challenges, she helped raise countless millions of dollars for them.”
The San Jose, California, native was a staple on television and in films in the late ’50s through the 1970s, appearing in such well-know series as “Perry Mason,” “The Monkees,” “The Flying Nun,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” “Sanford and Son,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Mork & Mindy” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
But what she’s remembered most for was as Hedy La Rue, the not-so-bright beauty in the 1967 film version of the Broadway hit “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” a role which she secured after playing it in a national tour and on Broadway. She also starred with Don Knotts in the screwball comedy “The Love God?” and with Bob Hope in “How to Commit Marriage.”
She later returned to the stage, starring in “Something Different” written and directed by Carl Reiner on Broadway, as well as playing Miss Adelaide in the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera production of “Guys and Dolls.”
Arthur spent decades donating her time and celebrity to Variety – the Children’s Charity of Southern California, where she touched many lives.
“The world is a little less sparkly without her, but I am so glad I got to be her friend. Her memory will definitely be a blessing,” Graff wrote.
