Health and Death
In June 1997, McClanahan was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she was treated successfully.
On November 14, 2009, she was to be honored for her lifetime achievements at an event "Golden: A Gala Tribute to Rue McClanahan" at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California. The event was postponed due to McClanahan's hospitalization. She had triple bypass surgery on November 4. It was announced on January 14, 2010, by Entertainment Tonight that, while recovering from surgery, she had suffered a minor stroke. In March 2010, fellow Golden Girls cast member Betty White reported on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that McClanahan was doing well and that her speech had returned to normal.
McClanahan died on June 3, 2010, at the age of 76, at New York–Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered a brain hemorrhage.
She was cremated after her death.
McClanahan's longtime friend Betty White, who co-starred with her on both Mama's Family and The Golden Girls, told Entertainment Tonight that McClanahan was a "close and dear friend" and that her death "hurts more than I ever thought it would".
McClanahan was survived by her sixth husband, Morrow Wilson (from whom she separated in 2009); her son from her first marriage, Mark Bish of Austin, Texas; her sister, Melinda L. McClanahan, of Silver City, New Mexico; and a nephew, Brendan Kinkade. There were no funeral services for McClanahan so her family created an official memorial page on Facebook to honor her, and memorial services were held during the summer of 2010 in New York and Los Angeles. On June 10, 2010, McClanahan's New York apartment, with several unique design details, went on the market for $2.25 million.
In honor of her memory, WE tv, which airs reruns of The Golden Girls, had a weeklong memoriam for McClanahan airing episodes featuring the best of Blanche from June 7 – 11, 2010.
On January 7, 2011, publicist and gay-rights advocate Jon-Marc McDonald posted on his blog that he would lead the publicity and marketing efforts on behalf of friend Michael J. La Rue and the estate of Rue McClanahan for ten auctions to be held throughout the United States to sell McClanahan's belongings as, according to McDonald, was McClanahan's wish. In addition, McDonald will assist La Rue, McClanahan's close friend and, prior to her death, producer of her autobiographical Broadway bound show, My First Five Husbands, with the publicity for a documentary about the actress, release date unknown.
Read more about this topic: Rue McClanahan
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