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TV Guide: Bea Arthur Never Cared For Betty White

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―In past interviews, Bea Arthur intimated she didn't love working on "Golden Girls" as much as she enjoyed starring on TV's "Maude." She never really did say why...much as interviewers tried to pry it out of her.

Now that Arthur is dead, her friends and former co-workers are more than intimating why. Rue McClanahan tells TV Guide columnist that it was her impression Arthur enjoyed being the star more than doing ensemble work.

And, in a shocking turn, McClanahan also confirms to the magazine that Bea Arthur and Betty White...while magic on camera together...were anything but bosom buddies.

While Betty "was a big fan of" Bea's, according to McClanahan, she tells William Keck (author of the magazine's "What the Keck?" column) that the two actresses had different working styles.

McClanahan, who was friends with Arthur from their days of working on "Maude" together, said, "Bea came from a New York stage point of view. She always had what we call the fourth wall. And Betty came from a television point of view. She would flirt with the audience, and pull her skirt up and say, 'Hi sailor.' But Bea never acknowledged the audience. I always thought that was maybe part of it. But Bea never confided in me why she felt the way she did about Betty."