The great Conrad Bain passes away — Televised Revolution

It was very sad to wake to the news today that actor Conrad Bain has passed away. Bain died at age 89 with natural causes cited. Bain was best known for his role as Dr Drummond in the fondly remembered 80’s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes and undoubtedly most of the obits you’ll find will focus on this. I was always fond of him from his time on the highly underrated 70’s sitcom Maude.

On the show Maude, Conrad Bain played the recurring role of Dr Arthur Harmon. Harmon was a right-wing, opinionated bigot who serves as a foil to series star Bea Arthur whose character Maude is an ultra-left wing liberal. Conrad Bain and Bea Arthur absolutely crackle on screen together and play off each other magnificently. Enjoy this scene in which Maude discovers that Arthur is going to stay as a guest in her home for several days — her outrage heightened when Arthur bounds in incensed by news that a gay bar is opening nearby. Both Conrad Bain and Bea Arthur are note perfect.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xZTPA9JNi0[/youtube]