Someone with $1.9 million to spare liked the nude Bea Arthur painting so much, they purchased it for $1.9 million.

Artist John Currin painted this portrait (which Bea didn't model for) of the late, great Golden Girl in 1991. The New Yorker referred to it as part of a series by Currin that featured "acrid fantasy portraits of menopausal women." I think it's quite beautiful.

Researcher and ex-Mormon Helen Radkey raised some eyebrows when she reported that a Mormon temple in Idaho had baptized deceased Jewish reporter Daniel Pearl. But it doesn't stop there. Radkey also discovered posthumous baptisms of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal's family. Needless to say, the Jewish community isn't thrilled, and the Mormon higher-ups have been forced to take action. (Read: they sent out a letter.)

Actress Rue McClanahan died early this morning of a massive stroke. She was 76. A veteran television actress, she was best known for the bawdy retiree Blanche Devereaux she played on '80 sitcom The Golden Girls.

If you were like me, last night you were watching the show with plenty of questions. Why so long? Why so bad? Who is that weird red-haired lady crashing the stage? Well, we found some answers and even more questions.

Well, folks, there you have it! The 82nd Annual Academy awards are history, and what a night it was. Inside, your Oscars wrap-up: video and pictures of the moments everyone will be talking about tomorrow, and a complete winners list.

Stephanie Pratt's wallet could use a little help. Elton John's too old for kids. And Colin Farrell knocked up his girl. That and much, much more in your Tuesday morning gossip roundup!

Golden Girls star Bea Arthur, née Bernice Frankel, died at home in Los Angeles at the age of 86 today. She passed away surrounded by family members. She will be loudly mourned by the gays.

Uh-oh—don't let that crying kid on YouTube see this, lest we prepare for a tsunami of waterworks that could very well short-out the entire internet: None of the surviving Golden Girls showed up to Estelle Getty's funeral. Not even her own daughter. Inside Edition tracked down two of the three to find out where they were:

· Get ready for the summer of exploitation on E! If Denise Richards or Dating Nightmares doesn't do it for ya, might we interest you in the White Oprah and her fame-starved daughter Ali? Nothing warms our cockles like the sight of a table full of sycophantic slags toasting a 14-year-old's non-existant career with champagne! [E!]
· What better way to honor Bea Arthur on her birthday than by counting down her 10 best moments? [BWE]
· Videogum is on the hunt for TWMOAT. What's that, you ask? The Worst Movie Of All-Time, natch. [Videogum]
· While the hot Muppet meme of the moment seems to be Sad Kermit singing "Needle In The Hay", we here at Defamer HQ vastly prefer Miss Piggy's tribute to "Fuck The Pain Away." [YouTube via Fimoculous]
· Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped bring Phil Spector's "Wall Of Sound" to life, passed away at the age of 80. Roll down your windows and play The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" extra loud tonight in his honor. [LAT]

We still feel terrible about the cheap shot we took at Bea Arthur yesterday, a legendary actress who, for all we know, deserves placement on the controversial list in question no more than Golden Girls castmate Rue McClanahan.