Emmy Winning Documentary Filmmaker & Director Dan Watt has a NEW documentary that is currently traveling around the country!

Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" is an intimate portrait of the actress celebrated for Maude, The Golden Girls and Mame on Broadway!

One thing I learned about Bea from Dan is that she was very passionate about helping others.

In fact, when Bea heard that the Ali Forney Center in NYC, which houses and protects homeless at-risk and LGBTQ+ youths living on the streets, was struggling to stay open, she flew all the way from California to New York City to do a benefit performance of her one woman show, raising much needed funds.

Shortly after that performance, Bea passed away & in her will she left the Ali Forney Center $300,000, which was a God send at that time.

In conjunction with the NYC screening of Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn", which is also serving as a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center, Dan asked if I would be interested in speaking with someone from the Ali Forney Center to help give them more of a spotlight.

Of course, I said YES!

I am thrilled that Carl Sicilano, the Founder of the Ali Forney Center, was available for this interview. I couldn't think of anyone better to speak with because of Carl's personal relationship with Bea during their time together at the Ali Forney Center.

In addition to Carl, Dan will be making a guest appearance below! 

In this interview, Carl & Dan answered my call to share:

• Why Bea Arthur’s legacy still matters to homeless LGBTQ+ youth today
• How Bea’s generosity helped the Ali Forney Center survive its darkest hour
• What Carl Siciliano learned about Bea Arthur that fans may not know
• Why the Bea Arthur Residence Fund continues Bea’s mission of love and protection
• How Dan Watt’s documentary shines a new spotlight on Bea’s advocacy
• The powerful lessons Carl has learned from decades supporting LGBTQ+ youth
• Why supporting the Ali Forney Center is about more than one night at the movies

Connect with Carl: Website, Instagram

Connect with Dan: Website, Instagram

Connect with Bea Arthur The Documentary: Website, Instagram, TikTok

Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" will have its NYC screening on Sunday, October 25, 2026 at NYU's The New School, which will also serve as a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center's Bea Arthur Residence Fund.

Even though the NYC screening is SOLD OUT, you can still support the Bea Arthur Residence Fund at the Ali Forney Center by making a tax-deductible donation. Click Here to donate!

Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" is an intimate portrait of the actress celebrated for Maude, The Golden Girls and Mame.

Built around a previously unseen interview conducted by producer and director Dan Watt, the film traces Bea’s path from The New School and New York theatre to Broadway and television.

Through Bea’s own reflections and interviews with colleagues and close friends, the documentary looks beyond the tall, hilariously brassy public persona to reveal a woman who was also sensitive, vulnerable, compassionate and deeply committed to the people and causes she valued.

Click Here to find out when Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" will be in your area.

Carl Siciliano Interview:

1. The NYC screening of Dan Watt's NEW documentary, Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" is also serving as a benefit for the Ali Forney Center's Bea Arthur Residence Fund. For those reading this interview who are not familiar with the Ali Forney Center or the Bea Arthur Residence, why is it important to support this fund? Bea Arthur said she would do anything in her power to help young people cast out of their homes for being LGBTQ. In her memory, we provide the Bea Arthur Residence, offering housing to 18 young people for up to two years.

In addition, we offer mental health services to help them overcome the trauma of being rejected by their families and forced to endure homelessness. We also offer training and assistance to help them go to college and become employed, so they can have the tools to escape homelessness and build rewarding lives.

Those supporting the Bea Arthur Residence Fund help us carry Bea's love and caring forward.

2. How do you hope the exposure you get from Dan's documentary will help the Ali Forney Center, not only financially, but in other ways? We are living in difficult times, where LGBTQ youths are frequently targeted in political and religious spaces. This creates an environment where parents are more likely to be ashamed of their LGBTQ children.

I hope that learning about Bea's caring and commitment to LGBTQ youths can serve as a cultural antidote to that hatred and rejection.

3. Bea Arthur herself was a very big supporter of the Ali Forney center. From the interactions you had with Bea, what is something you learned about her that us regular fans wouldn't know? Prior to meeting her, my awareness of Bea was shaped by her performances in All In The Family, Maude and The Golden Girls. In each, she came off as this domineering force of nature; fierce; almost savage with her cutting humor.

When Bea performed her benefit for the Ali Forney Center in 2005, she was 83 years old. I was surprised by how tentative, shy, and borderline frail she seemed in person.

I didn't know at the time that she was secretly struggling with cancer. This makes her choice to travel across the country and put on an exhausting performance to benefit homeless LGBTQ youths all the more remarkable. It grew out of her fierce determination to use the power of her celebrity to do good.

In my eyes, what she did for us was heroic.

Bea Arthur & Carl Siciliano
Photo Courtesy of Ali Forney Center Website

4. Shortly after Bea's passing in 2009, you found yourself on the side of the road praying to Bea to help the center stay afloat, when you suddenly find out Bea left the Ali Forney Center $300,000 in her will. How did that prayer coming true change what you thought was possible? In 2009, during the height of the Great Recession, I feared the Ali Forney Center was on the verge of shutting down. Our government and foundation grants were extremely late in paying us and we were severely delinquent with paying our bills and rents.

One day that summer, I was driving to work  and got a call that a landlord was about to begin eviction proceedings. I was so overwhelmed that I pulled my car to the side of the highway, got out, and spent 20 minutes praying to everyone I hoped was in heaven who cared about our kids. I included Bea in those prayers as she'd recently died.

When I finally got back in my car and made it to work, I found a voicemail from one of Bea's closest friends, indicating that the Ali Forney Center was a major beneficiary of her will! We received $300K! Her gift was transformational.

It allowed us to pay our debts and survive. It also freed me from having to spend all my time chasing money and allowed me to launch an advocacy campaign that ultimately resulted in the City of New York adding over 500 beds to its youth shelter portfolio.

That made a huge difference for NYC's homeless youths. Bea's gift gave me the freedom to pursue the advocacy.

The Bea Arthur Residence Plaque
Photo Courtesy of Ali Forney Website

5. As someone who has worked with LGBTQ+ homeless teens for over 2 decades, what is the biggest lesson you learned from their experiences? Having worked with homeless LGBTQ+ youths for three decades, I've come to honor them as heroes of honesty. They pay an enormous price for being truthful about being queer--stripped of family support and forced to survive in the street.

I feel like the broader LGBTQ community has a sacred obligation to protect and support them, and I'm very proud of the work the Ali Forney Center has done and continues to do towards that end.

And I'm proud that Bea Arthur recognized the worth and value of our young people and the importance of our work to protect them.

Dan Watt & Bea Arthur
Photo Courtesy of Dan Watt's Social Media

Dan Watt Interview:

1. In the making of your NEW documentary, Bea Arthur: The Documentary – “I’ve Done Everything Except Porn" why was it important for you to include Bea's support of the Ali Forney Center? Bea was a true Ally to the LGBTQ+ community. She was involved with many causes, raising awareness and funds since the 1980's.

I felt that to get a fuller picture of who Bea Arthur was, I had to share her commitment to her charities, with the Ali Forney Center being top of her list along with her amazing career. It was who she was.

More Dan Watt Interviews:

2025 (Watch Here): EVERYBODY DANCE - Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap
2022 (Read Here): EVERYBODY DANCE Documentary - Making Dance Accessible to All Bodies

Carl Siciliano
Photo Courtesy of Carl Siciliano's Social Media

More on Carl Siciliano:

Carl Siciliano is a pioneering advocate and provider for homeless LGBT youth.. His programs have been widely recognized for their quality and innovation.

In 2002, Siciliano founded the Ali Forney Center (AFC), which has grown to become the nation’s largest and most comprehensive housing program for homeless LGBTQ+ youth. The Ali Forney Center offers emergency housing, transitional housing, a drop-in center, a vocational/educational center and a mix of supportive services that help LGBTQ+ youth become successful, independent adults.

In 2011, Siciliano launched the Campaign for Youth Shelter, which sought to leverage the political influence of the LGBT community to achieve a commitment from New York City to adopt a plan to increase its youth shelter capacity to meet the need of all the city's homeless youths. This campaign was instrumental in transforming NYC's treatment of homeless youth, resulting in over 500 new beds.

In 2002, Siciliano was named by OUT Magazine as one of the 100 Outstanding Gay Achievers. In 2007 he was awarded the New York Public Library's Brooke Astor Service Award, which is given to someone who is relentless in his or her dedication to the city of New York and who has contributed substantially to its enrichment. In 2012 he was named a Champion of Change by the Obama White House.

In 2024, Siciliano's memoir MAKING ROOM: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging, and a Safe Place for LGBTQ Youth was published by Penguin Random House. His writings have also been published in the New York Times, Huffington Post, The Advocate, and LGBTQ Nation. 

Today Siciliano continues to fight for the rights and empowerment of homeless LGBT youth through the growth, outreach and advocacy of the Ali Forney Center.

Dan Watt
Photo Courtesy of Dan Watt

More on Dan Watt:

Dan Watt is the 2024 Emmy Award-winning producer and director of the documentary Everybody Dance. He spent five years in the film development department at Columbia Pictures, working on projects including The House Bunny with Anna Faris and Just Go with It with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.

Dan later worked with Simon Cowell for five years, beginning with This Is Us, the documentary about One Direction. Before launching his film career, Dan produced gala fundraisers featuring Bea Arthur, Chita Rivera, Dixie Carter, Carol Channing, and Melissa Manchester.

He also produced Tony nominee Anika Larsen’s debut CD, Sing Me to Sleep, as well as songs with Ben Vereen. 

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