November 5, 2009 (Los Angeles, CA)-- ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT has confirmed that Rue McClanahan had bypass surgery yesterday, Wednesday Nov. 4th in a New York hospital. She went in for a physical and the doctor found that she had a heart problem and would need to have bypass surgery. She had been experiencing shortness of breath. She's doing great and the doctors say the surgery was a complete success and they're all thrilled.

McClanahan's rep tells ET that Rue hasn't lost her sense of humor, in fact she's been accepting work for January already. She's expected to be released from the hospital within the next few weeks.

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