Rue McClanahan — who played cougar Southern belle Blanche Deveroux on the beloved TV classic The Golden Girls – has been hospitalized for heart by surgery related to “acute cardiac illness.”

Yikes!

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Rue was forced to pull out of an appearance at a San Francisco gala in her honor later this month. Golden: A Gala Tribute to Rue McClanahan had been scheduled to take place at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco Nov. 14 and would have featured clips from the hit show, a sing-along to The Golden Girls theme and a look-a-like contest.

The show will likely be reschedued.

“My darlings, I’m just devastated that I am going to have to miss my own tribute,” McClanahan, 75, said in a statement from her hotel room Thursday. “Unfortunately, my doctor has laid down the law, and I’m currently having some maintenance on the old ticker,” she added. “Trust me, I’d much rather be in San Francisco having fun and being adored by all of you.”

Rue’s rep says the surgery went off without a hitch on Wednesday and assures fans that Rue is expected to recover just fine:

“She is doing absolutely great…She went for her physical the other day and her doctor didn’t like what he found. As Rue put it, she needed ‘a little work on her ticker.’ She was in great spirits when she went in for surgery yesterday. She’s resting in a hospital in NY and she’ll probably be out in a week.”

We hope Rue and her “old ticker” are back in fighting shape soon.