4. Although the four main stars appeared to have good chemistry onscreen, there was some tension on the set between Betty White and Bea Arthur, whose personalities clashed during filming. ISBN978-0-06-242290-3. Do you have knowledge or insights to share? She thought an accentuated Southern accent would be sexy and strong and attractive to men. The faade was based on a real house at 245 North Saltair Avenue in the Westgate Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. The women's ages were usually not explicitly stated, although some deductive work gives a pretty safe estimate of how old each Golden Girl was at the start of the series. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. Designing Women began competing against The Golden Girls. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Golden_Girls&oldid=1139544706, "Thank You for Being a Friend" (instrumental), "I was running all over the house grabbing anybody who would listen. Getty came to Weiner's mind soon after, when it became time to begin casting of The Golden Girls. In addition, the character of Sophia had originally been planned as an occasional guest star, but Getty had tested positively with preview audiences, so the producers decided to make her a regular character. Afterwards, Getty had returned to New York, but gained permission from her manager to return to California in early 1985. These ages seem to contradict what is stated in the show, suggesting that the characters may actually be younger than their stated ages. The reasons for her departure are speculative, but the popular theory is that Arthur felt as though the quality of the sitcom had begun to slip by the seventh season, and she wanted to leave while the show was still popular. So why do the ladies in Golden Girls seem so much older than the characters in And Just Like That, even though theyre all supposed to be around the same age? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Proudly powered by WordPress I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. After learning this tidbit, its clear that the only difference between the Golden Girls and the Sex and the City ladies is how they style their hair. How old Were the Golden Girls When they Started? - Wording Vibes Blanche was probably around 50 when the show began, rather than 54. The clever use of makeup and a wig aged Getty to match her character's age. [24][30], In the pilot script, Blanche was described as "more Southern than Blanche DuBois", so McClanahan was perplexed when she was asked by director Sandrich during the filming of the pilot not to use the strong Southern accent she had developed, but to use her natural Oklahoma accent instead. The main cast of The Golden Girls included Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux, Betty White as Rose Nylund, Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak, and Estelle Getty as Dorothys mother, Sophia Petrillo. After reruns on different regional channels of the ARD Network, the show later aired on private channels RTL, VOX, Super RTL, Disney Channel and RTLup. Details on Betty White and Bea Arthur's Off-Screen Feud", "CNN Official Interview: Betty White: Bea Arthur was not fond of me", "Marc Cherry Shares His Memories of Writing for Golden Girls", "Golden Girls weren't so chummy off the screen, star's son reveals", "Estelle Getty, 'Golden Girls' Matriarch, Dies at 84", "Estelle Getty of 'Golden Girls' Dies at 84", "Bea Arthur's son says she 'wasn't really close to anybody' despite 'Golden Girls' fame", "The Changing Face of Modern Television: When Costume Design Costars", "Bea-ing Stylish: Former "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur Talks About Comfort Clothes, Going Barefoot and Her Famous "Maude" Wardrobe", "7 Must-Have Items from Rue McClanahan's Estate Sale", "30 Things You Never Knew About 'The Golden Girls', "The Golden Girls Creators On Finding a New Generation of Fans", "The Queen Mother Loved The Golden Girls So Much That She Requested a Live Performance from the Cast", "Preview 2: The Golden Girls Arrive on Logo April 13th", "Fathom Events to Celebrate Nearly 40 Years of "The Golden Girls" This September", "The Golden Girls 25th Anniversary Complete Collection", "The Golden Girls - The Complete First Season [DVD] [1985]", "The Golden Girls - The complete Season 2 [DVD] [1986]", "The Golden Girls - Season 3 - Complete [DVD]", "TV Weekend; 3 of the Golden Girls in a New Home", "Thank You For Being a Friend brings the Golden Girls to the stage as puppets", "TVE comienza a rodar 'Juntas, pero no revueltas', su versin de 'Las chicas de oro', "TVE presenta el remake: 'Volvemos a la sitcom pero con valor seguro', "Altin Kizlar'in Setine Gizli Kamera Koymak Gerek", "Heard the one about the US sense of humour? Despite her enjoyment in playing Dorothy, the show eventually concluded when Bea Arthur decided to depart the show in 1992. Betty White's Best TV & Movie Roles - CBR Apparently, writer Susan Harris envisioned a Bea Arthur type when conceptualizing the character of Dorothy. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, the show is about four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida.It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions . 8 Silk Pillowcases for Your Best Beauty Sleep. But the women were so uniformly brilliant at nailing it the first time we basically knew that if the women didn't get it right the first time, the joke needed to be replaced." This indicates that she was likely in her late 40s when the show began. Celebrities [32], Getty, who went through a three-hour transformation to become Sophia, wore heavy make-up, thick glasses, and a white wig to look the part. Getty figured it would be her last chance to find television or film work. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. Beginning in 1990, Marc Cherry served as writer and producer, years before creating Desperate Housewives, which ran on ABC from 2004 to 2012. Golden Girls Trivia Then, in Season 3, Episode 5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself," Sophia tells Dorothy the story of the night Dorothy was conceived. RELATED: The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended. Because none of the other Golden Girls explicitly disclose their ages, the logical process begins with Dorothy. Cherry commented on read-throughs of the scripts that "generally, if the joke was a good one, the women found a way to make it work the very first time they read it. However, there are some clues that can be found in the show itself. [111], Golden Girls 3033 is an animated pilot created by Mike Hollingsworth. Assuming her child would graduate at 17, that would make Blanche 48 in 1986 and 47 at the start of the series. According to Cherry, the writers' room was "a competitive atmosphere. The Golden Girls ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992. Luckily, Susan Harris didnt lose her spark after Soap concluded, as she included much of the humor and sharp wit that made Soap popular in The Golden Girls as well. Her thesis examined menstrual education in Victorian England. There are no tricks. DO YOU LOVE SHOES? The adventures of Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose ( universally beloved Betty White) and Sophia (Estelle Getty) -- four older women who lived in a Miami home together -- took audiences by storm and provided representation to a group generally overlooked by television of the time. The ages of the Golden Girls were never revealed on TV. [59], Costume designer Judy Evans created distinctive looks for each of the four actresses to suit their characters' personalities and to reflect the Florida setting. Rose's age is the easiest to track down, thanks to Dorothy openly saying it in Season 1, Episode 22, "Job Hunting." Interestingly enough, Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright and would often freeze on camera during the filming of The Golden Girls. 3. "The Golden Girls" turns 30: 10 things you didn't know - CBS News Unlike anything we had ever seen on television before, The Golden Girls featured an ensemble cast of four older single women (Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty) sharing. [63] Much of Arthur's wardrobe was custom-made because at the time, finding off-the-rack clothing that was flattering for a taller woman was difficult. The series also ranked among the Nielsen ratings' top ten for six of its seven seasons. Getty was the first actress to be cast, and her role was intended to make the rest of the characters appear younger. Lifetime, which held the rights to The Golden Girls at the time, aired reruns of The Golden Palace in the summer of 2005, and again in December of that year. In an interview with The Village Voice in 2011, White stated that Arthur found me a pain in the neck sometimes. As of 2019, every episode is available for streaming on Stan. She is also the only living core cast member from the series. Prior to that, when old people were shown on television, you could almost smell them., Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo, Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak, Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux, and Betty White as Rose Nylund in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). Win free shoes, organize your shoe closet, see the latest styles + more, About She joined the cast as Rose Nylund, a Norwegian-American hailing from St. Olaf, Minnesota. Hulu estimated that over 11 million hours were spent viewing this sitcom in 2020 alone, making it one of the top ten most binge-watched series on the streaming service. On the other hand, the women in And Just Like That dress in a trendy, modern style. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? In the pilot episode, the three are joined by Dorothy's 80-year-old widowed mother, Sophia Petrillo (Getty), after the retirement home where she has been living has burned down. When your brain is frozen like that, you can't remember lines. : Extreme Stunt Show attraction, later replaced by Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Both Rue McClanahan and Betty White came into consideration, as the series Mama's Family, in which the two co-starred, had been cancelled by NBC. The film featured five episodes from the show: "The Pilot", "The Flu", "The Way We Met", "Ladies of the Evening" and "Grab That Dough". Featuring an all-male cast in drag, The Golden Girls: Live! Space was limited on the soundstage, so when the kitchen was off camera, it was usually detached from the rest of the set and the space used for something else. The owner of the house is a widow named Blanche Devereaux (McClanahan), who was joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (White) and divorce Dorothy Zbornak (Arthur) after they both responded to an ad on the bulletin board of a local grocery store a year before the start of the series. In reality, all but one of the principal cast members of the Golden Girls had enormous age gaps between their true ages and the ages of their roles. Arthur's son, Matthew Saks, later spoke of tension between the two actresses, stating that his mother, "unknowingly carried the attitude that it was fun to have somebody to be angry atIt was almost like Betty became her nemesis, someone she could always roll her eyes about at work. Discover all about The Golden Girls cast from their names, ages and how old they were supposed to be in the showwho was oldest & youngest, and more. Often deemed as the den mother of the main characters in the show, Bea Arthur played the role of Dorothy Zbornak, a substitute teacher hailing from New York City. In 1989, Marc Sotkin, previously a writer on Laverne & Shirley and a producer on another Witt/Thomas series, It's a Living, assumed head writing responsibilities, and guided the show (to varying degrees) during what were its final three seasons. The women had a homosexual cook named Coco who lived with them at first, but after the premiere episode, the character was never seen again. Estimating the ages of the characters can be tricky, since the show never explicitly states their ages. This faade, along with the Empty Nest house, sustained hurricane damage leading to Disney's 2003 decision to bulldoze the houses of "Residential Street" and construct its Lights, Motors, Action! The series starred Stephanie Hodge and a set of other young nurses. When the show initially aired, NBC took a chance. 5. The show was aired as a bilingual broadcast using a two-channel sound system (Zweikanalton). You have a lot of table reads where the actors will mess it up because they don't understand what the characters are doing, or they misinterpret. Although the womens ages were rarely disclosed, some deductive work may be used to approximate how old each Golden Girl was at the commencement of the series. 41 Behind-the-Scenes 'The Golden Girls' Facts - 'Golden Girls' Trivia. (Photo Credit: New Line Cinema/ HBO/ MovieStills DB and MovieStills DB). The women's ages were usually not explicitly stated, although some deductive work gives a pretty safe estimate of how old each Golden Girl was at the start of the series. [73], In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. Rue McClanahan is the youngest Golden Girl! The Golden Girls are also dressed in cardigans or long dresses, similar to the outfits we would find in our grandmothers closet. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. Whatever the reason, it is clear that the Golden Girls are truly ageless. Required fields are marked *. -- Thirty years ago today, "The Golden Girls" premiered on television. It wasnt until she was informed of Roses naivety that she gained the confidence to play the role and pull off the character. The character of Blanche Devereaux appeared in a total of 8 seasons and a total of 204 full episodes in both The Golden Girls (total of 7 . [70][self-published source?] [80] In 2020, CMT purchased the rights to the series. Dorothy, meanwhile, is stated to be in her early 50s, which could mean that she was anywhere between 50 and 54. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Continue reading to find out how old were the golden girls on the set of The Golden Girls. This article promises to be interesting and really informative. Blanche (played by Rue McClanahan) was thought to be around 47 years old in the first season of Golden Girls. (Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? When the show hit TV screens in the 1980s, society believed that women in their 50s were more grandmotherly, and ready for retirement. When all of the evidence is taken into account, it seems likely that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. We didn't want the show to be about four dowdy ladies. [107] When that idea was not well received, Harris retooled the series as a vehicle for Richard Mulligan, and the following year Empty Nest debuted, starring Mulligan as pediatrician Harry Weston, a widower whose two adult daughters moved back home. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be? Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). [9], The pilot was taped on April 17, 1985.[10]. [30] Stritch's audition flopped, however, and under the impression that Arthur did not want to participate, Harris asked McClanahan if she could persuade Arthur, with whom she worked previously on the CBS sitcom Maude, to take the role. Producers wanted to cast McClanahan as Rose and White as Blanche based on roles they had previously played; White portrayed the man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, while McClanahan co-starred as the sweet but scatterbrained Vivian Harmon in Maude. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak, Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo, Betty White as Rose Nylund, and Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. [28], The pilot included a gay houseboy, Coco (Charles Levin), who lived with the girls. [11], Ideas for a comedy series about older women emerged during the filming of a television special at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, in August 1984. The program is about four elderly ladies who live . At the request of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who was reputedly a big fan, the cast of The Golden Girls performed several skits as their characters in front of her and other members of the British royal family at the 1988 Royal Variety Performance in London.[77]. As a tribute to the success of The Golden Girls, all four actresses were later named Disney Legends as part of the class of 2009.[78]. The show promptly received a full order of 12 episodes. Bea Arthur was not a part of the main cast but did guest star in a double episode, reprising her role as Dorothy.[106]. It won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series and two. The women's ages were usually not explicitly stated, although some deductive work gives a pretty safe estimate of how old each Golden Girl was at the start of the series. According to McClanahan, by the end of season three, Getty's anxiety had become a serious problem, and she had increasing trouble memorizing her lines. Ellen Albertini Dow played Sophia's friend Lillian and an unnamed hospital patient with a flower cart. [84], After the original series ended, White, McClanahan, and Getty reprised their characters in the CBS series The Golden Palace, which featured Rose, Blanche, and Sophia selling their house to buy and run a hotel in Miami. Susan Harris developed a spin-off centering on the empty nest syndrome. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, the show is about four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls Almost Had a Fifth Main Character - Here's Why He Was Dropped The Golden Girls broke boundaries with its main cast of older women, but it originally broke even more with the lost fifth member of the hit sitcom. Sophia, Dorothys straight-talking mother, was the Golden Girls houses oldest figure. Bill Dana played Sophia's brother Angelo and her father. After the retirement home where Dorothys mother, Sophia Petrillo, lived burned down in the pilot episode, the three were joined by Dorothys 80-year-old widowed mother, Sophia Petrillo. 'The Golden Girls': Who Was the Oldest Golden Girl - Outsider It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television. The Golden Girls is an American comedy that was produced by Susan Harris and aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. She wanted to be a Southern heroine, like Vivien Leigh. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak and Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). How Old Were the Golden Girls? - CBR The show is seen in more than a hundred countries. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that these ages may not be accurate. "[45], After season three, Arthur had expressed her growing dissatisfaction with the disparaging jokes made about her physical appearance, which were often in the scripts. Iconic Golden-era Hollywood actress Scarlett OHara was also reportedly an inspiration for the role. Each of the four main stars received an Emmy Award, making The Golden Girls one of only four sitcoms in the Primetime Emmy Awards history to achieve this. Shoes Accessories, Copyright Your Next Shoes 2010 - 2023 |, The 9 Best Classic and Designer High Top Sneaker Brands, How to Spot Fake Converse Shoes: 10 Ways to Tell Real All Star Sneakers, Sabrina Carpenter Presents K-Pop Twice With Breakthrough Award in Racy Mini Dress Amidst Shawn Mendes Dating Rumors, The Cast of Creed III: What 7 Actors Look Like in Real Life, Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega Steal the Show at SAG Awards With Hilarious Deadpan Presentation, Next in Fashion Season 2 Cast: Gigi Hadid Promotes Netflix Show in 5 Stunning Outfits, Jessica Simpson Shares Adorable Photo With Mini-Me Daughter Birdie Mae on Instagram. Similarly, Dorothy mentions in another episode that she was married in 1960, which would have made her 22. In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. At times, she even froze on camera while filming. In "And Just Like That", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. Who was the youngest Golden Girl cast member? The basic facts to work with are that The Golden Girls began in 1985 and ended in 1992, both in real life and in-world. As of February 2013, WE tv's rights expired and Viacom networks' TV Land, home to Betty White's last series Hot in Cleveland, purchased them,[79] as did Logo TV. 'The Golden Girls' and 'SATC' reboot characters are the same age - ajc Richard Vaczy and Tracy Gamble, previously writers on 227 and My Two Dads, also assumed the roles of producers and head writers. The majority of sitcoms in the period centered on either families or teenagers. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? - TrendRadars Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Betty White reprised their roles in the 1992 spin-off series The Golden Palace (Credit: CBS). The Golden Girls was part of a series of Brandon Tartikoff shows that put an end to NBC's ratings slump, along with The Cosby Show, 227, Night Court, Miami Vice, and L.A. Law. The Golden Girls was a highly-acclaimed and rated, well-received, popular American situation-comedy/sit-com television series that aired on NBC originally from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. On November 15, 2005, Warner Home Video released The Golden Girls: A Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series on DVD which contains a separate biography of Arthur, White, McClanahan and Getty, revealing each woman's background, rise to stardom and private life, which originally aired on Lifetime network between June 2000 and January 2003. Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kristen Davis in And Just Like That. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). Initially, White was considered for the role of Blanche Devereaux, which eventually went to Rue McClanahan. Why is Good UI/UX Design Imperative for Business Success? This program, on the other hand, was centered on a group of older ladies. Blanche was 17 in 1949, according to Season 3, Episode 25, Mothers Day, when she and her mother reminisce about one of Blanches dates. The oldest character in Golden Girls is Sophia (Estelle Getty), who is thought to be about 80 years old at the start of the series. Zachary Guida | CBR Maddy Hiltz is someone who loves all things history. She had established this signature look while playing Maude, and Evans honored it in her designs for Dorothy. Estelle Getty portrayed the role of Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthurs character). Blanche Devereaux, Dorothy Zbornak, and Sophia Petrillo managed the single life as seniors in Miami for seven seasons. [69] One of the other girls then told a story from her own life, which somehow related to the problem (though Rose occasionally regaled the others with a nonsense story that had nothing to do with the situation, and Sophia told outrageous, made-up stories). [7][8], The first episode features a cook/butler named Coco (played by Charles Levin), but the role was dropped before the second episode. Blanche would have been 60 by the series' end. According to Evans, "I wanted a sexy, soft, and flowing look for Rue, a tailored, pulled-together look for Bea, a down-home look for Betty, and comfort for Estelle. Betty White, who died on December 31, 2021, at the age of 99, was best known for her role as the wonderfully naive Rose Nylund in the NBC comedy The Golden Girls. However, the exterior backdrop seen through the kitchen window changed from the view of Chicago high-rises to palm trees and bushes for the Miami setting. the golden girls | CBR How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be?,The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. Going off the idea that Season 1 takes place within the same year, Rose would have been 55 at the start of The Golden Girls as well, making her the oldest Golden Girl -- after Sophia, of course. Both Betty White and Bea Arthur were 63 when The Golden Girls premiered, coinciding with the fan theory.
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