How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? - TrendRadars Sophia, Dorothy's straight-talking mother, was the oldest character in the Golden Girls' house. However, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was only 62 years old in real life, making her one year younger than her on-screen daughter! Blanche Devereaux, a widow, was joined by Rose Nylund, a fellow widow, and Dorothy Zbornak, a divorced woman after they both answered a room-for-rent post on the bulletin board of a local grocery shop. Dorothy is revealed to be a Leo in another episode, which means she was born in July or August of 1932, making her character 53 years old at the time the series began. On the other hand, the women in And Just Like That dress in a trendy, modern style. Similarly, Dorothy mentions in another episode that she was married in 1960, which would have made her 22. Although the women's ages were rarely disclosed, some deductive work may be used to approximate how old each Golden Girl was at the commencement of the series. Despite her enjoyment in playing Dorothy, the show eventually concluded when Bea Arthur decided to depart the show in 1992. Carl Gettleman, one of her two sons, says the co-star of the TV show "The Golden Girls" died early Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at home in Los Angeles. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.). At times, she even froze on camera while filming. Between 1973 and 1977 White made several appearances on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sue Ann Nivens, the snobby, man-obsessed supporting character. None of the other Golden Girls outright state their ages, so Dorothy is where the deductive work begins. For simplicity, because the program lasted seven seasons, each season is treated as a different year for the purpose of simplicity. 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. Every episode of The Golden Girls was made available to stream on Hulu on February 13, 2017. [39] In 2011, White stated that she believed it was her "positive attitude" and perky demeanor that got on Arthur's nerves. Privacy Policy, Brands It was popular for addressing a demographic that rarely saw the spotlight on television or in Hollywood: senior women. That was the case. -- Thirty years ago today, "The Golden Girls" premiered on television. Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Betty White reprised their roles in the 1992 spin-off series The Golden Palace (Credit: CBS). 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. 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. Their fears were allayed when the preview screening garnered a standing ovation and the program was instantly renewed for 12 more Golden Girls episodes. The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run, and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. Similarly, Estelle Getty, who played Sophia, was 79 when the show began and 83 when it ended. How old were the golden girl actresses during filming? For example, in the pilot episode, Blanche states that she is 54 going on 55, which would mean that her age at the start of the show was 54. She joined the cast as Rose Nylund, a Norwegian-American hailing from St. Olaf, Minnesota. Sophia was 86 by the series' end. [40] However, Arthur preferred that her three castmates and she all break for lunch together on workdays. Reportedly, a second season was approved before being cancelled the day before the network announced its 199394 schedule. The story follows four older single women (three widows and one divorced) who share a home in Miami, Florida. In the first season of Golden Girls, it is revealed that Rose (Betty Whites character) was 55. 'The Golden Girls' and 'SATC' reboot characters are the same age - ajc 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]. [43] Mitchell Hurwitz also served as writer for the show in its last two seasons. The Golden Girls is one of four live-action shows, along with All in the Family, Will & Grace, and Schitt's Creek, where all the principal actors have won at least one Emmy. This suggests that her character was likely around the same age. The series starred Stephanie Hodge and a set of other young nurses. The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. 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. [citation needed]. Harold Gould played two of Rose's boyfriends, Arnie and Miles. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). [109] The production ended because the producers failed to secure the rights and received a cease-and-desist order by the creators of the original television show. Her thesis examined menstrual education in Victorian England. Exploring the Basics, Benefits, and Policies, How to Contact Tesla: Customer Service Phone Number, Website, Social Media, Email & Live Chat, Bruce Willis Health Condition: Understanding the Actors Diet and Exercise Regimen, Exploring the Impact of Greg Gutfelds Vacation from Fox News. Required fields are marked *. The series ran for a total of seven seasons and a total of 180 full-length episodes. The initial pilot was aired as the 1987 Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests", and starred Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno as George and Renee Corliss, a married couple living next to the Golden Girls characters, who face empty nest syndrome after their teenaged daughter goes to college. | But one of the questions that has always been asked is: how old were the Golden Girls characters supposed to be? When "The Golden Girls" premiered over 30 years ago, on Sept. 14, 1985, audiences were introduced to Southern belle Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and her roommates Rose Nylund (Betty. In Canada, Corus Entertainment's digital specialty channel, DejaView, aired reruns of The Golden Girls until 2017. The Golden Girls came to an end when Bea Arthur elected to quit the series after six seasons in the top ten and the seventh season at #30. Before The Golden Girls, she was most renowned for creating the series Soap, which parodied daytime soap operas such as The Young and the Restless. Apparently, writer Susan Harris envisioned a Bea Arthur type when conceptualizing the character of Dorothy. Did Rue McClanahan have a Southern accent? Then, in Season 3, Episode 5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself," Sophia tells Dorothy the story of the night Dorothy was conceived. Sophia states it happened in 1931, making it likely Dorothy was born sometime in 1932, judging by her sign. We didn't want the show to be about four dowdy ladies. She passed away in 2010, at the age of 76, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. 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 has recently come to light that the leading ladies of AndJust Like That, Sex and the Citys reboot, are basically the exact same age as the leading ladies in The Golden Girls a fact that has completely blown our minds! 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. This means that she was 63 years old by the time the show premiered in 1985. (season two, episode five). The show was a hit with viewers of all ages. Sarah Jessica Parker and Betty White, both of whom play a 55-year-old woman. Reportedly, White doubted that she could effectively play the role of Rose. McClanahan and White were friends on- and off-screen. Golden Girls Cast, Ages, Names & More - Parade: Entertainment, Recipes 41 Behind-the-Scenes 'The Golden Girls' Facts - 'Golden Girls' Trivia. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Channel 4, Living and Disney Channel. Ironically, despite being the oldest actress in the show, Betty White was the last of the main stars to survive. This was the first time since 1993 that The Golden Palace was seen on American television. The program is about four elderly ladies who live . New York: Harper Collins. 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. 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. The Golden Girls: Live! 100 Black-Owned Businesses to Shop Now. Their hair also hasnt greyed (or is colored), and they style their hair in a more contemporary way. 12. 3. Beginning July 3, 1989, NBC added daytime reruns of the show, replacing long-running Wheel of Fortune (which had moved to CBS) on the NBC schedule at 11:00am(EST); it ran until September 1990. 16 Things You Didn't Know About The Golden Girls - Southern Living [112], In 2017, a Golden Girls-themed eatery, Rue la Rue Cafe owned by Rue McClanahan's close friend Michael La Rue, who inherited many of the star's personal belongings and in turn decorated the restaurant with them, opened in the Washington Heights section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. the golden girls | CBR Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). For instance, Blanche mentions in one episode that she was married in 1952, which would have made her 21 at the time. The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended, Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams Is Iconic for Pushing Boundaries. Rose's age is the easiest to track down, thanks to Dorothy openly saying it in Season 1, Episode 22, "Job Hunting." During a conversation where Rose discusses her difficulty finding a new job after losing her previous one at the grief counseling center, Dorothy reveals that Rose is 55. Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of Sandrich and switched roles at the last minute. [65][66] Eventually, McClanahan went on to create a clothing line for QVC called "A Touch of Rue", inspired by Blanche, but made with affordable fabrics and practical designs. [24] Though her vision of a sitcom about women in their 60s differed from NBC's request for a comedy about women around 40 years old,[27] Littlefield was impressed when he received her pilot script and subsequently approved production of it. McClanahan continued to portray the role of Blanche in the spin-off series The Golden Palace, which only lasted for one season from 1992 to 1993. Rose Nylund is a character from the sitcom television series The Golden Girls and its spin-off, The Golden Palace. [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. However, she wasn't much older than Bea Arthur. One, while the characters ages on the show appeared to be quite. Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kristen Davis in And Just Like That. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). By Zachary Guida Jan 31, 2023 10 Ways Audience Popularity Gave TV Characters Greater Roles In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. Thats also the same reason why she refused to reprise her role in the spin-off series The Golden Palace, which featured Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty. 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! Born on January 17, 1922, Betty White was the oldest of the four main stars. Airing from 1985 to 1992 with seven seasons in total, The Golden Girls was a smash hit during the entirety of its run. Another brief run of the show began on 27 April 2020 till summer 2020 on Channel 5, but only showed episodes up to the season-four finale and is returning to Channel 4 starting from early 2022. Premiering in 1985, The Golden Girls was an instant smash, attracting a diverse audience for a then-novel concept depicting the lives of four older women sharing friendship, a home and a lot . However, there are some clues that can be found in the show itself. [70][self-published source?] How Old Were the Golden Girls Characters Supposed to Be? It is interesting to note that the ages of the characters are never directly addressed in the show. Social norms regarding women in their fifties have also changed since Golden Girls premiered. Rose Nylund - Wikipedia McClanahan was 51 years old by the time The Golden Girls premiered, and she was 58 when it concluded. [24] The Cosby Show director Jay Sandrich, who had previously worked with Harris, Witt, and Thomas on Soap, agreed to direct the pilot episode. Some episodes featured flashbacks to previous episodes, flashbacks to events not shown in previous episodes, or to events that occurred before the series began. In her spare time, Maddy loves playing volleyball, running, walking, and biking, although when she wants to be lazy she loves to read a good thriller. 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. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Bea Arthur as the beloved main cast of the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). Here We Go Again: My Life in Television. [83] The 21-disc collection features all 180 episodes of the series as well as all special features contained on the previously released season sets; it is encased in special collectible packaging, a replica of Sophia's purse. This program, on the other hand, was centered on a group of older ladies. Betty White was 63 years old when the show premiered in 1985, yet she managed to play a younger persona perfectly. By tape day, she was unreachable. We can also look at other clues from the show itself. From left to right- Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls. In Season 4, Episode 10, Stan Takes a Wife, Dorothy declares that she is a Leo, indicating that her birthdate is in late July or early-to-late August. The writers observed that in many of the proposed scripts, the main interaction between the women occurred in the kitchen while preparing and eating food. Sophia was never ashamed to confess her age, and she often took advantage of it to get an advantage over the other ladies in the home. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? Rose is said to be in her mid-50s, suggesting that she was between 55 and 59. The 'And Just Like That' Women and 'The Golden Girls' Are the Same Age ISBN978-0-06-242290-3. Arthur felt the characters had been in every possible scenario, and wanted to end the series while it was still successful. 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. In "And Just Like That.", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. . Blanche was probably around 50 when the show began, rather than 54. Cast alongside Rue McClanahan, she impressed the producers of The Golden Girls with her recurring role as Ellen in Mamas Family. However, White and McClanahan wanted to play against their typecasting, so McClanahan was cast as Blanche instead. Roses age is the easiest to determine, owing to Dorothy revealing it in Season 1, Episode 22, Job Hunting. Dorothy exposes Roses age is exposed during a chat in which Rose describes her problems finding a new career after leaving her prior one at the grief counseling center. 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. Its time to look back at the golden years with our favorite Golden Girls. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. [3] In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. 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). At least two females were forced to change roles! I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. Iconic Golden-era Hollywood actress Scarlett OHara was also reportedly an inspiration for the role. The show is seen in more than a hundred countries. [26] She found the concept interesting, as "it was a demographic that had never been addressed," and she soon began work on it. 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. Dorothy states she is a Leo in Season 4, Episode 10, "Stan Takes a Wife," placing her birthday either in late July or early-to-late August. The Golden Girls | Golden Girls Wiki | Fandom Golden Girls Trivia Sophia was never ashamed to confess her age, and she often took advantage of it to get an advantage over the other ladies in the home. When Arthur first received the script for The Golden Girls, she loved the concept of having senior women as the stars of the show. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. Carrie's age range in "And Just Like That." puts her in the same age range as the characters in "The Golden Girls" season one, according to TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. 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. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that these ages may not be accurate. Going by the math, that makes Blanche 53 at the start of the series. Saving the most difficult to track down for last, Rue McClanahan's character Blanche Devereaux kept her age a mystery (and a recurring joke) throughout most of The Golden Girls. She is also the only living core cast member from the series. 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. Fans of all ages still enjoy The Golden Girls and its actors today. "[38] Both actresses had dramatically different training and acting backgrounds; Saks commented on White's habit of breaking the fourth wall to engage and joke with the studio audience during breaks between filming, which Arthur found unprofessional. 10 Things You May Not Know About 'The Golden Girls' - Biography When your brain is frozen like that, you can't remember lines. The show never approached the popularity or acclaim of the original, and ranked 57th[citation needed] in the annual ratings. She remarked that it was revolutionary because it was the first time older women were shown in an atmosphere where they were well-groomed, well dressed, had active sex lives. Blanche Devereaux, Dorothy Zbornak, and Sophia Petrillo managed the single life as seniors in Miami for seven seasons. [41] To aid her retention, Getty tried hypnosis, and the show hired an assistant to run lines with her before taping; neither method worked. 'The Golden Girls': Who Was the Oldest Golden Girl - Outsider [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 Characters Supposed to Be? Estelle Getty portrayed the role of Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthurs character). They decided that a separate cook would distract from their friendship. [111], Golden Girls 3033 is an animated pilot created by Mike Hollingsworth. Blanche was inspired by the popular fictional characters Blanche DuBois (from A Streetcar Named Desire, a famous 1947 Broadway play written by Tennessee Williams) and Vivien Leigh, who portrayed the same character in the 1951 film adaptation alongside Marlon Brando. "[72], During the NBC upfronts, the preview screening of the show got a standing ovation. 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.