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. Dorothy meets and marries Blanches Uncle Lucas in the hour-long series finale, which aired in May 1992, and moves to Hollingsworth Manor in Atlanta, Georgia. 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. Dorothy, following an impassioned speech in which she told the girls that I love you, always, she says as she rushes back into the home through several entrances for their final goodbyes, before making her final exit, saying, Youll always be my sisters. Continually , leaving the other three females to fend for themselves. "[61] Many of the characters' outfits were designed by Evans and made especially, but seven to ten costume changes per episode were made between the four actresses, which entailed a great deal of off-the-rack shopping. Both the Hallmark Channel and WE tv picked-up the reruns in March 2009. This led into the spin-off series, The Golden Palace. 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! In an interview with The Village Voice in 2011, White stated that Arthur found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Her thesis examined menstrual education in Victorian England. 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. 1. During its original run, The Golden Girls received 68 Emmy nominations, 11 Emmy awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Viewers for Quality Television awards. Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). In "And Just Like That", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. Who was the youngest Golden Girl cast member? 41 Behind-the-Scenes 'The Golden Girls' Facts - 'Golden Girls' Trivia. Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. Estelle Getty, who portrayed Sophia, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy, Sophias daughter. Rue McClanahan is the youngest Golden Girl! Estimating the ages of the characters can be tricky, since the show never explicitly states their ages. For example, one or more of the women would become involved in some sort of problem, often involving other family members, men, or an ethical dilemma. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be?,The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. At this time, syndicated reruns began airing, distributed by Buena Vista Television (now DisneyABC Domestic Television), the syndication arm of Disney, whose Touchstone Television division produced the series. 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. "[45], Estelle Getty's stage fright, which affected her from the beginning of the show, grew worse as the show went on. 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. Its a tiny marvel, looking back, that the Golden Girls magnificent casting came together as well as it did. "[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. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. Blanche was probably around 50, Dorothy was likely in her late 40s, Rose was probably closer to 51, and Sophia was likely closer to 79. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. "[60] Anna Wyckoff of the Costume Designers Guild wrote, "Evans took the direction from the producers to create a vibrant look for the four mature leads, and ran with itredefining what 'dressing your age' looked like. 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. Your email address will not be published. [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 women in The Golden Girlsall have white, short hair styled in a way we often associate with older individuals. The cast of The Golden Girls, Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose, have been even further immortalised in two puppet parody shows Thank You For Being A Friend[110] and That Golden Girls Show: A Puppet Parody, both created by Australian screenwriter Thomas Duncan-Watt and producer Jonathan Rockefeller. She was just as uptight as a human being could get. Sophia was supposed to accompany her, but she ends up staying in Miami with the other females, which leads to the spin-off series, The Golden Palace. Their regular writer declined, so Witt asked his wife, Susan Harris,[24] who had been semiretired since the conclusion of their ABC series Soap. | I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. 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. 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? For one thing, it did pave the way for a new terrain. Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 17:40, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy, Lights, Motors, Action! It won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series and two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. 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. The show dealt with many controversial issues, such as coming out and same-sex marriage,[75] elder care, homelessness, poverty, HIV/AIDS and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, US immigration policy, sexual harassment, teenaged pregnancy, artificial insemination, adultery, bad medical care, sexism, miscegenation and interracial marriage, antisemitism, age discrimination, environmentalism, addiction to pain killers, problem gambling, nuclear war, death, and assisted suicide.[76]. 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. Blanche (played by Rue McClanahan) was thought to be around 47 years old in the first season of Golden Girls. Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper and Betty White as Ellen Harper-Jackson in the 1983 sitcom Mamas Family (Credit: NBC). In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. The series, starring Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan as four women sharing a Miami home, was an instant hit -- and eventually won all four of its stars Emmys. She'd be walking around like Pig-Pen, under a black cloud. Going by the math, that makes Blanche 53 at the start of the series. [68] Many episodes of the series followed a similar format or theme. Actress Elaine Stritch was also considered for the role, but she blew her audition by using curse words, which was something that the writers felt was out of character for Dorothy. The Golden Girls came to an end when Bea Arthur chose to leave the series. One such source is the actors who played the characters. [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. Clearly, the wardrobe and hairstyles in each show are extremely different from each other. One, while the characters ages on the show appeared to be quite. Bea Arthur was not a part of the main cast but did guest star in a double episode, reprising her role as Dorothy.[106]. New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews. On November 9, 2010, the studio released a complete-series box set titled The Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection. 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. Bea Arthur actually hated cheesecake. DO YOU LOVE SHOES? 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. It wasnt until she was informed of Roses naivety that she gained the confidence to play the role and pull off the character. 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. -- Thirty years ago today, "The Golden Girls" premiered on television. Betty White was actually the oldest Golden Girl. 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 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 Season 2, Episode 1, "End of the Curse," Blanche believes she is pregnant, and states she'll be 65 by the time the child graduates high school. 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. Betty White was 63 years old when the show premiered in 1985, yet she managed to play a younger persona perfectly. Gettleman says she suffered from advanced. Though Harris had created the character of Dorothy with a "Bea Arthur type" in mind, Littlefield and the producers initially envisioned actress Elaine Stritch for the part. 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. The show became a huge hit with viewers, thanks to its clever writing and strong performances by the four main stars. [4] In 2014, the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 69 in their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series of All Time". White, Betty (2010). The faade was based on a real house at 245 North Saltair Avenue in the Westgate Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. 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. How Old Were the Golden Girls? The pilot takes audio from the sitcom and sets it against a futuristic background inspired by The Jetsons. At some point, they would gather around the kitchen table and discuss the problem, sometimes late at night and often while eating cheesecake, ice cream, or some other dessert. Initially, the producers of the show had planned for Getty only to be a recurring guest. As of December 1, 2021, every episode was made available to stream on Disney+. Hurwitz later created Arrested Development for Fox and later for Netflix. As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale. Disney's Michael Eisner explains, "Estelle Getty made our three women into girls. In the original Sex and the City, Samatha Jones (Kim Cattrall) was in her late 40s/ early 50s, but Cattrall decided not to be a part of the reboot. 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. She would start getting under a dark cloud the day before tape day You could see a big difference in her that day. But what made the show golden were its stellar cast and the beloved characters they portrayed. This suggests that her character was likely around the same age. Getty was the first actress to be cast, and her role was intended to make the rest of the characters appear younger. [citation needed]. Levin had been suggested by then-NBC president Brandon Tartikoff based on Levin's groundbreaking portrayal of a recurring gay character, Eddie Gregg, on NBC's Emmy-winning drama Hill Street Blues. She passed away from Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) on July 22, 2008, at 84 years old. According to the math, Blanche was 53 at the start of the series. [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. However, her popularity with audiences caused Sophia to become a main character in the series. These ages seem to contradict what is stated in the show, suggesting that the characters may actually be younger than their stated ages. Airing from 1985 to 1992 with seven seasons in total, The Golden Girls was a smash hit during the entirety of its run. Sophia had her 50th birthday in April 1956, making her character 79 years old when the series premiered in 1985, according to a flashback scene in Season 2s , 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, Sophia then recounts to Dorothy the account of the night Dorothy was conceived in Season 3, Episode 5, Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself. Sophia claims it happened in 1931, so Dorothy was most likely born in 1932, based on her sign. We hope this article on how old were the golden girls has been interesting and has also been able to bring back good memories. 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]. The clever use of makeup and a wig aged Getty to match her character's age. 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. [55] Producers used this residence for exterior shots during the first two seasons. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. 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. 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. That means with a little digging, coming up with each Golden Girl's age is easy for a superfan. Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. [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. : Extreme Stunt Show attraction, later replaced by Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Dorothy was likely in her late 40s, rather than her early 50s. [6], The show features an ensemble cast and the plot revolves around four older single women (three widows and one divorce) sharing a house in Miami. Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai. An instant ratings hit, The Golden Girls became an NBC staple on Saturday nights. The story follows four older single women (three widows and one divorced) who share a home in Miami, Florida. Rose was probably closer to 51 than her stated age of 55, and Sophia was likely closer to 79 than her stated age of 77. [29][30], Walt Disney, NBC Studios and the creators were named in a federal copyright infringement suit filed by Nancy Bretzfield claiming the show was based on a script rejected by NBC in 1980. The Golden Girls are also dressed in cardigans or long dresses, similar to the outfits we would find in our grandmothers closet. [28], The pilot included a gay houseboy, Coco (Charles Levin), who lived with the girls. 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. It is interesting to note that the ages of the characters are never directly addressed in the show. When all of the evidence is taken into account, it seems likely that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. In Canada, Corus Entertainment's digital specialty channel, DejaView, aired reruns of The Golden Girls until 2017. Afterwards, Getty had returned to New York, but gained permission from her manager to return to California in early 1985. 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. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. In March 1997, the Lifetime cable network acquired the exclusive rights to repeat the episodes of The Golden Girls in the US until March 1, 2009. Season 2, Episode 25, "A Piece of Cake," reveals Sophia celebrated her 50th birthday in 1956, putting her at 79 at The Golden Girls' beginning. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. Betty White was famous in Hollywood for being a pioneer of television dating back to the 1950s. For instance, Blanche mentions in one episode that she was married in 1952, which would have made her 21 at the time. Getty came to Weiner's mind soon after, when it became time to begin casting of The Golden Girls. (season two, episode five). The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. After the pilot, the character of Coco was eliminated from the series. But one of the questions that has always been asked is: how old were the Golden Girls characters supposed to be? 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 . After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy. Maddy Hiltz is someone who loves all things history. [67], The Golden Girls was shot on videotape in front of a live studio audience. The ages of the Golden Girls were never revealed on TV. How Old Was Rose Nylund On Golden Girls? 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. Rose Nylund was 55 years old when the show premiered, as Dorothy stated in the Season 1 episode Job Hunting.. [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. [108] After the end of The Golden Palace, Getty joined the cast of Empty Nest, making frequent appearances as Sophia in the show's final two seasons. Based on the assumption that Season 1 and Season 2 took place in the same year, Rose would have been 55 at the start of The Golden Girls. 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). Rose even went to the trouble of looking up the information in official documents, only to discover that it had been removed by authorization of the governor.. 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. Sophia states it happened in 1931, making it likely Dorothy was born sometime in 1932, judging by her sign. 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. Audiences can figure things out with a little detective work. While RTL initially chose to cut some scenes for time, some of the gags remain incomprehensible for their broadcast and all subsequent reruns, only to be restored partially for the release of DVD in 2005. This means that she was 63 years old by the time the show premiered in 1985. Crypto Wallet Development: Types, Features, and Popularity, 5 Ways AI is Detecting and Preventing Identity Fraud. 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. McClanahan said, "Betty and I loved word games, and we would play word games every day,". She was said to have worn aged cosmetics in character to make her appear to be an eighty-something woman. In 2022, we no longer believe that women need to lose their purpose once they hit the big 5-0. For example, Betty White, who played Rose, was 76 when the show first aired and 80 when it ended. [58], The kitchen set seen on The Golden Girls was originally used on an earlier Witt/Thomas/Harris series, It Takes Two, which aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983. 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. Arthur felt the characters had been in every possible scenario, and wanted to end the series while it was still successful. Ironically, despite being the oldest actress in the show, Betty White was the last of the main stars to survive. 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. We assume that middle-aged women continue to live their lives working, partying, being mothers, or hanging with their friends. This indicates that she was likely in her late 40s when the show began. Cast alongside Rue McClanahan, she impressed the producers of The Golden Girls with her recurring role as Ellen in Mamas Family. Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). [43] Mitchell Hurwitz also served as writer for the show in its last two seasons. In Australia, the show airs daily on FOX Comedy. 2. Blanche lied to her housemates about her age so easily (and Sophia promptly called her out and said shed be 70 when the kid graduated), its reasonable to assume she was 53 when The Golden Girls premiered. At times, she even froze on camera while filming. Among all of the great roles she played over the course of her legendary career, the late, great Betty Whitewho passed away on Dec. 31, 2021, at the age of. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). The show was aired as a bilingual broadcast using a two-channel sound system (Zweikanalton). 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. It ran from September 1992 to May 1993 and also starred Cheech Marin and Don Cheadle. Rose is said to be in her mid-50s, suggesting that she was between 55 and 59. [7][8], The first episode features a cook/butler named Coco (played by Charles Levin), but the role was dropped before the second episode. 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 . As head writers, Speer and Grossman, along with Mort Nathan and Barry Fanaro, who won an Emmy Award for outstanding writing for the first season, gave general ideas to lower staff writers, and personally wrote a handful of scripts each season.[43]. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. Their hair also hasnt greyed (or is colored), and they style their hair in a more contemporary way. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television. The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms of all time. Although the writing was mostly comical, dramatic moments and sentimental endings were included in several episodes. She passed away in 2010, at the age of 76, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. 100 Black-Owned Businesses to Shop Now. "It was so exciting to be with four people with that chemistry. Ironically, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter, Dorothy. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Channel 4, Living and Disney Channel. Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers. Styles Plus, Sophia was a great cook. It had a total of 180 half-hour episodes across its seven seasons. RELATED: The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended. 5. The film Golden Girls was a critical and commercial triumph. 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. We will always remember Rue McClanahan, Betty White, Bea Arthur, and Estelle Getty for bringing joy into our lives and for being our friends. We didn't want the show to be about four dowdy ladies. The show ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992 and featured four women in their golden years living together in Miami. Writer and producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason created a sitcom with this kind of image as a "four women" show, which became Designing Women on CBS. "[34] Getty continuously battled stage fright during her tenure on the show. Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of Sandrich and switched roles at the last minute. Estelle Getty reprised her role as Sophia in The Golden Palace, which only lasted for one season. As such, this social belief is shown on our screens in the Sex and the City reboot, whereas Golden Girls portrayed societal norms of the 1980s. [52], The house's address was mentioned as being 6151 Richmond Street, Miami. Between 1973 and 1977 White made several appearances on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sue Ann Nivens, the snobby, man-obsessed supporting character. The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. As of September 8, 2021 all 7 seasons of The Golden Girls were made available to stream on Disney+ in Canada. Richard Vaczy and Tracy Gamble, previously writers on 227 and My Two Dads, also assumed the roles of producers and head writers. 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! "[62], Bea Arthur had a preference for wearing loose-fitting clothing, like slacks and long sweaters, along with sandals, because she hated wearing shoes.

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