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. [35], Hired to shoot the pilot, director Jay Sandrich also became instrumental in helping to cast the roles of Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund. In Australia, the show airs daily on FOX Comedy. Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers. 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. 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. Starring actress Hodge left after two seasons, David Rasche joined the cast at the start of the second season, and Loni Anderson was added as the new hospital administrator in the third. Getty came to Weiner's mind soon after, when it became time to begin casting of The Golden Girls. Dorothy, meanwhile, is stated to be in her early 50s, which could mean that she was anywhere between 50 and 54. Win free shoes, organize your shoe closet, see the latest styles + more, About October 8, 2022 According to evidence presented by the ladies themselves during the first year of the show, Sophia is 80 years old, Rose is 55 years old, and Blanche is 50 years old. Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. Please endeavor to share this article with family, friends, and colleagues. [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. That means with a little digging, coming up with each Golden Girl's age is easy for a superfan. This was the first time since 1993 that The Golden Palace was seen on American television. 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! [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. 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 . The producers of The Golden Girls decided to cast Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan after seeing them act alongside each other in shows like Maude (1972-1978) and Mamas Family (1983-1984). Rose Nylund is a character from the sitcom television series The Golden Girls and its spin-off, The Golden Palace. They decided that a separate cook would distract from their friendship. We can also look at other clues from the show itself. 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. 4. 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. This would mean that Dorothy, who was born in 1938, would have been around 47 when the show started. 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. The majority of sitcoms in the period centered on either families or teenagers. 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. She was also impressed by Getty's audition for the role of the mother of Steven Keaton (played by actor Michael Gross) for a guest episode of Family Ties. Their regular writer declined, so Witt asked his wife, Susan Harris,[24] who had been semiretired since the conclusion of their ABC series Soap. 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. 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 company expected the show to appeal to older female viewers. Both the Hallmark Channel and WE tv picked-up the reruns in March 2009. [52], The house's address was mentioned as being 6151 Richmond Street, Miami. In "And Just Like That", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. Who was the youngest Golden Girl cast member? 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. Sophia was 86 by the series' end. "[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. 1. This means that she was 63 years old by the time the show premiered in 1985. This indicates that Sophia was likely close to her real-life age. 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 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. Bea Arthur actually hated cheesecake. 'The Golden Girls' and 'SATC' reboot characters are the same age - ajc 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. 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. The show ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992 and featured four women in their golden years living together in Miami. (Photo Credit: New Line Cinema/ HBO/ MovieStills DB and MovieStills DB). FIRST TIME meeting her service dog!!! | dog | This is Ana's FIRST TIME That was the case. 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. She was said to have worn aged cosmetics in character to make her appear to be an eighty-something woman. Because none of the other Golden Girls explicitly disclose their ages, the logical process begins with Dorothy. Rue McClanahan. Reportedly, White doubted that she could effectively play the role of Rose. 8 Silk Pillowcases for Your Best Beauty Sleep. 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 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. It won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series and two. McClanahan insisted on the character having a thick Southern accent, a popular aspect of her character throughout the show. [52][53] Debbie Reynolds was brought on as a guest star in the season six episode "There Goes the Bride: Part 2" to test her chemistry with the other actresses as a possible replacement for Arthur, but producers decided that nobody could replicate the chemistry of the four original actresses. 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. [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. It is interesting to note that the ages of the characters are never directly addressed in the show. For instance, Blanche mentions in one episode that she was married in 1952, which would have made her 21 at the time. 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. This could be because the writers wanted to create an atmosphere of timelessness or to emphasize the idea that age is just a number. For, That was the case. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? 100 Black-Owned Businesses to Shop Now. Empty Nest launched its own spin-off in 1991 set in Miami in the same hospital where Dr. Weston worked. 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. consisted of two back-to-back episodes of the sitcom: "Break-In" (season one, episode eight) and "Isn't It Romantic?" This suggests that her character was likely around the same age. She was portrayed by Betty White for 8 years, totalling 204 episodes.. Rose was supposed to be played by Rue McClanahan, while Blanche Devereaux, one of Rose's roommates, was to be played by White.However, Jay Sandrich, the director of the show, suggested that Betty and Rue switch . [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. Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). Shopping Guide 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. 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. She had established this signature look while playing Maude, and Evans honored it in her designs for Dorothy. 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. 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. [41], The show was the second television series to be produced by the Walt Disney Company under the Touchstone Television label, and was subsequently distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. (which holds as the ownership stake in Disney Channel Southeast Asia, now DisneyABC Television Group). When the show initially aired, NBC took a chance. Ellen Albertini Dow played Sophia's friend Lillian and an unnamed hospital patient with a flower cart. She is passionate about Princess Diana, the Titanic, the Romanovs, and Egypt amongst other things. 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. 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. The Golden Girls are also dressed in cardigans or long dresses, similar to the outfits we would find in our grandmothers closet. Every episode of The Golden Girls was made available to stream on Hulu on February 13, 2017. 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. "[34] Getty continuously battled stage fright during her tenure on the show. 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. 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. Reportedly, a second season was approved before being cancelled the day before the network announced its 199394 schedule. Contact Us Though Littlefield nixed their idea, he asked if they would be interested in delivering a pilot script for Miami Nice, instead. [51], During season six, some uncertainty arose over whether Bea Arthur would commit to future seasons, or leave the show once her contract expired, to pursue other projects. 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. Advertise [42], Creator Susan Harris went on to contribute another four episodes to the first season, but became less involved with the sitcom throughout its run; she continued reading all scripts, however, and remained familiar with most of the storylines. 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. When Arthur first received the script for The Golden Girls, she loved the concept of having senior women as the stars of the show. Initially, White was considered for the role of Blanche Devereaux, which eventually went to Rue McClanahan. 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? [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. Arthur felt the characters had been in every possible scenario, and wanted to end the series while it was still successful. Arthur flipped upon reading the script, but felt hesitant about McClanahan's approach, as she did not "want to play (their Maude characters) Maude and Vivian meet Sue Ann Nivens." Crypto Wallet Development: Types, Features, and Popularity, 5 Ways AI is Detecting and Preventing Identity Fraud. Ironically, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter, Dorothy. For example, Betty White, who played Rose, was 76 when the show first aired and 80 when it ended. The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms of all time. 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. Richard Vaczy and Tracy Gamble, previously writers on 227 and My Two Dads, also assumed the roles of producers and head writers. ", This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 17:40. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television. 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. Blanche (played by Rue McClanahan) was thought to be around 47 years old in the first season of Golden Girls. [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. Apparently, writer Susan Harris envisioned a Bea Arthur type when conceptualizing the character of Dorothy. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be on the show? How old were the golden girl actresses during filming? Gettleman says she suffered from advanced. 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. Its a tiny marvel, looking back, that the Golden Girls magnificent casting came together as well as it did. New York: Scribner. RELATED: The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended. DO YOU LOVE SHOES? : Extreme Stunt Show, discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, List of awards and nominations received by The Golden Girls, "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time", Golden Girls appears to get better with pop culture age, "7 Things You Might Not Know About The Golden Girls", "The Golden Girls - Cast/Crew Documentary (2/9)", "These Are the Most-Watched TV Series Finales of All Time: 17", "The TV Ratings Guide: 1987-1988 season ratings", "Golden Girls: A 20th Anniversary Oral History", "Catching Up with the Golden Girls' Susan Harris", "Crackle's Creator Conversation: Soap's Susan Harris", The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, "Betty White and Bea Arthur's Friends Open Up About Their On-Set Feud", "Say It Isn't So, Girls! The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. 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. She would return home to New York if she were unsuccessful. Arguably the main protagonist of the show, Blanche Devereaux is portrayed by Rue McClanahan. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. Betty Whites heartbreaking final post on her Instagram with the caption: My 100th birthday I cannot believe it is coming up, and People Magazine is celebrating with me! (Credit: Betty Whites Instagram). All the lead actresses won Emmy awards for their performances on the show. However, her popularity with audiences caused Sophia to become a main character in the series. On the other hand, the women in And Just Like That dress in a trendy, modern style. Blanche was 17 in 1949, according to Season 3, Episode 25, Mothers Day, when she and her mother reminisce about one of Blanches dates. 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. But what made the show golden were its stellar cast and the beloved characters they portrayed. We hope this article on how old were the golden girls has been interesting and has also been able to bring back good memories. 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. Afterwards, Getty had returned to New York, but gained permission from her manager to return to California in early 1985. McClanahan was 51 years old by the time The Golden Girls premiered, and she was 58 when it concluded. One such source is the actors who played the characters. This suggests that she was likely in her early 50s when the show began. The golden girls trivia is the most exciting series we have created for those who love comedy. (Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Arthur and White worked well together in shared mutual respect, but they did not pursue a personal friendship with one another outside of The Golden Girls set. As one of the few times in television history where three shows from the same producer, set in the same city, aired back-to-back-to-back on the same network, the three shows occasionally took advantage of their unique circumstance to create storylines carrying through all three series, such as "Hurricane Saturday". Rose is said to be in her mid-50s, suggesting that she was between 55 and 59. Chick Vennera played a prize fighter and TV reporter Enrique Mas. [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. Estelle Getty portrayed the role of Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthurs character). [62] Evans generally dressed the actresses in expensive pieces and high-quality fabrics, despite the recurring theme that the four characters were struggling with money, because, "The main idea was to make them look good. McClanahan and White were friends on- and off-screen. The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. 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]. Designing Women began competing against The Golden Girls. Getty was picky about the jokes Sophia would make. 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. How Does PTO Work for Salaried Employees? Privacy Policy, Brands 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 . In the first season of Golden Girls, it is revealed that Rose (Betty White's character) was 55. There are no tricks. [24], Shortly afterward, he met with producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, who were pitching a show about a female lawyer. [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". 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. 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. To portray Sophia Petrillo, Getty was required to wear makeup and a wig to appear visibly older than her co-stars. [55] Producers used this residence for exterior shots during the first two seasons. 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. [5] Terry Tang of the Associated Press reported that the series continues to attract new fans in the 21st century and characterized it as an example of a sitcom that has aged well. Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Bea Arthur as the beloved main cast of the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). [3] In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. Then, in Season 3, Episode 5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself," Sophia tells Dorothy the story of the night Dorothy was conceived. As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale. The film featured five episodes from the show: "The Pilot", "The Flu", "The Way We Met", "Ladies of the Evening" and "Grab That Dough". The show was aired as a bilingual broadcast using a two-channel sound system (Zweikanalton). How old were the ladies on golden girls in real life? This could be because the writers wanted to create an atmosphere of timelessness, allowing the show to appeal to viewers of all ages. She joined the show after Estelle Getty, who was the first actress to be cast in The Golden Girls. 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. 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." From left to right- Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls. [70][self-published source?] [28], The pilot included a gay houseboy, Coco (Charles Levin), who lived with the girls. Bea Arthur was not a part of the main cast but did guest star in a double episode, reprising her role as Dorothy.[106]. 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. In the first season of Golden Girls, it is revealed that Rose (Betty Whites character) was 55. She was born on July 25, 1923, making her 62 years old by the time the sitcom premiered. At times, she even froze on camera while filming. The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. Rue McClanahan was the youngest of the Golden Girls, according to Parade. I think we pushed that [the jokes about Arthur's appearance] a little bit far and I think she let it be known she didn't love that.