Stage Fright for Estelle Getty
Estelle Getty played Sophia on the show, and she was the least experienced of the four. In fact, it reportedly led to her getting terrified before every performance because she believed the audience knew she was faking it.
Stage Fright for Estelle Getty
Recycled Set
Most people don’t know the show’s kitchen set was actually created for It Takes Two. It was re-outfitted with different wallpaper to create a tropical theme. Since It Takes Two ran only for one season, it made sense to repurpose it, and this time around was a lot more successful.
Recycled Set
Bea Arthur Didn’t Like Her Wardrobe
Bea Arthur used to always complain that her ears hurt after a long day of filming, but why? It’s because she always had to wear large earrings. In fact, she used clip-ons because her ears weren’t pierced, and she didn’t want them to be.
Bea Arthur Didn’t Like Her Wardrobe
Rue McClanahan Kept Blanche’s Clothing
A huge part of why Rue McClanahan liked her character on the show so much was because she wore many glamorous outfits. Therefore, she had a contract written so that she could keep the wardrobe after filming!
Rue McClanahan Kept Blanche’s Clothing
Planning for a Butler
The pilot episode had a personal chef and maid for the women, but the character got cut. If you remember, he was a homosexual, and that’s probably the reason as it was a different time. The writers knew the dialogue would be mostly in the kitchen and didn’t want anyone to detract from the girls.
Planning for a Butler
Controversial Episodes
In today’s world of television, talking about abortion, gay marriage, and sex is commonplace. However, in the 1980s, those were very controversial topics. That honest dialogue put the show ahead its time, and looking back it was quite daring for them to go there.
Controversial Episodes
Differing Roles
Could you see Betty White playing Blanche or Rue McClanahan being Rose? These actresses were cast for different parts, agreeing to switch. It’s said they wanted to branch out and try new things, and it worked!
Differing Roles
Bea Isn’t Liked
Bea Arthur was hard to work with, and every woman had a fight with her, but Betty White had many. Betty said that Bea wasn’t fond of her and thought she was a pain in the neck because of her positive attitude.
Bea Isn’t Liked
Bea – Civil Rights Activist
Though Bea was hard to work with, she was passionate about her off-screen work. She vocally supported women’s rights, the homeless, the elderly, Jews, and the LGBTQ community. When she passed, she left some of her estate to the LGBTQ youth.
Bea – Civil Rights Activist
Bea Loved Animals
While Bea Arthur was passionate about her charitable work, it didn’t end with humans. In fact, she was an advocate for animal rights and joined PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.)
Bea Loved Animals
Betty White for Animals
It’s true that Bea Arthur and Betty White didn’t always agree on everything, but they sure thought protecting animals was important. Both women were animal rights activists and enthusiastic in their work.
Betty White for Animals
Guinness World Record
Betty White started in television in 1939, and she continued working up until her death in 2021. According to Guinness World Records, she holds the world record for longest TV career ever. She never stopped working and enjoying life!
Guinness World Record
Estelle Is Younger Than You Think
Though Estelle played Sophia, Dorothy’s mother, on the show, Getty was actually a year younger than Bea! Estelle was born in 1923, but Arthur was actually born in 1922!
Estelle Is Younger Than You Think
Estelle for Gay Rights
It seems all the ladies on the show were passionate about something, and Estelle focused on gay rights. She lost her nephew, who was gay, to AIDs, and that got her pushing for more AIDs research.
Estelle for Gay Rights
Betty on Game Shows
Betty White often played word games with co-stars between takes of The Golden Girls. In the 1950s and 1960s, White was on many game shows, such as Password, which is where she met Allen Ludden, her husband, in 1961.
Betty on Game Shows
Estelle with a Face Lift
Between seasons of the show, Estelle Getty decided to get a facelift to look younger. However, that caused a problem with the makeup department because they had to work harder to make her appear much older!
Estelle with a Face Lift
Over 60 Emmys
The Golden Girls ran through seven whole series, which got them a whopping 68 Emmy nominations. They brought home the Outstanding Comedy Series awards in ’86 and ’87!
Over 60 Emmys
Whole Bunch of Emmys
Throughout the years, each of the actresses won an Emmy for a performance. Estelle Getty and Betty White got seven nominations apiece, but McClanahan and Arthur got four each. In total, the show earned 11 Emmy Awards!
Whole Bunch of Emmys
Betty Made It to 2021
Betty White survived the longest of the gang, passing away in 2021. However, Estelle passed in 2008 because of Lewy Body Dementia. Rue McClanahan suffered from a brain hemorrhage in 2010 that took her life, and Bea Arthur was diagnosed with cancer, dying in 2008.
Betty Made It to 2021
Queen Mother for the Win
The Queen Mother was a huge fan of the show and actually invited the cast to perform in England in 1988. You simply can’t refuse when Queen Elizabeth II’s mother asks you to come to the country, and all four women were honored to do so.
Queen Mother for the Win
Hated Cheesecake
How many problems were solved in the kitchen with a cheesecake on the show? Hundreds of them! Though they ate a lot of the sugary treat, Bea Arthur said that she didn’t like it. Could you imagine eating all that cheesecake and hating it?!
Hated Cheesecake
Speaking Norwegian
Rose Nylund is of Norwegian descent, so she often used words no one understood when she spoke. However, Betty White simply uttered some gibberish because she didn’t speak the language. Most viewers had no clue!
Speaking Norwegian
Bea Didn’t Want to Join
Bea Arthur wasn’t a fan of The Golden Girls initially because she thought the women’s roles were too similar to what they did in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude. However, she came on board when McClanahan and White switched roles.
Bea Didn’t Want to Join
The Password
Betty White absolutely loved Password, a game show on television at the time. It inspired Rue McClanahan, as well, so the two would often spend a day playing the game when they could.
The Password
Betty the Oldest
On the show, Rose was actually the youngest of the four. However, that wasn’t true in real life. Betty White was the oldest actress and was born on January 17, 1922. Isn’t that funny?!
Betty the Oldest
Table and Chairs
There are four women on the show, but the kitchen table had just three chairs. The producers didn’t like a character having her back to the camera. When a fourth chair was needed, they’d pull up the stool and sit on it.
Table and Chairs
More Emmy History
Since all four of these leading ladies got an Emmy at one point or another, The Golden Girls is in a class all its own. There were only two other shows where all the main characters won Emmys: Will & Grace and All in the Family.
More Emmy History
Real-life Inspiration
The show’s inspiration came from Brandon Tartikoff, the NBC producer. He visited his aunt, and her neighbor popped in for a visit. The women constantly bickered, but they shared love and a unique connection. That helped inspire The Golden Girls.
Real-life Inspiration
Name Confusion
In one episode, “Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy,” Blanche’s name was said to be Blanch Marie Hollingsworth. However, in another episode later, she said her name was Blanche Elizabeth Deveraux. No one explained this discrepancy to the viewers.
Name Confusion
Eisner Wanted Changes
Michael Eisner, Disney’s president, loved the show’s idea, but he said there should be a younger female for appeal ratings. Writers added Sophia and Dorothy. The Golden Girls was ready for action after that!
Eisner Wanted Changes
International Sensation
The show was a massive success in the US, and it spanned over 60 other countries, as well. Versions of The Golden Girls were made in Greece, Russia, and England. In fact, it runs in syndication and streams on Hulu today!
International Sensation
Out of This World
Do you remember the episode where Blanche asks to watch Another World? That was the soap opera Rue McClanahan worked on, and it was included as a nod to her older fans from before The Golden Girls.
Out of This World
Off-Broadway Production
The Golden Girls: Live! began running in 2003, and it was an all-male production of this show. It drew the attention of Susan Harris, the TV show’s original creator, and she demanded they stop production. A few months later, it did.
Off-Broadway Production
Racism
Sophia had had a stroke before the show began, so the writers believed it would be safer and easier to give her controversial and racist lines. It could be explained away as a result of her condition. It was immoral but effective at the time. We don’t think they’d be able to get away with that today.
Racism
Coming Up Roses
Rose Nylund was a very well-received character on The Golden Girls. In fact, it pushed Betty White farther into fame because previously she made many guest appearances on other shows, such as The Golden Palace (1992), Nurses (1991), and Empty Nest (1988), but this was one of her biggest roles throughout her career.
Coming Up Roses
Whole Bunch of People
Everyone wants a ton of viewers for the first episode of a new show, and The Golden Girls received 25 million viewers. In seven years, those numbers didn’t go down much at all. In fact, it remained in the top 10 television shows for ratings until the final season, when it dropped to number 30.
Whole Bunch of People
No Southern Accent
Blanche hadn’t been written into the script with a Southern accent when the producers started working on The Golden Girls. However, Rue began using it unexpectedly, and everyone loved the charm for the character, so it stuck!
No Southern Accent
Born for Dorothy
Bea initially turned down the Dorothy part, and the producers tried to find someone like her. When White and McClanahan reversed their roles, Arthur thought it would be a hit. It’s said that Rue called Bea and asked why she’d turn down a hit script!
Born for Dorothy
Betty’s Age
Most people don’t realize that Betty White was 63 years old when The Golden Girls first debuted in 1985. She played Rose Nylund, the youngest of the four women. White made it to 99 years old, dying less than a month before her 100th birthday.
Betty’s Age
Other Ages
Bea Arthur was also 63 when the show premiered in 1985. However, Estelle Getty was 62 at the time. This is quite comical because Getty played Arthur’s mother on the show. Then, we have Rue McClanahan, who was actually 51 when the show aired.
Other Ages
