Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Bea Arthur as the beloved main cast of the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). She was just as uptight as a human being could get. In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. 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. New York: Harper Collins. Blanche Devereauxs age had been a mystery and a recurrent joke for most of the Golden Girls, and it had been saved until last. She joined the show after Estelle Getty, who was the first actress to be cast in The Golden Girls. 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. 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 series also ranked among the Nielsen ratings' top ten for six of its seven seasons. 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). White, Betty (2010). 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. "[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. When Arthur first received the script for The Golden Girls, she loved the concept of having senior women as the stars of the show. 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. Rue McClanahan is the youngest Golden Girl! "[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. 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. 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. She was born on July 25, 1923, making her 62 years old by the time the sitcom premiered. (Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Although Sophia appears to be much older than the other girls in the show, Getty was actually younger than both Bea Arthur and Betty White. ISBN978-0-06-242290-3. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. dog | 281K views, 6.6K likes, 7.7K loves, 9.7K comments, 2.9K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from AMC Princess Ana - Team AMC Ana: This is Ana's FIRST. [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. Reportedly, a second season was approved before being cancelled the day before the network announced its 199394 schedule. [50] She had reportedly started to show signs of the dementia during the filming of the television series, when, despite more than three decades of theater work, she began to struggle to remember her lines, and in later seasons of the show, had to rely on cue cards. How to Start a Fire in Dayz A Comprehensive Guide, How to Be More Ladylike: Speak Softly, Dress Modestly, Carry Yourself with Grace, How to Eat Babka: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners, How to Wire a Weed Eater: A Step-by-Step Guide. [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. 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." [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. Getty was the first actress to be cast, and her role was intended to make the rest of the characters appear younger. Please endeavor to share this article with family, friends, and colleagues. It was my positive attitude, and that made Bea angry sometimes.. 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. How Does PTO Work for Salaried Employees? As a result, new viewers are becoming aware of the show. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. She would return home to New York if she were unsuccessful. 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. Sarah Jessica Parker and Betty White, both of whom play a 55-year-old woman. On the other hand, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is 55 in Just Like That, while Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristen Davis) are both supposed to be 54 years old. We assume that middle-aged women continue to live their lives working, partying, being mothers, or hanging with their friends. After the pilot, the character of Coco was eliminated from the series. Advertise She'd be walking around like Pig-Pen, under a black cloud. Rose, who was born in 1934, would have been around 51, while Sophia, who was born in 1906, would have been 79. That was the case. However, with some detective work, audiences can figure them out. 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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. Their fears were allayed when the preview screening garnered a standing ovation and the program was instantly renewed for 12 more Golden Girls episodes. [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. She joined the cast as Rose Nylund, a Norwegian-American hailing from St. Olaf, Minnesota. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. The series finale of The Golden Girls was watched by 27.2 million viewers. 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. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that these ages may not be accurate. 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. 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. The shows executives were unsure how the public would react to the eccentric program because older women in leading roles were rarely seen on television. 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. Born on January 17, 1922, Betty White was the oldest of the four main stars. The golden girls trivia is the most exciting series we have created for those who love comedy. Jan 31, 2023 Movie Features Harry Potter: Wait, How Are Bellatrix and Leta Lestrange Related? [39] In 2011, White stated that she believed it was her "positive attitude" and perky demeanor that got on Arthur's nerves. 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. It was, however, more than a fringe, Its a tiny marvel, looking back, that the Golden Girls magnificent casting came together as well as it did. 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. Its probable it examined a lot of the same scenarios as previous episodes. Empty Nest launched its own spin-off in 1991 set in Miami in the same hospital where Dr. Weston worked. Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE, Heres How the Royal Family Gets Its Money, These 12 Cities Have Changed A Lot Over Time, Police arrest a 72-year-old suburban grandfather suspected of being the Golden State Killer, Im not dead yet: some Buddhist monks followed self-mummification, Project Azorian: Howard Hughes secret mission, 1960s U.S. satellite that started transmitting again in 2013, The Walk of Shame in Game of Thrones historical inspiration, The only unsolved skyjacking case in U.S. history might have a break, Kurt Gdel became too paranoid to eat and died of starvation, Little Ease: One of the most feared torture devices in the Tower of London, The humble English girl who became Cora Pearl, Walt Disney softened the original Snow White story. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. Rue McClanahan. In the end, the math adds up to Dorothy being 53 at the start of the series and 60 at the series' end. Ironically, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter, Dorothy. 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! For simplicity's sake, each season is considered a separate year, as the show ran for seven seasons. Arguably the main protagonist of the show, Blanche Devereaux is portrayed by Rue McClanahan. Betty White was 63 years old when the show premiered in 1985, yet she managed to play a younger persona perfectly. Interestingly enough, Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright and would often freeze on camera during the filming of The Golden Girls. The part of Sophia Petrillo was the first of the four roles to be cast. 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. 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.