Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. It is interesting to note that the ages of the characters are never directly addressed in the show. In the end, the math adds up to Dorothy being 53 at the start of the series and 60 at the series' end. 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. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be on the 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. The story follows four older single women (three widows and one divorced) who share a home in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. How Old Were the Golden Girls Characters Supposed to Be? For instance, in the series finale, it is revealed that Blanche was born in 1931, which would make her 54 at the beginning of the show. RELATED: Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams Is Iconic for Pushing Boundaries. 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. 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. It's a classic. 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. We can also look at other clues from the show itself. When the show initially aired, NBC took a chance. Sophia, Dorothys straight-talking mother, was the Golden Girls houses oldest figure. The film Golden Girls was a critical and commercial triumph. Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai. Born on January 17, 1922, Betty White was the oldest of the four main stars. 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). "[72], During the NBC upfronts, the preview screening of the show got a standing ovation. When all of the evidence is taken into account, it seems likely that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. 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. 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. In fact, the two were less than four months apart in age. We didn't want the show to be about four dowdy ladies. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. All four cast members got Emmy nominations for their roles in the Golden Girls. The show ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992 and featured four women in their golden years living together in Miami. In conclusion, the evidence suggests that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. Shoes Accessories, Copyright Your Next Shoes 2010 - 2023 |, The 9 Best Classic and Designer High Top Sneaker Brands, How to Spot Fake Converse Shoes: 10 Ways to Tell Real All Star Sneakers, Sabrina Carpenter Presents K-Pop Twice With Breakthrough Award in Racy Mini Dress Amidst Shawn Mendes Dating Rumors, The Cast of Creed III: What 7 Actors Look Like in Real Life, Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega Steal the Show at SAG Awards With Hilarious Deadpan Presentation, Next in Fashion Season 2 Cast: Gigi Hadid Promotes Netflix Show in 5 Stunning Outfits, Jessica Simpson Shares Adorable Photo With Mini-Me Daughter Birdie Mae on Instagram. [57], The show's designer, Ed Stephenson, took inspiration from his time living in Florida to design a "Florida look" for The Golden Girls house set. For simplicity's sake, each season is considered a separate year, as the show ran for seven seasons. [36] Once the show was picked up for a first season, new director Paul Bogart felt exactly the opposite, insisting that McClanahan use a Southern accent. "[34] Getty continuously battled stage fright during her tenure on the show. 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. 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. Lets see how each actress was cast in their respective roles and how their careers continued after the show concluded. Disney's Michael Eisner explains, "Estelle Getty made our three women into girls. 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. In any event, Arthur chose to commit to a seventh and final season. [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". 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 program is about four elderly ladies who live . 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. McClanahan deliberately exaggerated her accent, stating, "I played Blanche the way I felt Blanche. 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. As a tribute to the success of The Golden Girls, all four actresses were later named Disney Legends as part of the class of 2009.[78]. However, with some detective work, audiences can figure them out. Sue's personality as the perky housewife host on a fictional television station of the show . It was popular for addressing a demographic that rarely saw the spotlight on television or in Hollywood: senior women. Although Getty was impressive, the show's producers went with another actress. She is also the only living core cast member from the series. The Golden Girls: Live! How old were the ladies on golden girls in real life? Many episodes were edited to allow more commercials and for content. "[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. 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. The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. It was my positive attitude, and that made Bea angry sometimes.. [24], Shortly afterward, he met with producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, who were pitching a show about a female lawyer. 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. It wasnt until she was informed of Roses naivety that she gained the confidence to play the role and pull off the character. McClanahan said, "Betty and I loved word games, and we would play word games every day,". 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). Ellen Albertini Dow played Sophia's friend Lillian and an unnamed hospital patient with a flower cart. However, White and McClanahan wanted to play against their typecasting, so McClanahan was cast as Blanche instead. 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. McClanahan was 51 years old by the time The Golden Girls premiered, and she was 58 when it concluded. The hot young It Girl neighbor downstairsthe new Carrie Bradshaw if you will, a bruising realizationdrops the slur. [9], The pilot was taped on April 17, 1985.[10]. For one thing, it did pave the way for a new terrain. Sophia, Dorothy's straight-talking mother, was the oldest character in the Golden Girls' house. "[45], Estelle Getty's stage fright, which affected her from the beginning of the show, grew worse as the show went on. Life. Initially, White was considered for the role of Blanche Devereaux, which eventually went to Rue McClanahan. 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. Sophia was 86 by the series' end. [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. 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. 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]. Win free shoes, organize your shoe closet, see the latest styles + more, About She was especially intimidated by her co-stars, who were all higher profile actresses than she was. [11], Ideas for a comedy series about older women emerged during the filming of a television special at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, in August 1984. After the pilot, the character of Coco was eliminated from the series. 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. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. We assume that middle-aged women continue to live their lives working, partying, being mothers, or hanging with their friends. 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. From left to right- Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. However, this older age makes sense because Sophia is Dorothys mother. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Golden_Girls&oldid=1139544706, "Thank You for Being a Friend" (instrumental), "I was running all over the house grabbing anybody who would listen. For example, Betty White, who played Rose, was 76 when the show first aired and 80 when it ended. [7][8], The first episode features a cook/butler named Coco (played by Charles Levin), but the role was dropped before the second episode. 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. Rose's age is the easiest to track down, thanks to Dorothy openly saying it in Season 1, Episode 22, "Job Hunting." [41] To aid her retention, Getty tried hypnosis, and the show hired an assistant to run lines with her before taping; neither method worked. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television. The film Golden Girls was a critical and commercial triumph. 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. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. "[62], Bea Arthur had a preference for wearing loose-fitting clothing, like slacks and long sweaters, along with sandals, because she hated wearing shoes. If technically supported by the home television, this system allowed their audience to watch the show either in the dubbed German version (by default) or the original English version. One such source is the actors who played the characters. There was a lot of competition to get your words into the script. 2023 Wording Vibes - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP, Although the womens ages were rarely disclosed, some deductive work may be used to, The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. 8 Silk Pillowcases for Your Best Beauty Sleep. 4. However, with some detective work, audiences can figure them out. The film featured five episodes from the show: "The Pilot", "The Flu", "The Way We Met", "Ladies of the Evening" and "Grab That Dough". Arthur was born on May 13, 1922, making her the second oldest actress in the main cast. [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. The show became a huge hit with viewers, thanks to its clever writing and strong performances by the four main stars. 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. Afterwards, Getty had returned to New York, but gained permission from her manager to return to California in early 1985. Your email address will not be published. Mulligan and Manoff were alumni from one of Susan Harris' earlier shows, Soap. 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. 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). However, her popularity with audiences caused Sophia to become a main character in the series. Sarah Jessica Parker and Betty White, both of whom play a 55-year-old woman. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. 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 joined the cast as Rose Nylund, a Norwegian-American hailing from St. Olaf, Minnesota. In Southeast Asia, Rewind Networks began airing reruns of The Golden Girls on its HD channel, HITS, in 2013. It could also be because the show was trying to emphasize the idea that age is just a number and that life does not end at a certain age. Sophia, Dorothys straight-talking mother, was the Golden Girls houses oldest figure. 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. Colucci, Jim (2016). On November 15, 2005, Warner Home Video released The Golden Girls: A Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series on DVD which contains a separate biography of Arthur, White, McClanahan and Getty, revealing each woman's background, rise to stardom and private life, which originally aired on Lifetime network between June 2000 and January 2003. The classic NBC comedy The Golden Girls broke boundaries with its cast of four older women, a representation that was previously lacking on television. 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. 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. 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. These ages seem to contradict what is stated in the show, suggesting that the characters may actually be younger than their stated ages. 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. This would mean that Dorothy, who was born in 1938, would have been around 47 when the show started. 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. [31] The suit was later settled. 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. Bea Arthur was not a part of the main cast but did guest star in a double episode, reprising her role as Dorothy.[106]. [81], Forever Golden: A Celebration of The Golden Girls released in select movie theaters across North America via Fathom Events on September 14, 2021, marking the show's 36th anniversary. 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. 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. As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale. Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of Sandrich and switched roles at the last minute. The wooden accents, columns, and doors were painted to mimic bald cypress wood, popular in South Florida homes, with rattan furniture and tropical-printed upholstery chosen for the furniture. The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended, Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams Is Iconic for Pushing Boundaries. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. [69] One of the other girls then told a story from her own life, which somehow related to the problem (though Rose occasionally regaled the others with a nonsense story that had nothing to do with the situation, and Sophia told outrageous, made-up stories). The show was aired as a bilingual broadcast using a two-channel sound system (Zweikanalton). How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be? In Germany, airing of the show started in January 1990, only months before the German reunification, by German public broadcaster ARD in the late evening programme on their main channel Das Erste. Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kristen Davis in And Just Like That. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). [74] The show was the anchor of NBC's Saturday line-up, and almost always won its time slot, as ABC and CBS struggled to find shows to compete against it, the most notable being ABC's Lucille Ball sitcom Life With Lucy in the beginning of the 198687 season although it aired at 8:00, an hour earlier. Initially, the producers of the show had planned for Getty only to be a recurring guest. Please endeavor to share this article with family, friends, and colleagues. 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. Characters from both shows made occasional crossover guest appearances on the other show, with the four girls guesting on Empty Nest and Mulligan, Dinah Manoff, Kristy McNichol, David Leisure, and Park Overall appearing on The Golden Girls in their Empty Nest roles. Dorothy was likely in her late 40s, rather than her early 50s. The series finale of The Golden Girls was watched by 27.2 million viewers. Every episode of The Golden Girls was made available to stream on Hulu on February 13, 2017. Did Rue McClanahan have a Southern accent? Contact Us Dorothy, meanwhile, is stated to be in her early 50s, which could mean that she was anywhere between 50 and 54. 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. She had established this signature look while playing Maude, and Evans honored it in her designs for Dorothy. Social norms regarding women in their fifties have also changed since Golden Girls premiered. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. In the hour-long series finale, which aired in May 1992, Dorothy meets and marries Blanche's uncle Lucas (Leslie Nielsen) and moves to Hollingsworth Manor in Atlanta. The show never approached the popularity or acclaim of the original, and ranked 57th[citation needed] in the annual ratings. By tape day, she was unreachable. 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. In an interview with The Village Voice in 2011, White stated that Arthur found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Blanche Devereaux, Dorothy Zbornak, and Sophia Petrillo managed the single life as seniors in Miami for seven seasons. The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms 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. Crypto Wallet Development: Types, Features, and Popularity, 5 Ways AI is Detecting and Preventing Identity Fraud. In Australia, the show airs daily on FOX Comedy. The doorway from the living room, with the alcove and baker's shelf just inside, was designed to give the illusion that the actors were walking into and out of the kitchen. (Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? The pilot takes audio from the sitcom and sets it against a futuristic background inspired by The Jetsons. Then, in Season 3, Episode 5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself," Sophia tells Dorothy the story of the night Dorothy was conceived. Luckily, Susan Harris didnt lose her spark after Soap concluded, as she included much of the humor and sharp wit that made Soap popular in The Golden Girls as well. Rose, who was born in 1934, would have been around 51, while Sophia, who was born in 1906, would have been 79. : 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! In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. She thought an accentuated Southern accent would be sexy and strong and attractive to men. 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. Blanche Elizabeth Marie Devereaux (ne Hollingsworth) is one of the four, fictional, main characters on the highly-acclaimed, revered, and well-received 1985-1992 NBC situation-comedy/sit-com TV series, The Golden Girls, and its spin-off, The Golden Palace. 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. She expressed that she would not continue if changes were not made, but changes were made and jokes regarding Dorothy's physique appeared less often. By Zachary Guida Jan 31, 2023 10 Ways Audience Popularity Gave TV Characters Greater Roles I kept reading scenes to them and saying, 'God, this is brilliant [] There's nothing trendy about this show. [54] The model used for exterior shots of the house from the third season through the end of the series was part of the backstage studio tour ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper and Betty White as Ellen Harper-Jackson in the 1983 sitcom Mamas Family (Credit: NBC).