At least two females were forced to change roles! It had a total of 180 half-hour episodes across its seven seasons. 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. Blanche (played by Rue McClanahan) was thought to be around 47 years old in the first season of Golden Girls. She would return home to New York if she were unsuccessful. [24] Produced to introduce the network's 198485 season schedule, two actresses appearing on NBC shows, Selma Diamond of Night Court and Doris Roberts of Remington Steele, appeared in a skit promoting the upcoming show Miami Vice as Miami Nice, a parody about old people living in Miami. : 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 sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. Sarah Jessica Parker and Betty White, both of whom play a 55-year-old woman. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be on the show? Its probable it examined a lot of the same scenarios as previous episodes. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? Blanche was inspired by the popular fictional characters Blanche DuBois (from A Streetcar Named Desire, a famous 1947 Broadway play written by Tennessee Williams) and Vivien Leigh, who portrayed the same character in the 1951 film adaptation alongside Marlon Brando. For simplicity, because the program lasted seven seasons, each season is treated as a different year for the purpose of simplicity. This means that she was 63 years old by the time the show premiered in 1985. 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. 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 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. Life. 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 Are The Same Age As The Characters In The SATC Reboot 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. 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. We can also look at other clues from the show itself. Required fields are marked *. 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. At the age of 86, Bea Arthur passed away from lung cancer in April 2009. The film featured five episodes from the show: "The Pilot", "The Flu", "The Way We Met", "Ladies of the Evening" and "Grab That Dough". 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 . Initially, the producers of the show had planned for Getty only to be a recurring guest. The clever use of makeup and a wig aged Getty to match her character's age. Arthur felt the characters had been in every possible scenario, and wanted to end the series while it was still successful. However, it did so from a very different perspective. Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper and Betty White as Ellen Harper-Jackson in the 1983 sitcom Mamas Family (Credit: NBC). 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. The program is about four elderly ladies who live . 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. [39] In 2011, White stated that she believed it was her "positive attitude" and perky demeanor that got on Arthur's nerves. In 2022, we no longer believe that women need to lose their purpose once they hit the big 5-0. Whatever the reason, it is clear that the Golden Girls are truly ageless. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. Please endeavor to share this article with family, friends, and colleagues. 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. 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. The film Golden Girls was a critical and commercial triumph. 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. In "The Golden . 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. Arguably the main protagonist of the show, Blanche Devereaux is portrayed by Rue McClanahan. In any event, Arthur chose to commit to a seventh and final season. 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. Harold Gould played two of Rose's boyfriends, Arnie and Miles. 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. She thought an accentuated Southern accent would be sexy and strong and attractive to men. Interestingly enough, Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright and would often freeze on camera during the filming of The Golden Girls. We hope this article on how old were the golden girls has been interesting and has also been able to bring back good memories. As of September 15, 2021, every episode was made available to stream on Disney+ in Germany and Austria. Sophia was never afraid to admit how old she was, often using it to her advantage over the other women in the house. 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. However, this older age makes sense because Sophia is Dorothys mother. 'The Golden Girls': Who Was the Oldest Golden Girl - Outsider 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. The part of Sophia Petrillo was the first of the four roles to be cast. [82], Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released all seven seasons, with edits, of The Golden Girls on DVD in Region 1 and Region 4 with the first four being released in Region 2. 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. [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. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. 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. This suggests that she was likely in her early 50s when the show began. [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. 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. 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. Gettleman says she suffered from advanced. 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. [9], The pilot was taped on April 17, 1985.[10]. was an off-Broadway show that opened in the summer of 2003 in New York City at Rose's Turn theater in the West Village, and ran until November of that year. The Golden Girls came to an end when Bea Arthur chose to leave the series. In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. Bea Arthur actually hated cheesecake. [45][46] The cast often had to stay behind after the audience had departed to redo scenes where Getty had flubbed her lines, and although this was at first met with resistance from the producers, cue cards were eventually introduced to help her. However, she wasn't much older than Bea Arthur. How Old Was Rose Nylund On Golden Girls? 3. 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 women in The Golden Girlsall have white, short hair styled in a way we often associate with older individuals. 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. [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. By the end of the series, Rose was 62. In an interview with The Village Voice in 2011, White stated that Arthur found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. 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. The Golden Girls | Golden Girls Wiki | Fandom New York: Harper Collins. [2] Each of the four stars received an Emmy Award, making it one of only four sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this. Styles In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. And Just Like That Characters Are the Same Age as The Golden Girls [26] She found the concept interesting, as "it was a demographic that had never been addressed," and she soon began work on it. However, there are some clues that can be found in the show itself. The 'And Just Like That' Women and 'The Golden Girls' Are the Same Age Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman were the first head writers of the series, and wrote for the show's first four seasons. 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. [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. the golden girls | CBR Designing Women began competing against The Golden Girls. Both Betty White and Bea Arthur were 63 when The Golden Girls premiered, coinciding with the fan theory. 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. 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. Initially, White was considered for the role of Blanche Devereaux, which eventually went to Rue McClanahan. The Golden Girls is one of the most well-known television shows of all time. Airing from 1985 to 1992 with seven seasons in total, The Golden Girls was a smash hit during the entirety of its run. Sue's personality as the perky housewife host on a fictional television station of the show . New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews. Disney's Michael Eisner explains, "Estelle Getty made our three women into girls. She wanted to be a Southern heroine, like Vivien Leigh. 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." In conclusion, the evidence suggests that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. 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. 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. Rose Nylund - Wikipedia [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. As of September 8, 2021 all 7 seasons of The Golden Girls were made available to stream on Disney+ in Canada. Between 1973 and 1977 White made several appearances on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sue Ann Nivens, the snobby, man-obsessed supporting character. -- Thirty years ago today, "The Golden Girls" premiered on television. I kept reading scenes to them and saying, 'God, this is brilliant [] There's nothing trendy about this show. 'The Golden Girls' Turn 35 - forbes.com [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". [citation needed]. New York: Scribner. [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. 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. [111], Golden Girls 3033 is an animated pilot created by Mike Hollingsworth. Arthur's son, Matthew Saks, later spoke of tension between the two actresses, stating that his mother, "unknowingly carried the attitude that it was fun to have somebody to be angry atIt was almost like Betty became her nemesis, someone she could always roll her eyes about at work. "[47] Getty died in 2008, the result of dementia with Lewy bodies. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. 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. Betty White as Rose Nylund in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). In Canada, Corus Entertainment's digital specialty channel, DejaView, aired reruns of The Golden Girls until 2017. This would mean that Dorothy, who was born in 1938, would have been around 47 when the show started. The writers observed that in many of the proposed scripts, the main interaction between the women occurred in the kitchen while preparing and eating food. When your brain is frozen like that, you can't remember lines. 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. McClanahan said, "Betty and I loved word games, and we would play word games every day,". In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. 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. (season two, episode five). The Golden Girls: Live! This led into the spin-off series, The Golden Palace. Empowering Lives with Nutritious and Delicious NDIS Meals! 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). Jan 31, 2023 Movie Features Harry Potter: Wait, How Are Bellatrix and Leta Lestrange Related? [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. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak and Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). In Southeast Asia, Rewind Networks began airing reruns of The Golden Girls on its HD channel, HITS, in 2013. However, Season 3, Episode 25, "Mother's Day," confirms Blanche was 17 in 1949, when she and her mother reminisce about one of Blanche's dates. The Golden Girls ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992. 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 series starred Stephanie Hodge and a set of other young nurses. If she had returned, her character would have been in her sixties. 12. Reportedly, White doubted that she could effectively play the role of Rose. Ellen Albertini Dow played Sophia's friend Lillian and an unnamed hospital patient with a flower cart. In the end, the math adds up to Dorothy being 53 at the start of the series and 60 at the series' end. (Photo Credit: New Line Cinema/ HBO/ MovieStills DB and MovieStills DB). As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale. This could be because the writers wanted to create an atmosphere of timelessness, allowing the show to appeal to viewers of all ages. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? - TrendRadars But one of the questions that has always been asked is: how old were the Golden Girls characters supposed to be? How Old Were The Golden Girls Cast When Series Premiered? Born on January 17, 1922, Betty White was the oldest of the four main stars. 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 . 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. 2. Lets see how each actress was cast in their respective roles and how their careers continued after the show concluded. According to the calculations, Dorothy was 53 at the start of the series, according to the calculations. The story follows four older single women (three widows and one divorced) who share a home in Miami, Florida. [40] However, Arthur preferred that her three castmates and she all break for lunch together on workdays. Golden Girls Spinoff Golden Palace Heading to Hulu - CBR There was a lot of competition to get your words into the script. 10 Things You May Not Know About 'The Golden Girls' - Biography She passed away in 2010, at the age of 76, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Although the writing was mostly comical, dramatic moments and sentimental endings were included in several episodes. [33] The character of Sophia was thought by the creators to enhance the idea that three retirement-aged women could be young. After the pilot, the character of Coco was eliminated from the series. Their hair also hasnt greyed (or is colored), and they style their hair in a more contemporary way. 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. 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. [25] NBC senior vice president Warren Littlefield was among the executive producers in the audience who were amused by their performance, and he envisioned a series based on the geriatric humor the two were portraying. 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. Crypto Wallet Development: Types, Features, and Popularity, 5 Ways AI is Detecting and Preventing Identity Fraud. It was popular for addressing a demographic that rarely saw the spotlight on television or in Hollywood: senior women. "[44] Writer Christopher Lloyd explained that the usual situation was for all of the more junior writers to be assigned the same scene to write, with the one judged the best version becoming the one chosen. This indicates that she was likely in her late 40s when the show began. 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 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. By Zachary Guida Jan 31, 2023 10 Ways Audience Popularity Gave TV Characters Greater Roles Rue McClanahan was the youngest of the Golden Girls, according to Parade. Getty was picky about the jokes Sophia would make. She is passionate about Princess Diana, the Titanic, the Romanovs, and Egypt amongst other things. However, with some detective work, audiences can figure them out. Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. However, her popularity with audiences caused Sophia to become a main character in the series. All the lead actresses won Emmy awards for their performances on the show. 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 classic NBC comedy The Golden Girls broke boundaries with its cast of four older women, a representation that was previously lacking on television. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be?,The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. The golden girls trivia is the most exciting series we have created for those who love comedy. White's birthday is January 17th and Arthur's was May 13th. The Golden Girls are also dressed in cardigans or long dresses, similar to the outfits we would find in our grandmothers closet. When all of the evidence is taken into account, it seems likely that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms of all time. For simplicity's sake, each season is considered a separate year, as the show ran for seven seasons. [35], Hired to shoot the pilot, director Jay Sandrich also became instrumental in helping to cast the roles of Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund. [41] To aid her retention, Getty tried hypnosis, and the show hired an assistant to run lines with her before taping; neither method worked. 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. In fact, that's who I think she thought she was."[37]. 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. [41] Rue McClanahan, who shared a dressing room with Getty, described the severity of Getty's stage fright: "She'd panic. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Continue reading to find out how old were the golden girls on the set of The Golden Girls. This article promises to be interesting and really informative. 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. 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. 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. She passed away after suffering complications from a stroke at 99 years old on December 31, 2021, just 17 days before her 100th birthday. 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.. 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 . Ironically, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter, Dorothy. In fact, the two were less than four months apart in age. Advertise 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. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be on the show? Estelle Getty reprised her role as Sophia in The Golden Palace, which only lasted for one season. It shattered stereotypes and even made that demographic entertaining for audiences of all genders and ages. 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. Cheers. 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. [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. Richard Vaczy and Tracy Gamble, previously writers on 227 and My Two Dads, also assumed the roles of producers and head writers. [63] Much of Arthur's wardrobe was custom-made because at the time, finding off-the-rack clothing that was flattering for a taller woman was difficult. Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of Sandrich and switched roles at the last minute.