‘The Golden Girls’ is the classic 1980s sitcom that brought Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan renewed stardom later on in their careers.
The series followed four elderly women living together in their golden years and is still beloved by fans to this day.
Here are 10 things you didn’t know about the hit NBC show…
1/ Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant
‘The Golden Girls’ is the classic 1980s sitcom that brought Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan renewed stardom later on in their careers. The series followed four elderly women living together in their golden years and is still beloved by fans to this day. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about the hit NBC show…
2/ The show was inspired by a sketch
In 1945, ‘Remington Steele’ actress Doris Roberts (pictured) and ‘Night Court’ star Selma Diamond appeared in a promotional skit for NBC dressed as old ladies and when NBC senior vice president Warren Littlefield saw the sketch he immediately imagined a sitcom featuring four older women. He suggested the idea to his wife Susan Harris, who jumped at the chance to write the script because she felt it was an idea that had “never been addressed”
3/ The cast could have been very different
Eventually Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan were cast as retirees Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche. But one other actress who auditioned for a part was late Broadway legend Elaine Stritch (pictured), who admitted years later she blew her chances by messing up her lines in front of producers. She said: “I blew it. I didn’t get the job. I blew a 35, 40 or maybe even 50 (if they wanted me badly enough) thousand dollars per episode.
4/ Estelle Getty wasn’t meant to be a regular cast member
Estelle Getty will always be remembered as Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Dorothy (Bea Arthur). But she was only ever meant to be a recurring character. After impressing test audiences, she was promoted to regular whilst houseboy Coco (Charles Levin) was removed from the series entirely.
5/ Bea Arthur complained to the writers
By the third season, Bea Arthur had had enough of the screenwriters coming up with jokes about her personal appearance and stood up for herself. Writer Christopher Lloyd explained: “I think that was a mistake we made, to be a little bit insensitive to someone who was an extremely sensitive person… 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.
6/ Betty White nearly played Blanche
Betty White was eventually given the role of the ditsy Rose on the series, but initially wanted to play Blanche because she had played a similar role on ‘The Mary Tyler Show’ . She said: “I was thrilled, but then they made me Rose. I didn’t know who she was but Susan said Rose was someone she liked a lot. And then this one [Rue McClanahan] took Blanche out into the orbit where I never would’ve had the guts to go!
7/ Estelle Getty suffered from crippling stage fright
Estelle Getty was 60 years old before she got her big break as an actress in a Broadway play and two years later she got the role of Sophia in ‘The Golden Girls’. But she suffered from stage fright that affected her so badly that she struggled to relax in front of the camera. Rue McClanahan (Blanche) explained: “She would start getting under a dark cloud the day before tape day … You could see a big difference in her that day. She’d be walking around like Pigpen under a black cloud. By tape day, she was unreachable. She was just as uptight as a human being could get. When your brain is frozen like that, you can’t remember lines
8/ A ratings hit
Despite its cast changes and backstage dramas, ‘The Golden Girls’ became an overnight success. Each one of its main cast members won an Emmy for their performances on the show. Creator Susan Harris later said: “I think for everybody – including younger people when they reach an age when they feel alienated – the thought of being alone, and spending your life alone, is terrifying. These women were at an age where they were alone and were likely to stay alone until they found each other.”
9/ Backstage jealousy
Despite the show being about female friendship, feelings of jealousy were rife amongst the cast, with many of them supposedly jealous of Betty White’s popularity for her role as Rose.
10/ ‘I quit!’
Bea Arthur had threatened to quit her role as Dorothy at the end of Season 6 and Hollywood star Debbie Reynolds was brought in as a guest character to see if she might make a suitable replacement. Ultimately, Bea decided to stay on for one more season before quitting for good, therefor bringing an end to the show. ‘Golden Girls Forever’ author Jim Colucci recalled: “She thought the quality was starting to slip. She wanted to go out while it was still a good show and she felt she was done with.”
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