How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be?,The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. [31] The suit was later settled. She took to writing her lines on props at which she could glance easily, like the wicker purse Sophia always carried with her. [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. Required fields are marked *. How Old Was Rose Nylund On Golden Girls? [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. The Golden Palace, a spinoff of the successful sitcom The Golden Girls, will make its streaming debut on Hulu early next year.. On Jan. 10, just one week before Betty White's 100th birthday on Jan. 17, the single season of the sitcom featuring three of the four main characters from the original series -- Rose Nyland (White), Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty . Until April 2006, Lifetime played the series as a virtual season eight, airing the series in between the conclusion of the final season and the syndicated roll-over to season one. How Old Were the Golden Girls Characters Supposed to Be? Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kristen Davis in And Just Like That. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). Getty was the first of the four stars to die in 2008 at age 84. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. Going by the math, that makes Blanche 53 at the start of the series. 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. Some episodes featured flashbacks to previous episodes, flashbacks to events not shown in previous episodes, or to events that occurred before the series began. Despite her enjoyment in playing Dorothy, the show eventually concluded when Bea Arthur decided to depart the show in 1992. Beginning July 3, 1989, NBC added daytime reruns of the show, replacing long-running Wheel of Fortune (which had moved to CBS) on the NBC schedule at 11:00am(EST); it ran until September 1990. One, while the characters ages on the show appeared to be quite. Airing from 1985 to 1992 with seven seasons in total, The Golden Girls was a smash hit during the entirety of its run. In 2022, we no longer believe that women need to lose their purpose once they hit the big 5-0. 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. [9], The pilot was taped on April 17, 1985.[10]. "[47] Getty died in 2008, the result of dementia with Lewy bodies. Arthur felt the characters had been in every possible scenario, and wanted to end the series while it was still successful. [70][self-published source?] 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. This means that she was 63 years old by the time the show premiered in 1985. Getty was the first actress to be cast, and her role was intended to make the rest of the characters appear younger. 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. [43] Mitchell Hurwitz also served as writer for the show in its last two seasons. 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. Despite fan theories that the actresses were playing characters much younger than their actual age, Rue McClanahan's age in 1985 was 52, one year younger than her character on the show. The Golden Girls are also dressed in cardigans or long dresses, similar to the outfits we would find in our grandmothers closet. McClanahan insisted on the character having a thick Southern accent, a popular aspect of her character throughout the show. 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. [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". ", 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. 12. The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms of all time. 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. Writer and producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason created a sitcom with this kind of image as a "four women" show, which became Designing Women on CBS. It won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series and two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. None of the other Golden Girls outright state their ages, so Dorothy is where the deductive work begins. However, it did so from a very different perspective. [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. 2. [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. Interestingly enough, Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright and would often freeze on camera during the filming of The Golden Girls. The show was a hit with viewers of all ages. She was especially intimidated by her co-stars, who were all higher profile actresses than she was. 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. 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. 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. At times, she even froze on camera while filming. However, the actress who played Sophia, Estelle Getty, was only 62 years old in real life, making her one year younger than her on-screen daughter! 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. Rue McClanahan. 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. We can also look at other clues from the show itself. Dorothy, meanwhile, is stated to be in her early 50s, which could mean that she was anywhere between 50 and 54. In any event, Arthur chose to commit to a seventh and final season. Win free shoes, organize your shoe closet, see the latest styles + more, About Based on the assumption that Season 1 and Season 2 took place in the same year, Rose would have been 55 at the start of The Golden Girls. When all of the evidence is taken into account, it seems likely that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. "[34] Getty continuously battled stage fright during her tenure on the show. The Golden Girls is an American comedy that was produced by Susan Harris and aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Getty came to Weiner's mind soon after, when it became time to begin casting of The Golden Girls. 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]. Their hair also hasnt greyed (or is colored), and they style their hair in a more contemporary way. She was said to have worn aged cosmetics in character to make her appear to be an eighty-something woman. It had a total of 180 half-hour episodes across its seven seasons. Privacy Policy, Brands [29][30], Walt Disney, NBC Studios and the creators were named in a federal copyright infringement suit filed by Nancy Bretzfield claiming the show was based on a script rejected by NBC in 1980. In order to try and determine the real ages of the Golden Girls, we need to look at other sources of evidence. 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. 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. Disney's Michael Eisner explains, "Estelle Getty made our three women into girls. McClanahan was 51 years old by the time The Golden Girls premiered, and she was 58 when it concluded. 8 Silk Pillowcases for Your Best Beauty Sleep. This suggests that her character was likely around the same age. 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. Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. She wanted to be a Southern heroine, like Vivien Leigh. 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. [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. [84], After the original series ended, White, McClanahan, and Getty reprised their characters in the CBS series The Golden Palace, which featured Rose, Blanche, and Sophia selling their house to buy and run a hotel in Miami. [40] However, Arthur preferred that her three castmates and she all break for lunch together on workdays. The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. Susan Harris developed a spin-off centering on the empty nest syndrome. Did Rue McClanahan have a Southern accent? Bea Arthur actually hated cheesecake. 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. 100 Black-Owned Businesses to Shop Now. Gettleman says she suffered from advanced. Producers wanted to cast McClanahan as Rose and White as Blanche based on roles they had previously played; White portrayed the man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, while McClanahan co-starred as the sweet but scatterbrained Vivian Harmon in Maude. Colucci, Jim (2016). In fact, that's who I think she thought she was."[37]. 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. But one of the questions that has always been asked is: how old were the Golden Girls characters supposed to be? Clearly, the wardrobe and hairstyles in each show are extremely different from each other. Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman were the first head writers of the series, and wrote for the show's first four seasons. Initially, the producers of the show had planned for Getty only to be a recurring guest. [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. This faade, along with the Empty Nest house, sustained hurricane damage leading to Disney's 2003 decision to bulldoze the houses of "Residential Street" and construct its Lights, Motors, Action! Sophia, Dorothys straight-talking mother, was the Golden Girls houses oldest figure. 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. In conclusion, the evidence suggests that the Golden Girls characters were actually younger than their stated ages. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. 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. Advertise 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). In the first season of Golden Girls, it is revealed that Rose (Betty Whites character) was 55. The program is about four elderly ladies who live . Social norms regarding women in their fifties have also changed since Golden Girls premiered. She had established this signature look while playing Maude, and Evans honored it in her designs for Dorothy. The show never approached the popularity or acclaim of the original, and ranked 57th[citation needed] in the annual ratings. Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. In "And Just Like That.", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. . McClanahan said, "Betty and I loved word games, and we would play word games every day,". It's a classic. Although Getty was impressive, the show's producers went with another actress. "It was so exciting to be with four people with that chemistry. On the other hand, the women in And Just Like That dress in a trendy, modern style. Blanche Devereaux, a widow, was joined by Rose Nylund, a fellow widow, and Dorothy Zbornak, a divorced woman after they both answered a room-for-rent post on the bulletin board of a local grocery shop. The film featured five episodes from the show: "The Pilot", "The Flu", "The Way We Met", "Ladies of the Evening" and "Grab That Dough". This could be because the writers wanted to create an atmosphere of timelessness, allowing the show to appeal to viewers of all ages. She loves spending quality time with her friends, family, and puppy Luna! It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy. 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. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that these ages may not be accurate. Apparently, writer Susan Harris envisioned a Bea Arthur type when conceptualizing the character of Dorothy. Rose Nylund is a character from the sitcom television series The Golden Girls and its spin-off, The Golden Palace. (Photo Credit: MovieStills DB). Contact Us 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. The Golden Girls began in 1985 and concluded in 1992, both in real life and in the fictional realm. She received her Bachelors of Arts in history and her Masters of Arts degree in history both from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. "[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. As of 2019, every episode is available for streaming on Stan. Audiences can figure things out with a little detective work. Your email address will not be published. According to Cherry, the writers' room was "a competitive atmosphere. (season two, episode five). Jan 31, 2023 Movie Features Harry Potter: Wait, How Are Bellatrix and Leta Lestrange Related? Reportedly, White doubted that she could effectively play the role of Rose. Why is Good UI/UX Design Imperative for Business Success? Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 17:40, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy, Lights, Motors, Action! Betty White was 63 years old when the show premiered in 1985, yet she managed to play a younger persona perfectly. [26] She found the concept interesting, as "it was a demographic that had never been addressed," and she soon began work on it. In the first season of Golden Girls, it is revealed that Rose (Betty White's character) was 55. [65][66] Eventually, McClanahan went on to create a clothing line for QVC called "A Touch of Rue", inspired by Blanche, but made with affordable fabrics and practical designs. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Channel 4, Living and Disney Channel. Their regular writer declined, so Witt asked his wife, Susan Harris,[24] who had been semiretired since the conclusion of their ABC series Soap. Styles In Southeast Asia, Rewind Networks began airing reruns of The Golden Girls on its HD channel, HITS, in 2013. However, the exterior backdrop seen through the kitchen window changed from the view of Chicago high-rises to palm trees and bushes for the Miami setting. Sophia then recounts to Dorothy the account of the night Dorothy was conceived in Season 3, Episode 5, Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself. Sophia claims it happened in 1931, so Dorothy was most likely born in 1932, based on her sign. [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). An instant ratings hit, The Golden Girls became an NBC staple on Saturday nights. ISBN978-1-4516-1369-8. According to Evans, "I wanted a sexy, soft, and flowing look for Rue, a tailored, pulled-together look for Bea, a down-home look for Betty, and comfort for Estelle. 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. 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. [24] Though her vision of a sitcom about women in their 60s differed from NBC's request for a comedy about women around 40 years old,[27] Littlefield was impressed when he received her pilot script and subsequently approved production of it. By Zachary Guida Jan 31, 2023 10 Ways Audience Popularity Gave TV Characters Greater Roles Harold Gould played two of Rose's boyfriends, Arnie and Miles. [33] The character of Sophia was thought by the creators to enhance the idea that three retirement-aged women could be young. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. In New Zealand, the series aired on TVNZ and is replayed on public holidays and it is shown on Jones!. It is interesting to note that the ages of the characters are never directly addressed in the show. 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. For example, in the pilot episode, Blanche states that she is 54 going on 55, which would mean that her age at the start of the show was 54. She passed away from Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) on July 22, 2008, at 84 years old. Blanche (played by Rue McClanahan) was thought to be around 47 years old in the first season of Golden Girls. The faade was based on a real house at 245 North Saltair Avenue in the Westgate Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Many episodes were edited to allow more commercials and for content. consisted of two back-to-back episodes of the sitcom: "Break-In" (season one, episode eight) and "Isn't It Romantic?" 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. 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. 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. [35], Hired to shoot the pilot, director Jay Sandrich also became instrumental in helping to cast the roles of Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund. 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 film Golden Girls was a critical and commercial triumph. While the characters' ages on the series seemed fairly clear-cutBlanche, Rose and Dorothy were in their mid-50s, while Sophia was Dorothy's widowed, elderly motherit may surprise fans to know that the actual ages of the actresses playing them were completely different. "We had games going all the time off camera." 13. I kept reading scenes to them and saying, 'God, this is brilliant [] There's nothing trendy about this show. Cherry commented on read-throughs of the scripts that "generally, if the joke was a good one, the women found a way to make it work the very first time they read it. We didn't want the show to be about four dowdy ladies. The Golden Girls' ages were never quite revealed on screen. The company expected the show to appeal to older female viewers. This program, on the other hand, was centered on a group of older ladies. 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. The Golden Girls first aired on September 14, 1985, and it continues to appeal to both young and older audiences. [3] In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Golden Girls number 54 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. 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. 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. This indicates that Sophia was likely close to her real-life age. Both the Hallmark Channel and WE tv picked-up the reruns in March 2009. Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). In "And Just Like That", Miranda and Charlotte are 54, while Carrie is 55. Who was the youngest Golden Girl cast member? (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. Initially, White was considered for the role of Blanche Devereaux, which eventually went to Rue McClanahan. [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. As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). In "The Golden Girls", Rose is 55, Dorothy is 53, Blanche is 47 and Sophia is 79. [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. Rue McClanahan is the youngest Golden Girl! This was the first time since 1993 that The Golden Palace was seen on American television. Assuming her child would graduate at 17, that would make Blanche 48 in 1986 and 47 at the start of the series.
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