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http://members.nbci.com/jonathow/behindthescenes.html
http://www.thegoldengirlsuk.com/
http://www.beaarthur.homestead.com/goldengallery.html
http://hometown.aol.com/superstarmark/bearue.html
http://www.grandtimes.com/getty.html
http://www.pigmyproductions.com/gggnotable.htm
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Directed by:
Written by:
Music by:

Released on:
Running Time:

Budget: $ million
Box-Office: $ million in the U.S., $ million worldwide
Rentals: $ million in the U.S.
 
 

PROFILE OF THE GOLDEN GIRLS

Dorothy Zbornak… Beatrice Arthur
5' 9 1/2" Bernice Frankel was born on May 13, 1923 in New York, NY
Married and divorced twice, mother of two sons, she was the star of two series, "Maude" (1972) and "The Golden Girls " (1985), which were both cancelled because she left them.

Rose Nylund… Betty White
Born on January 17, 1922 in Oak Park, IL
She was married to Allen Ludden until his death in June 1981.
Was originally offered the role of Blanche, which was similar to the role she played in the Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1973 to 1977; consequently switched roles with Rue, who was set to portray Rose.
James L. Brooks offered her the role of Helen Hunt's mother in "As Good As It Gets." She turned it down because she objected to the treatment of the dog in the film.

Blanche Devereaux… Rue McClanahan
Born on February 21, 1935 in Healdton, OK
Blanche would have been proud -Rue was married 6 times so far; and divorced within two years out of four of them; she had a son from her first husband.
Worked with Bea Arthur on the successful series "Maude" from 1973 to 1978.

Sophia Petrillo… Estelle Getty
Estelle Scher was born on July 25, 1923 in New York, NY
The 4' 9" actress was married to the same man since 1946, with whom she had two children.
Although she played Dorothy's 80 year old mother, Estelle is actually only three years older than Bea Arthur, and sat through several hours of make-up to make herself appear much older.
She announced in 2000 that she was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Stanley Zbornak… Herb Edelman
Born on November 5, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY
Herb died on July 21, 1996 from emphysema in Woodland Hills, CA.
 
 

AGE IS A FUNNY THING

Estelle Getty (Sofia) was only 2 months older than Bea (her daughter in the show).

Betty White is the oldest of all Golden Girls, since she is actually a year and a half older than Estelle (80-year old Sofia). Rue McClanahan is the youngest (and prettiest Blanche would add) of them all –13 years less than Betty!

Herb Edelman (Stan) was actually 10 years younger than Bea Arthur (his wife Dorothy).
 
 

Betty White - "Here We Go Again. My Life in Television" (1995)

One day in 1984 a letter arrived that caught my attention, saying that the production company Witt-Thomas-Harris was putting a new show together and would like me to keep it in mind. Paul Witt, Tony Thomas (Danny's son), and Susan Harris (Paul's wife), all three dynamite writers, had formed a partnership and already had a couple of strong shows in their stable, Soap and It's a Living. Jay Sandrich would be directing the pilot of this new show, and they were very excited about the concept.

The letter was a new one on me, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It was almost like a Save the Date card. The part I did like was Jay Sandrich. He had directed almost all of The Mary Tyler Moore Shows, and he was brilliant. All Tony Fantozzi was able to find out was that they were working on a concept that would include Bea Arthur.

Ultimately, a script did arrrive, and now I really started to sit up and pay attention. So many scripts come in, and you read them all, each time hoping for the best. The majority are less than good, some bad enough so that mediocre is a compliment. Now and then it's a delight to find one that shows promise. But this script, entitled The Golden Girls, knocked my socks off. The premise -four older women living together in Miami- hadn't sounded particularly attractive, but the script came alive with some of the best writing I'd seen since MTM.

There were the usual meetings, interspersed with waiting periods that seemed to go on forever. I learned that Bea Arthur would be playing Dorothy, and an actress from New York, Estelle Getty, had been signed to play Dorothy's mother, Sophia.

It was assumed that I would be Blanche, the well-to-do Southern woman to whom men were the breath of life. The fourth character was Rose, and they had settled on Rue McClanahan. Rue worked with Bea for five and a half years on Maude, and she and I had worked together for a couple of years on Mama's Family, where she played mousey Aunt Fran. We hadn't met Estelle as yet, but she had come from a highly successful run on Broadway in Torch Song Trilogy.

The next report I heard was a call saying a decision had been made to switch parts. I would be playing Rose, and Rue would do Blanche.

I was heartsick. From the script we had read, we knew the strong character of Dorothy, and her brutally frank mother, Sophia. We understood the lustful Blanche, but I hadn't a clue who Rose was. Then I heard that Jay Sandrich was the one who had suggested the switch, pointing out that if Bett played another man-hugnry character, it wouldn't matter how differently she approached it, the audience would think it was Sue Ann Nivens revisited.

It suddenly made perfect sense -not just because I loved Jay, but because he was absolutely right. And he should know, after spending four seasons with Sue Ann. It was also Jay who gave me the definite clue to Rose Nylund.

"She is not dumb -jus totally naive," he said. "She believes everything she is told and in her innocence, always takes the first meaning of every word."

What a great measuring stick to give an actress. It not only helped me find Rose, but love her and keep her on course through the next few years. She didn't understand sarcasm, so the others could say terrible things, but the words all sounded fine to her. She was so literal in her thinking that if someone said they could eat a horse, she would call the S.P.C.A. But Rose was not weak. She had her own set of rules that made perfect sense, if only to her, and she also had a fierce Nordic temper on occasion.

Rue, on the other hand, took Blanche and ran with her -farther than I would ever have dared to go. She was wonderfully outrageous and outrageously wonderful. The result was, we were all happy as clams with our roles. Once again, thank you, Jay.

We did th epilot in April 1985, and it was a real treat to work with such pros. When you threw out a line, you had to brace yourself, because you knew it would be coming right back at you over the net and you'd better be ready. That's when it gets exciting. Jay paid us a compliment that I treasure to this day. He said he was working with four comedy black belts.

The night of the taping was nerve-racking because all the NBC brass was there, plus the whole Witt-Thomas-Harris contingent. It was hardly your ordinary happy-go-lucky audience, ready to be entertained. These folks had a lot riding on what they saw, and often that kind of group forgets to laugh. But not this time; the show couldn't have played better, and everyone was thrilled. Hurdle number one.

Following any pilot, there is the inevitable wait while decisions are being made, or worse, while other pilots are being considered. There is nothing to do but get on with your life, because no hints or updates will be forthcoming until "the call," saying thumbs up or thumbs down. None of that has changed much through the years. Didn't it start with the lions and the Christians? (No matter what you've heard, that was before my time.)

Fortunately, for me, the timing had worked out so that I could get the book almost done during that period, which made the wait seem short. When "the call" did come in, it was terrific news. The Golden Girls were in business and would start taping in July to go on the air in September. We had made the NBC fall schedule! Big hurdle number two.

The pilot, which would be our first on-air episode, was being touted around town as the one to watch. Oops. From the last Betty White Show experience, I knew that could be the kiss of death.

The next very important hurdle was the meeting of the affiliates, where the show was presented to the station managers who would be carrying it. The buzz at the big party that night was very positive, not only among the affiliates, but among their wives as well, which sometimes can mean a lot. So farm so goodm but the advertisers had yet to be heard from, and there had been some apathy about how marketable four old broads in Miami would be. Their big meeting was held back in New York. It was at their morning session that the new shows were presented.

With the three-hour time difference, it ws about nine in the morning, California time, when my phone rang. I picked it up to hear Grant Ticker say, "Well, Betty, I wouldn't make any big plans for the next couple of years -you'll be busy." He said the advertisers had loved it and thought the Girls would be fun to spend a half hour with every week. For laid-back Grant, it was a rave.

By now, the word "hit" was being bruited about. I am usually the incurable optimist, but I was still leery. I'd been to that point before, and once burned... I wouldn't be able to relax completely until the audience vote was in. But in the meantime, it was a lovely feeling to take to work when we started taping in July.

There were a few adjustments at the starts, but it felt good. We would read through the scripts on Monday, rehearse all  week, then tape the show twice on Friday, before two different audiences. I loved it because it was our old MTM schedule, Friday taping gave you the weekend to clear your head before starting a new show again on Monday. It also gave the writers just an inch more of breathing room. Bea and Rue had always taped on Tuesday with Maude, which they loved because it gave them two more days to work on lines and interpretation. Coming from a long run on stage, Estelle had to get used to doing a new show every week. Whatever schedule each of us had become accustomed to was the one we liked best. The writers made the final call and opted for Friday taping.

We had known that Jay Sandrich could direct only the pilot: he was the director of The Cosby Show from New York during the regular season. Paul Bogart, a good director, was hired to do our series.

Paul's approach was totally different. Any comments or suggestions from the writers or producers must be filtered through him, and he referred to us as "my actors." It was almost as though "they" -the producers, the guys putting up the money- were the enemy, and Paul our protector. This was the absolute antithesis of the way the MTM gang had worked, where everyone had spoken freely.

Part of the daily schedule was to do a run-through for the writers and producers after rehearsal every day. It was a lot easier to understand what they were going for and to discuss suggestions when they could communicate directly, rather than through a rather defensive interpreter.

This didn't seem to bother Bea and Rue and Estelle as much as it did me, but it evidently bothered Paul Witt and Tony Thomas a lot, because Paul Bogart was replaced after the first three shows.

Tony and Paul brought a director in for us to meet before he was hired -one Terry Hughes, who was from England. They thought a good way for us to get acquainted would be to have lunch together, so a catered luncheon was brought in and set up in a very small room down the hall that barely accomodated the table and five chairs. Yes, just five. After Paul and Tony got us situated, they went out and closed the door, leaving poor Terry Hughes alone with the four dragons.

By the time we emerged from tha tlittle dining room, we had all fallen in love with this charming Britisher. The vote was unanimous that he was our director, which I'm sure came as no surprise to Paul and Tony.

Terry is tremendously talented, with a stack of awards to bear witness, unfairly handsome, and has a delicious sense of humor, or in Terry's case, humour. He also didn't seem to feel that actors were some anointed creatures who must be "protected" from the outside world.

The love affair between us all lasted for the next five years. By the sixth season, Terry was offered the chance to direct a major motion picture, and there was no way we could expect him to pass up the opportunity. But, oh, it was a tough parting.

In the first episode, which had been our pilot, there was one more character, the gay housekeeper, played by Charles Levin. When the script was originally written, no one could foresee how well the four women would mesh together, nor how strong Estelle's character, Sophia, would become. Also, with a housekeeper there, the girls wouldn't have had as much access to the kitchen, where so many of our close four-way scenes took place. We used to solve most of our problems around the kitchen table -over cheesecake. So, after the initial show, the part of the housekeeper was written out. The reasons were all valid, but it was a heartbreaker for Chuck Levin. Can you imagine the disappointment of seeing the show picked up, then finding you were no longer a part of it? He took it in good spirit, bless him, and came by the set to say hello from time to time. As for us, we spent the first year explaining that he had not been written out because he was gay. Which, just for the record, and who cares, Chuck wasn't.

NBC gave us some great promotion, so that when we went on the air in September, The Golden Girls nudged Cosby aside, and for our debut that first week we were number one. Cos stepped right back in, of course, but we managed to hang onto a spot in the top ten every week for the first five years of the show. With audience approval like that, we had cleared the last hurdle. We were a genuine hit.

What came as a big surprise to all concerned was the way Golden Girls cut across all the demographic lines. Over half of our mail came from kids, but the twenty-, thirty-, and forty-something and beyond were well represented. It tickled me whenever some very small person, tugging at mother's sleeve, would point and say, "There's Wose!" Too young to pronounce it, they still knew the character -all the characters. Ruesy always said that the ones who approached her where much taller, and their voices were deeper.

How was our show able to reach all the age groups? Perhaps because we weren't specifically aiming at any one of them, but mainly, I think, because we were truly funny.

Professionally, things couldn't have been better. But for the first time in her life, after being in the studio audience for virtually ever show I ever did, my Tess was not up to coming to the tapings. By this time, either a nurse or our good friend Lee Moorer would come in every day until I got home from work. Mom and I would have a catch-up session over a glass of wine, then play Trivial Pursuit until dinner. She couldn't sit up at the board, but we would read the questions to each other. We were both fierce contenders, and I was really trying my best, but she usually won. On Saturday nights we would watch Golden Girls together and tape it so that she could see it again, if she wished, during the week.

Oddly enough, Bea Arthur's mother was going through a similar challenge at that same time and had come home to stay with her daughter, too. By a strange coincidence, but only that, we seemed to have a plethora of mother-daughter scripts that first season, and in our situations, some of them cut close to the edge for Bea and me.

Mom's body was falling apart, but that mind of hers stayed razor sharp. For two nights before she was taken to the hospital in November, she really creamed me at our game, in spite of my best efforts. That has always been a great source of comfort to me. The lady couldn't keep her body from letting her down, but my mother -the same bright, funny, loving Tess I had always known- was with me to the very last. After just two days in the hospital, she slipped away.

Three weeks later, we were rehearsing one afternooon when Bea was called to the phone. She came back to say her mother had just died. She went home then but came back to work the next day, just as I had done. We were a family, too, and somehow it just seemed the only place to be.

When the Emmy nominations were announced after our first season, the show itself, each of the four of us, Terry Hughes, several of our writers, and a number of our technical people were all nominated. I couldn't believe having backed into another show of that caliber -twice in one lifetime.

On the night of the awards, it was a strange feeling when they got to the Best Actress in a Leading Role category. Each of our performances was so tied to the other three, it was impossible to separate them. Choosing any one of us was choosing us all. When my name was called and I got up to the microphone, I tried to make that point, but my mouth was so dry and my breath was so short I'm sure I must have sounded inane. I was backstage in the press lineup when I heard the roar -The Golden Girls had just won for Outstanding Comedy Series.

The next day on the set was an odd one. Things were somehow quieter than usual.. Estelle gave me a big hug and kiss -but she did it outside, before we got into the studio. The crew couldn't have been warmer or sweeter, but the congratulations were all whispered. Even the big win -for the show itself- was just not mentioned.

It was a relief to get that day over and go back to business as usual. The reaction had come as a real surprise, and I had learned something -I'm not sure what the hell it was.

For the first five years of the show, we all were nominated every year, which was something of a record in itself. By the first three years into the show, everyone, producers, writers, director, actresses, had his or her own Emmy, and we could all relax and enjoy. I'll garan-certain-tee on one thing -that first year's coolness was never allowed again. We celebrated!

At the start of our second season, when we came back in July from hiatus, Terry Hughes had some exciting news for us. Our show had been running in England for several months and was very popular. As a result, The Golden Girls had been invited to London to take part in the annual Royal Variety Show for the Queen Mother, at the Palladium Theatre. We were to go for a week in late November -what a way to start the holiday season.

We were all besides ourselves, and it was tough keeping our minds on the job at hand. We finally had to simmer down long enough to figure out what we could actually do in the Royal Variety Show before the Queen Mum.

The writers, plus Tony, Paul, and Susan, put their talented heads together and chose three of our best around-the-table kitchen scenes. By blending them together, they came up with a very funny piece of material.

November finally arrived, and the trip lived up to all our anticipation. London itself was like fairyland, with all the elaborate Christmas decorations already up. It even snowed a tiny bit on our drive in from the airport. The press greeted us warmly, and we discovered that other American friends -Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller, Michael Feinstein- were in the lineup for the show as well. There was also a line of Rockettes from Radio City Music Hall.

It was quite a feeling when we arrived at the theater for rehearsal, and I realized I was actually standing on the famous stage where so many great performers had appeared. Having heard about the Palladium all my life, I had come to picture it as a huge auditorium, so it was a surprise to find that it was a nice, but not extraordinary, regular-sized theater.

We were briefed on protocol for both our onstage and offstage encounters with the Queen Mother. She would be seated in the Royal Box at stage left, and we were instructed to bow to her, and then to the audience, but not to stare. At the end of the show, the entire cast was to line up for a final curtain bow, then remain on stage, where the Queen Mum would arrive and greet each of us as she moved down the line. We were to respond to whatever she said to us, but we were not to initiate any conversation. The ladies were to drop a small curtsy. If I hadn't been nervous before, I was now.

It was an exceedingly long show with a huge cast. Bea, Rue, Estelle, and I were all in one big dressing room, where we were instructed to stay until we were called on stage. Our turn was scheduled about halfway through the lengthy program, so we had plenty of time to tense up. The fact that we could neither see nor hear anything that was happening on stage made it even more nerve-racking. There was talk of making a break for it, but we chickened out.

The call finally came. The audience greeted us like old friends, and after we made it through without anyone falling down, they gave us a lovely send-off. We even remembered both bows.

After the final curtain, with the whole cast assembled, the stage was extremely crowded. We were in a double line, the Rockettes behind us.

Soon, the Queen Mother arrived, accompanied by Princess Anne. The latter was in a deep green velvet gown with a portrait neckline that set off her truly exquisite complexion. Her grandmother was all in gold, with a diamond tiara that was enough to cool off the entire stage. Not to stare, indeed!

As the Queen Mum moved down the line, she made some gracious remark to each one; the ladies all dropped a small curtsy as she approached. I happened to be the last one in our foursome, and after she greeted Bea and Rue and Estelle, as she got to me, she indicated the scantily clad Rockettes behind us and said to me, "Aren't they beautiful girls?" I curtsied, and replied, "Yes, and such lovely bodies." She lit up with a radiant smile which belied her eight-six years and added, "Oh, yes! Lovely bawdies!"

The next day, the reviewers were particularly kind to The Golden Girls, which served as frosting on the cake before we headed back home to the real world.

Come to think of it -our special showbiz world wasn't all that real either.

It hardly seemed possible, but we found ourselves in our fifth season, and Golden Girls was still such a joy to do. There was a major celebration when we completed our hundredth episode. Paul and Susan and Tony presented us with beautiful gold watches, engraved with "100 Golden Girls, A Million Thanks -Love, Paul, Tony, and Susan."

Our ratings were consistently high; the nominations continued at Emmy time; in the sitcom business, it was the best of all possible worlds. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but as we all know, that's often a rule to be broken.

Being scheduled on Saturday night was considered a liability back in 1985 when Golden Girls opened. But, Saturday be damned, we took the nine o'clock slot and made it our own for five years. After all that time, it came as something of a jolt -to us, and to the audience- when NBC suddenly announced it was moving us up an hour, to eight o'clock. An hour can make a tremendous difference in a long-established habit pattern -and it did. One week, at nine o'clock, we were in the top ten -number six, to be exact. At eight o'clock the following week, we dropped to number sixty-three. Grant Tinker had left NBC by that time; the networks must have had its own valid reasons which we weren't privy to, but happy campers we were not.

Over time, we managed to make the climb back up, but never to our old position. We comforted ourselves with the fact that we still had a delightful show to do each week.

One morning, before we started rehearsing, Terry Hughes called Bea, Rue, Estelle, and me down to the other end of the studio and sat us down. I think we all had a premonition of what was coming.

He explained that he had received a major offer to direct a big-screen comedy, The Butcher's Wife, and at that point Meg Ryan was to be the star [though Demi Moore eventually replaced her]. He wanted us to know how much he loved our show, but offers like that don't come around often. We realized, certainly, that opportunity must be invited in when it comes knocking, so what could we do but wish him well, and try to enjoy the weeks remaining before he left? When hiatus time came in March, we had to bid our British buddy a fond and reluctant farewell.

By now, Golden Girls had been in syndication for several years through Buena Vista Television, a Disney subsidiary. We were in forty-seven countries and doing very well. It's fun to get fan mail from all over the world, and while the language may be different, the word "photograp" is usually recognizable, and the message is clear. It knocks me out to send a picture to Sri Lanka, for instance, of all places.

When we began our seventh season of Girls, we were pretty much aware that it would be our last. Bea had begun to get restless the season before, and our last year was no fun for her at all. She wanted out, and she made no bones about it. She wanted to go to England; she wanted to do a musical; she wanted to do a lot of things. Our show just didn't happen to be one of them. Well, we had enjoyed a good long run and were reconciled to the fact that the time had come to move on.

None of us even considered doing Girls without Bea. It would be like taking one leg off a table and expecting it to balance. So we had no idea what to expect when Paul Witt and Tony Thomas called Rue and Estelle and me up to their offices for a meeting.

After the usual amenities, Paul and Tony began to spell out their appreciation for their good fortune -they now had eight shows up and running. Great as that was, it was a very full plate, and they were tired. The last thing in the world they had in mind was to face putting together another show. However...

They then went on to say that Susan Harris Witt had come up with an idea they couldn't resist, and they proceeded to describe it.

Dorothy, Bea Arthur's character, would get married, but not to her ex-husband, Stan, with whom she had had an on-again, off-again relationship for seven years. No, this would be someone completely new, and the whole thing would take place, develop, and resolve in a one-hour Golden Girls episode that would close the season -and the series.

Then, the following season could begin with a new series, using our same characters but in a new environment. With Dorothy moved out, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose would sell the house and buy a small hotel in one of the reclaimed and currently popular sections of Miami.

For seven years the Girls had been living together, as much as a hedge against loneliness as for economic reasons. But they had always faced life from the shelter and security of their home. Now, by leaving that familiar setting, these characters, whom the audience knew so well, would be forced to do what so many women these days were having to do in real life -meet the world as it comes through the front door and deal with it.

As well as being good writers and producers, Paul and Tony were also no slouched in the selling department. They didn't ask for an immediate reaction. They wanted us to think it over, sleep on it, discuss it among ourselves, and then we would have another meeting.

There was a lot to think about. There were some pros and there were some cons, but the idea of bringing the women out into the real world was an intriguing one. After much discussion and soul-searching, several meetings later we all agreed to have a go at The Golden Palace -which was the name of our new hotel.

When it came time to do the final one-hour Golden Girls, it was a very strange week. It wasn't quite as emotionally draining as the last Mary Tyler Moore Show had been -at least not openly. Bea was happy to tie off the series, and the rest of us were looking forward to the new adventure, but none of us was immune to the fact that it was the end of a very important seven years in our lives.

By the time Friday arrived, the audiences for both shows were really charged up. They, too, were very much aware that it was the closing performance. When we were taking our bows at the end of the second -and last- show that night, Paul and Tony and Susan joined us onstage. They handed each of us a slim jewelry box, containing an exquisite heavy gold bracelet. Engraved on the clasp is "GG." When you open it, on the back of the clasp is a tiny "7."

Witt-Thomas-Harris. Class is such an overly used word, but sometimes it's the only one that fits.

Over that summer, power ;eetings (as opposed to just meetings) had been going on between Witt-Thomas-Harris , NBC, CBS, and Buena Vista. When all the dust finally settled, The Golden Palace was leaving the Peacock and set to air on CBS.

The new show took a little getting used to, which was to be expected. It was enjoyable, the reviewers were kind, and the ratings were satisfactory. In other words, Golden Palace was a moderately pleasing show -not a grabber.

With the number of other shows they had going, it was physically impossible for Paul and Tony to keep hands on, as they had with The Golden Girls, although one or the other usually attended Monday read-through and dress rehearsal.

The season continued; it didn't progress. Soon a pattern began to emerge. There had been many rewrites during the week on Golden Girls, and as a rule they were improvements -just minor fixes here and there. With Palace, far too often we would start out with one script on Monday, with major changes on Tuesday, and several times we received a whole new, unrelated script on Wednesday. What had caught our interest originally -the idea these three women were trying to compete in and cope with today's world, as it was happening just outside the lobby doors- somehow got lost in the shuffle. In desperation, on or another of us would be given a funny run of dialogue, not necessarily connected to the story line, and it would be like doing Golden Girls in the Lobby. There were some good shows mixed in, but not long enough.

Once the basic problems with the show were identified, things began to improve. By the end of the season, while CBS had not given us a firm pickup yet, they were most reassuring. They told Paul and Tony they were something like 96 percent sure of renewing but had to give themselves a little leeway until all the new pilots had been seen. Not the most sanguin way to sign off for the summer, but Witt-Thomas-Harris were very optimistic.

By the end of May, the long-awaited new fall schedule was announced -and we weren't on it. Tony said he had been told, for what it was worth, that we were listed on the schedule until the night before the announcement, but in countering some move by one of the other networks, we didn't make the cut. C'est la cotton-pickin' vie!

It was disappointing not to be picked up, but it was by no means the heart-wrenching loss it had been at other times. I think what I missed more than the actual show itself, aside from the people involved, of course, was the structure it afforded. Working for three weeks, then getting a week off to give the writers a chance to catch up, is, to me, the best schedule in the world. And it's a different show each week, as the routine doesn't settle into a rut. However, any habit pattern wears off quickly, and there is always plenty to do -all those things there was no time for when the days were "structured." Such as beginning to make notes for a new bookm for instance. I'll never learn.
 

Bea Arthur May 29, 2001 Chat on Lifetime TV

Which episode of the Golden Girls was your favorite?
Bea: I really think the one in which my mother, Sophia, entered us in the Mother Daughter beauty pagaent at Shady Pines. And where in the talent section we did Sonny & Cher doing "I Got You Babe." It really was quite wonderful. Judy Evans, our costumer, did a wonderful job, she had Estelle in a tiny fur like jacket with a black moustache...

Was Sophia like your own mother?
Oh God now! Is anyone's mother like that? I don't think so! I think the mother-daughter between Estelle and me was one made in comedy heaven.

Is your personality anything like Dorothy's?
Bea: Yes....a little bit, I think I am a bubble-pricker... I don't like anything phony.

Has the popularity of The Golden Girl, across the world, astounded you? I live in the UK and dedicated a Web site to the show -- and since then I've realized just how many people adore the show!
Bea: It's just incredible, truly. I'm here now in Chicago doing my own show, and I think Golden Girl is shown three hours day here, and everybody loves it.

Ms. Arthur, you have said you see no point in reunion shows, but acting-wise, would you find it easy to step back into a role such as Maude?
Bea: Yes, but I have to ask you for what purpose? I don't understand your question. You see I feel we did the best work we could possibly do, I don't think the writing could be any better, so why go back to it? Always leave them wanting more...

Do you like enjoy working with Betty and Rue and Estelle?
Bea: Oh yes, oh God yes, certainly! I've been blessed with both shows, with that and with Maude, working with terrific writers and directors. We are very lucky.

Ms. Arthur, Golden Girls has changed the way the public views the 50+ age group. How do you feel about Dorothy being a role model to so many women?
Bea: Well I love it, but I tell you, when I first read the very first script sent to me, I though it was one of the funniest, most literate, most adult things I had every read. I didn't stop to think it was for older women, I just thought it was one funny, funny script. But of course, it's very nice to have women realize that women our age can be attractive and well groomed and wear fabulous clothes and earrings, and have a sex life. I think it's wonderful.

What would you say was the most embarrassing thing that happened on the set of Golden Girls?
Bea: I don't think there was ever an embarrassment, there was such love going back and forth between the audience and us, that nothing was embarrassing. There were one or two times when I couldn't go on because I broke up from laughing, but other than that, there was nothing embarrassing.

What is your favorite aspect of Dorothy?
Bea: Her bubble-pricking, again, seeing the ridiculousness of people and things. Also I like that she is a very decent human being.

What's your favorite cheesecake?
Bea: Do you know something? Now this goes to the grave with you -- I hate cheesecake!

How did you manage to eat all that cheesecake???
Bea: You do what you have to do, you know?!? And there was a lot of cheesecake I tell you !

How many takes were there when Rose told the "shooting herring out of a cannon" story?
Bea: I can't answer that, I don't know, Oh Lord! It was a great show it really was. And I miss Stan so much... you know Herb died. He was such a wonderful actor. And I loved that relationship too.

Bea, was "Dorothy" your first choice in characters to portray?
Bea: Oh no, that was presented to me. In fact, I'll never forget that because the script said "For Dorothy, a Bea Arthur type".

Who designs your wardrobe? I think it is classy and chic!
Bea: I'm so upset, Judy Evans was our wonderful costumer, and she decided to retire, and she now lives in Washington State. I miss her terribly, there is nobody like her. Not only in terms of making spectacular outfits, but she was so into the character of each person. The way she dressed Betty was so different from the way she dressed Blanche, or my mother, or me. She was wonderful.

Did you ever have them rewrite any lines during golden girls, or were you happy with the dialog?
Bea: Well no, it was really give and take - also true with Maude - if one of us felt something was not quite right, we'd discuss it with the writer or the director. We were really part of a very democratic organization in both cases.

Out of everyone you've worked with so far, whom did you most enjoy working with?
Bea: Hmmm. I guess Angela Lansbury. I don't know though, I look at the old Maude series now, and say what a wonderful bunch of actors we were, Bill Macy, Conrad Bain and Rue McClanahan.

What character did you play that most resembled you?
Bea: I would say Dorothy. Or maybe the one I would most want to emulate.

You have said you see no point in reunion shows, but acting-wise, would you find it easy to step back into a role such as Maude [or Dorothy]?
Bea: Yes, but I have to ask you for what purpose? I don't understand your question. You see I feel we did the best work we could possibly do, I don't think the writing could be any better, so why go back to it? Always leave them wanting more.....

Was the episode where "Dorothy" has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome personal to you?
Bea: Oh no, not at all. That was Susan Harris, who wrote the show, a great deal of it, did suffer from it, so she wrote something about it, because at that time it was really unknown. I don't know if people even understand it now.

Did you find Rose's St. Olaf stories unbearable sometimes?!!
Bea: LOL! No, I thought they were wonderful. They were so bizarre, I loved that!

I've heard that there was a lot of practical joking on the set of Golden Girls. What are some of your favorite memories of the joking that went on backstage?
Bea: I hate to say this, I don't think there was any joking backstage, I don't remember any. We were all too involved with the work. The work ethic was so wonderful.

Has the popularity of The Golden Girl, across the world, astounded you?
Bea: It's just incredible, truly. I'm here now in Chicago doing my own show, and I think Golden Girls is shown three hours day here, and everybody loves it.
 
 

ESTELLE GETTY

Kids are some of her biggest admirers of Estelle Getty ( Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy’s feisty, sharp-tongued octogenarian mother): "I think they look upon me as an old child, because I'm so little," says Getty. "But they love the fact that I talk back to Dorothy".

Under five feet tall, she identifies with the underdogs in life, having experienced discrimination against her height, and now to some extent, her age. "Being tiny has been difficult for me in a business that regarded physicality as the most important part of your life. And I always had to fight against the fact that I could do things even though I was small. And eventually I proved to them I could play mother to six footers."

Hollywood's stereotyping of older people is beginning to change, Getty claims, and she credits Golden Girls for some of that. "Before [Golden Girls], every single older person was a mother or a grandmother. Now there are neighbors, secretaries and people who have jobs who are older people. You see roles they've never been allowed in before."

During taping season, the cast produced a show a week. "It's hard work and we were very conscientious of the quality of the show, of making it the best." The show thrived from good script writing and the synergy of the cast: Estelle Getty, Beatrice Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan. "We sure were simpatico," she recalls. "We'd laugh at the same jokes, we had the same feelings about animals and about the world. It was quite remarkable." On one occasion the four refused to do a show that depicted them raising minks for furs. Getty says they were in unison about their likes and dislikes.

Of the four actresses, Getty was the only one who was new to the genre of television, having spent all of her career on the stage. But despite 40 years of experience, Getty still had stage fright. She recounts the experience, "Every Friday night, when it was over I would say, 'that wasn't so bad' and then the next Friday would come along and I'd be struck with terror. I fight everything."

In the spring of 2000, Getty announced publicly that she has Parkinson's disease, a reality that has forced this true "Golden Girl" to retire from the vocation she has loved since childhood.

 

RUE McCLANAHAN

Betty young: http://www.geocities.com/goldengirlskatie/biography.html
Bea younger: http://beaarthurfan.tripod.com/dynomitebeaarthur/id4.html
Rue: http://www.goldengirlsruemcclanahan.homestead.com/gallery.html
Estelle: http://idotvads.com/getty/gallery.html
Title: http://beaarthurfan.tripod.com/dynomitebeaarthur/id8.html