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. 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 hope this article on how old were the golden girls has been interesting and has also been able to bring back good memories. [51], During season six, some uncertainty arose over whether Bea Arthur would commit to future seasons, or leave the show once her contract expired, to pursue other projects. 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. [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. [39] In 2011, White stated that she believed it was her "positive attitude" and perky demeanor that got on Arthur's nerves. Dorothy meets and marries Blanches Uncle Lucas in the hour-long series finale, which aired in May 1992, and moves to Hollingsworth Manor in Atlanta, Georgia. Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). It was my positive attitude, and that made Bea angry sometimes.. 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! the golden girls | CBR 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. Going by the math, that makes Blanche 53 at the start of the series. The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. "[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. The series also ranked among the Nielsen ratings' top ten for six of its seven seasons. The show ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992 and featured four women in their golden years living together in Miami. Your email address will not be published. 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]. Estelle Getty, who portrayed Sophia, was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy, Sophias daughter. She joined the cast as Rose Nylund, a Norwegian-American hailing from St. Olaf, Minnesota. Richard Vaczy and Tracy Gamble, previously writers on 227 and My Two Dads, also assumed the roles of producers and head writers. Arthur died from cancer in 2009 at age 86 and McClanahan followed in. 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. 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. ISBN978-1-4516-1369-8. "[61] Many of the characters' outfits were designed by Evans and made especially, but seven to ten costume changes per episode were made between the four actresses, which entailed a great deal of off-the-rack shopping. How old were The Golden Girls supposed to be? However, there are some clues that can be found in the show itself. It was, however, more than a fringe, Its a tiny marvel, looking back, that the Golden Girls magnificent casting came together as well as it did. 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 . Betty White as Rose Nylund in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC). [41] Rue McClanahan, who shared a dressing room with Getty, described the severity of Getty's stage fright: "She'd panic. This indicates that she was likely in her late 40s when the show began. Although the women's ages were rarely disclosed, some deductive work may be used to approximate how old each Golden Girl was at the commencement of the series. Rose Nylund was 55 years old when the show premiered, as Dorothy stated in the Season 1 episode Job Hunting.. Disney's Michael Eisner explains, "Estelle Getty made our three women into girls. [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. 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. 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. 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! [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. 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. 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. The producers of The Golden Girls decided to cast Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan after seeing them act alongside each other in shows like Maude (1972-1978) and Mamas Family (1983-1984). 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. According to McClanahan, by the end of season three, Getty's anxiety had become a serious problem, and she had increasing trouble memorizing her lines. [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. For one thing, it did pave the way for a new terrain. [71], On Metacritic, the series has an overall score of 82 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim. Reportedly, White doubted that she could effectively play the role of Rose. It had a total of 180 half-hour episodes across its seven seasons. Colucci, Jim (2016). Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. It was, however, more than a fringe success. After some careful math, viewers also figured out that Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was supposed to be 53. [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. According to Cherry, the writers' room was "a competitive atmosphere. This could be because the writers wanted to create an atmosphere of timelessness, allowing the show to appeal to viewers of all ages. [70][self-published source?] "The Golden Girls" turns 30: 10 things you didn't know - CBS News RELATED: The Golden Girls: How the Classic Sitcom Ended. On the other hand, the women in And Just Like That dress in a trendy, modern style. How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be? By Zachary Guida Jan 31, 2023 10 Ways Audience Popularity Gave TV Characters Greater Roles 'The Golden Girls' Turn 35 - forbes.com In Australia, the show airs daily on FOX Comedy. 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[11], Ideas for a comedy series about older women emerged during the filming of a television special at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, in August 1984. In this article, we will explore the evidence and try to uncover the true ages of the Golden Girls. As one of the few times in television history where three shows from the same producer, set in the same city, aired back-to-back-to-back on the same network, the three shows occasionally took advantage of their unique circumstance to create storylines carrying through all three series, such as "Hurricane Saturday". In fact, the two were less than four months apart in age. 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.