They were the original foursome.
The hilarious and touching show became a pop culture phenomenon.
Think you already know these gals head-to-toe?
Here are some facts you might not know aboutThe Golden Girls.
Betty White was originally cast as Blanche
White read first for Blanche, then for Rose.
Producers decided that if White played another man-hungry character, audiences might think it was Sue Ann revisited.
Estelle Getty suffered from stage fright
Getty admitted to havingstage fright.
While the actress didn’t begin acting seriously until she was 55, she was 62 whenThe Golden Girlsbegan.
“I’m afraid, you know?
I live with fear as a constant companion.
Can I do this week after week?
Am I good enough?
Will I be able to pull it off this week?
Will I be able to fool them again?”
“Every Friday I’m scared out of my wits, you know?
I keep thinking, I don’t believe that I’m in this.
Wait til they find out that I can’t do it.”
The kitchen table only had three chairs
Four Golden Girls but, only three chairs?
The math doesn’t add up!
He added, “It was a bit like the school bus.
You take a seat and you have that seat for the rest of your life.
Sophia oftenpulled up a stool.
These four ladies seemed like the grandmothers these teenagers wished they had.
“Bea [Arthur] and I didn’t have a lot of relationship going on.
Bea is a very, very eccentric woman.
She wouldn’t go to lunch [with me] unless Betty [White] would go with her.
You would never know by watching the show their electric on-screen chemistry had us convinced they were inseparable.
“None of us was like any of our characters.
People ask me if I am like Blanche and my standard answer is, ‘Get serious!
She continued, “We weren’t like our characters at all.
Betty probably the least of all.
She was Jewish, New York funny.
She kept saying, ‘Can’t we make these characters Jewish?’
She would have felt so much more comfortable than trying to be Italian, although it worked.
Bea has got a very funny take on people and she’s quick-witted.
And Betty [White] has nothing but brains.
She’s almost as smart as I am!”
Sounds like McClanahandidchannel her inner Blanche for the role!
The seasoned New York stage actress was touring Los Angeles with Harvey Fierstein’s playTorch Song Trilogy.
At the time, Bea Arthur, who played Getty’s daughter,was 61.
I play her with all the love I can, because I think she’s a great character.
I think she’s a great person.
A caring, feisty, daring, optimistic, tough, smart lady.”
It didn’t work.
According to Stritch, the writer didn’t care for her sense of humor and “colorful” language.
A year later, Dorothy (Bea Arthur) died of cancer, at age 86.
She is stilladvocating for animals, she’s hostedSNL, and (new couple alert?
)she definitely made outwith Bradley Cooper.
Go ahead and grab a slice of cheesecake, while thetheme songplays you out!
