"Those Two Couldn't Warm Up To Each Other If They Were Cremated Together": 40 Facts About "The Golden Girls" That Might Truly Surprise You

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This twelvemonth marks the 40th day of the iconic The Golden Girls, which archetypal deed TV screens successful September 1985! What began arsenic a sitcom astir 4 older women sharing a location successful Miami has go a taste touchstone.

With large acting, crisp writing, unforgettable characters, and a willingness to tackle real-life issues (like HIV, being unhoused, Alzheimer's disease, addiction, and being undocumented), it stood retired from different comedies of its time. Four decades later, the timeless amusement inactive has a devoted fanbase, a increasing caller procreation of fans, and endless TikTok, Reels, and memes keeping its tone alive. In grant of the show's 40th anniversary, I decided to enactment unneurotic 40 facts astir the classical series:

1. The thought for a amusement revolving astir older women came aft Warren Littlefield, who was astatine the clip vice president for drama improvement astatine NBC, watched Doris Roberts and Selma Diamond bash a skit that was the item of the 1984 NBC upfronts, successful which they mishear the sanction of Miami Vice arsenic Miami Nice, and past them having a backmost and distant banter reasoning that the amusement was astir a clump of aged retired people.

2. In 1985, Susan Harris, who was a TV writer, producer, and, astatine the time, best-known arsenic the creator of the groundbreaking sitcom Soap and its spin-off Benson, was presented with the thought to make a amusement astir 4 older women surviving successful Miami, aft her producing spouse and husband, Paul Junger Witt, took a gathering astatine NBC and was pitched the idea. Paul told NBC, "I deliberation I mightiness person idiosyncratic who's interested," and instantly came location and told Susan astir it, to which she thought, Okay, I could bash that.

3. Now, erstwhile NBC meant "older women," they meant Hollywood aged and were reasoning it would beryllium astir women successful their 40s and 50s. However, Susan wanted the characters to beryllium older, truthful she negotiated, and they "never pinned [their] ages down."

4. Susan created the relation of Dorothy Zbornak arsenic a "Bea Arthur type," however, Brandon Tartikoff, then-head of NBC Entertainment, did not privation to cast Bea successful the role.

5. Tasked with uncovering idiosyncratic similar Bea, casting manager Joel Thurm brought successful Elaine Stritch to audition for Dorothy. According to Elaine, she blew the audition because, not lone did 1 of the writers not similar her, but she besides ad-libbed and added the connection "fuck" during her audition. According to Joel, the writer who didn't similar her was Susan, saying, "None of the radical associated with Golden Girls wanted her. So this pistillate had to locomotion into a freezer of an bureau and effort to marque it funny. Stritch asked Susan 1 thing, it was thing like, ‘Is it OK if I alteration something?’ And Susan said, ‘Yes, lone the punctuation.’ There was nary emotion successful that room. I felt truthful atrocious for mediocre Stritch due to the fact that it wasn’t her fault."

6. Initially, Betty White was formed arsenic the role of Blanche Devereaux, portion Rue McClanahan was up for the role of Rose Nylund. While Betty was thrilled to play Blanche, the pilot's director, Jay Sandrich, had a thought during their audition and felt she should play Rose instead, successful bid to debar playing a quality that would beryllium excessively akin to Sue Ann Nivens, the man-hungry quality she played connected The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He asked Rue to work for Blanche instead.

7. Rue and Betty had really some co-starred unneurotic before, connected Mama's Family. While Bea Arthur and Rue had some antecedently co-starred unneurotic connected Maude.

8. After Rue was formed arsenic Blanche, Susan Harris asked her to telephone Bea — who had passed connected the publication — to inquire her to see speechmaking it. According to Rue, Bea told her, "I person nary involvement successful playing Maude and Vivian conscionable Sue Ann Nivens." To which Rue replied, "That's not however we're doing it, Bea. I americium going to play the Sue Ann Nivens vamp, and Betty is going to play the Vivian role." That intrigued Bea, who replied, "Now that's precise interesting."

9. Estelle Getty, who was past a little-known theatre histrion starring successful Torch Song Trilogy, was really the archetypal 1 cast. And according to the casting director, Joel Thurm, "She did her homework and prepared for the part."

10. Estelle found Sophia's iconic straw purse (which was utilized for the full tally of the show) astatine a thrift store connected Fairfax Ave. successful LA, portion buying for props to usage arsenic portion of her audition for the role.

11. It took the constitution creator 3 hours to transform Estelle (using aging constitution and a wig) into Sophia.

12. The house utilized connected the amusement isn't successful Miami — it's successful the LA vicinity of Brentwood.

13. The room that appeared connected the amusement was not original. It was really a reused set from a short-lived Patty Duke sitcom called It Takes Two.

14. The producers primitively wanted to usage Bette Midler's song, "Friends," arsenic the theme song. But it was excessively costly to license, truthful they settled connected "Thank You For Being A Friend." Which, I deliberation we tin each agree, was meant to be.

15. Rue had a clause successful her declaration that allowed her to support each of Blanche's clothes.

16. According to Mort Nathan, who was a shaper and caput writer connected The Golden Girls, determination is simply a crushed the ladies ate their signature dainty connected the show: "Eating cheesecake astatine 1 successful the greeting is stranger, much decadent...and a small funnier." In existent life, Bea Arthur hated cheesecake.

17. Sophia was ne'er expected to beryllium portion of the regular cast, conscionable a recurring character. However, Estelle stole each country she was successful in the pilot, truthful she was past promoted to bid regular.

18. The main fourth character connected the amusement was meant to beryllium Coco, the cheery navigator who worked for the ladies. While the quality did good with trial audiences, helium was removed from the amusement successful favour of Sophia (who tested better).

19. Estelle suffered from extreme signifier fright (she was a theatre histrion and wasn't utilized to TV) and often hid her lines successful the objects successful beforehand of her.

20. The amusement was an contiguous deed from the start. It premiered astatine No. 1 and was watched by 21.5 cardinal households.

21. Both Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother were fans of the show. In 1988, they invited the formed to execute a seven-minute skit live, arsenic portion of the Royal Variety Performance astatine the prestigious London Palladium.

22. In the occurrence "Valentine's Day," Julio Iglesias was expected to serenade Sophia. But helium said helium didn't privation to sing (possibly due to the fact that of nerves), truthful Estelle improvised and instead, successful the scene, she took him by the limb and serenaded him.

23. Bob Hope appeared arsenic a impermanent prima aft Susan Harris asked Betty (who was adjacent friends with him) to telephone him and inquire him to beryllium connected the show.

24. George Clooney's cause asked for him to impermanent prima connected the amusement truthful that helium could support his health insurance.

25. Quentin Tarantino appeared arsenic 1 of 12 Elvis impersonators successful the episode, "Sophia's Wedding: Part 1."

26. Cher was asked to impermanent prima arsenic the woman of Phil Petrillo, the lad of Sophia and member of Dorothy, successful the occurrence wherever helium dies; however, they ne'er heard backmost from her.

27. While sadly, Cher ne'er did a impermanent spot connected the show, she did sing The Golden Girls theme song successful 2022 for an NBC peculiar celebrating the beingness of Betty White.

28. Bea erstwhile personally called a housewife who had told TV Guide that the amusement wasn't arsenic bully arsenic it had been during its archetypal play and that the quality of Dorothy wasn't "interesting."

29. Estelle would not allow the writers to constitute immoderate jokes for Sophia that included gay-bashing oregon home violence. In fact, she loved the gay community, was a immense ally, and was an outspoken advocator of HIV/AIDs awareness. On set, she was precise adjacent to the cheery writers connected the amusement and would often acceptable them up connected unsighted dates.

30. Before penning the occurrence "72 Hours" (the occurrence wherever Rose learns she mightiness person been exposed to HIV during a transfusion), the writers talked with HIV experts astatine UCLA, truthful that they could larn what accusation they wanted to the nationalist to know.

31. The occurrence wherever Dorothy is diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome is based connected Susan Harris' life.

32. One episode, often regarded arsenic 1 of Betty White's champion performances connected the show, is Season 2's "A Piece of Cake." In the episode, we get a flashback to Rose celebrating her day unsocial and emotionally telling her dormant husband, Charlie, that she was going to merchantability their location and determination to Miami. Betty said that the country was hard to bash due to the fact that adjacent though she was talking to "Charlie," she truly was talking to her dormant husband, Allen Ludden, who had died successful 1981. She aboriginal said it did assistance enactment a closure.

33. Singer Jenny Lewis was really a kid actor, and astatine property 11, she guest-starred connected an occurrence wherever she played Daisy, who was the Sunshine Cadet scout who was accidentally fixed Rose's stuffed teddy bear, Fernando, by Blanche. In an interview, she said they [the cast] frightened the crap retired of her, and said that successful betwixt takes, Rue would archer her the scariest shade stories she had ever heard.

34. In June 2025, during a Pride LIVE! Hollywood panel, the show's co-producer, Marsha Posner Williams, confirmed a longstanding rumor: that Betty and Bea did not get on during the filming of the show. Marsha said, "When that reddish airy was connected [and the amusement was filming], determination were nary much nonrecreational radical than those women, but erstwhile the reddish airy was off, those 2 couldn't lukewarm up to each different if they were cremated together." She, on with different panelists, besides said they would regularly perceive Bea telephone Betty the c-word.

35. Each of the shows 4 stars won an Emmy for their roles.

36. Even though Rue, Estelle, and Betty wanted to bash much seasons of the series, it yet ended aft 7 seasons due to the fact that Bea did not privation to bash the amusement anymore and wanted the amusement to spell retired connected top.

37. Rue, Estelle, and Betty did spell connected to prima connected the spin-off, The Golden Palace. In the series, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose extremity up selling the location and buying a beachfront edifice called The Golden Palace arsenic an investment. It lone lasted 1 play arsenic it failed to unrecorded up to the occurrence of its predecessor.

38. After The Golden Palace was cancelled, Estelle went connected to play Sophia connected The Golden Girls spin-off Empty Nest (which was astir the GG neighbors and whose characters would sometimes look connected the show) from 1993–95.

39. In 1996, determination was a mini-cast reunion, erstwhile Betty played Dionne, Estelle played Cher, and Rue played a operation of Tai and Amber successful a Clueless skit that was portion of the MTV Movie Awards.

40. And lastly, the last time the formed got unneurotic astatine a nationalist lawsuit was successful June 2008, erstwhile Betty, Rue, and Bea reunited for the TV Land Awards (Estelle was excessively sick to attend), wherever they received the Pop Culture award for the show.

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