How old were the Golden Girls? Who was the oldest Golden Girl? Who was the youngest Golden Girl?
When the show began in 1985, Betty White (Rose) and Bea Arthur (Dorothy) were both 63. Estelle Getty, who played Dorothy's mother Sophia, was actually a year younger than Bea Arthur at 62 - apparently she sat in the makeup chair for two hours a day to get her Sophia on. Rue McClanahan (Blanche) was a positively sprightly 51 when the show premiered.
Are the Golden Girls still alive?
Betty White is the only living Golden Girl as of this writing in summer 2021. She was born January 17, 1922 so she's currently 99 years old!
Estelle Getty died in 2008 at age 84. Bea Arthur died in 2009 at age 86. Rue McClanahan died in 2010 at age 76.
How many seasons of Golden Girls are there? When did the Golden Girls air?
The Golden Girls ran from 1985-1992 for 7 seasons and 180 episodes.
Where can I watch the Golden Girls online?
As of summer 2021, the best place to find it is on Hulu.
Who sang the Golden Girls theme song?
The producers wanted a Bette Midler song, but it was too expensive. The song we all know and love, "Thank You For Being a Friend," written by Andrew Gold and performed by Cynthia Fee
Did the Golden Girls get along in real life?
So, this seems like it was kind of a touchy subject. The ladies seemed to have a decent working relationship - operative words being "decent" and "working relationship." They had worked together in various combinations on other shows in the past.
In Rue's memoir, she says that she loved working with Bea Arthur, and it seems like Rue, Betty, and Estelle all got along pretty well.
Bea was quoted as saying it was a "brilliant working relationship" among the four women.
But Betty White has said that she feels that Bea Arthur was annoyed by her - in 2011, she told the Village Voice, "She was not that fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. It was my positive attitude — and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious!"
OK, so taking all of this into account, it sounds like Bea Arthur was kind of a curmudgeonly Dorothy Zbornak type in real life, but these four women did work long hours on set. Like, they're at work and sometimes your coworkers annoy you after a long day!
So, by all accounts, they had a pretty good relationship for coworkers - they weren't besties, but they got along pretty well at the office, hung out at work events together, and went to bigger events like each other's birthday parties. So we'd say that yes, for the most part, they got along.
More Fun Golden Girls Trivia:
👵 The Golden Girls won 11 Emmys and was nominated 68 times.
🌴 Rue McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux, had her own line of lingerie on QVC called "A Touch of Rue." Holy moly, what we'd give to get our hands on that.
👑 Apparently the Queen Mother loved the show so much that the cast was invited to perform live in London for the Royal Family. Do you think this'll end up on the next season of "The Crown?"
🎖️ Bea Arthur served in the US Marines during WWII as a typist, truck driver, and dispatcher. She was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant.
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