Alex Carson
The Golden Girls was one of the most popular sitcoms of its time and perhaps its success was unpredictable. No one would have truly known that a show about senior citizens retiring in Florida would become such a hit. But alas, that’s exactly what happened!
The success of The Golden Girls came because of the excellent cast members and the chemistry that they shared. They had a great friendship on screen and one would assume that this was exactly the same behind the camera.
But now, Joel Thurm, the casting director of The Golden Girls has confirmed a long-standing rumor regarding one member of The Golden Girls Cast. What impact this will now have on the show, we have yet to see…
The Golden Girls Casting Director Finally Confirms the Rumors. Join FactsVerse to learn the full story…
THE GOLDEN GIRLS CASTING DIRECTOR FINALLY CONFIRMS THE RUMORS
While there were 4 Golden Girls, perhaps the most famous were Bea Arthur who played Dorothy and Betty White who played Rose. According to Joel Thurm, the casting director for The Golden Girls, he stated that Bea Arthur used some offensive language to describe Betty White – while the cameras weren’t rolling. She didn’t get along well with the actress and they somehow managed to hide this in their roles.
Luckily, the professionalism of these actresses didn’t hold the show back and the show went on. But Bea Arthur’s dislike for Betty White was rather well-known and it was rumored that the two actresses didn’t like each other. And now, with Joel Thurm’s confirmation – we can put these rumors to rest and assert that they are true after all.
So, what was the reason for this feud between these two great actresses?
Well, Bea Arthur may not have liked the fact that Betty White was thought of as an actress. Bea Arthur was, after all, a versatile actress with years of experience. Betty White was the same – but she was known for her personality. Even after The Golden Girls came to an end, Betty White was featured in commercials and she had a persona that went beyond just being another working actress.
This made Bea Arthur feel that Betty White wasn’t a proper actress and shouldn’t be considered as such.
They also had different approaches to their work. Bea Arthur liked to prepare for her role and needed time to be left alone to practice her lines. Whereas Betty White just had fun and relaxed until the cameras started rolling. This conflict in their work approaches also caused some issue.
But there were even instances when Bea Arthur didn’t like Betty White’s conduct on set. For example, Estelle Getty played Sophia and as she got older, her dementia sadly became more overwhelming.
At times, Estelle Getty would have her lines written on her palms as she couldn’t remember them. This would slow things down on occasion – and one has to remember that the show was filmed in front of an audience. Betty White would sometimes gesture to make it seem like Estelle had been drinking which is why she apparently forgot her lines. This was meant as a joke and many audience members laughed. But Bea Arthur found this to be crude and offensive.
But the show went on. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Matthew Saks, Bea Arthur’s son stated that his mother had some issues with Betty White but didn’t actually hate her. Though, Joel Thurm, stated that Bea Arthur really didn’t like Betty White and used harsh language to describe her co-star.
FACTS ABOUT THE GOLDEN GIRLS YOU DIDN’T KNOW
Now let’s look at a few fun facts about The Golden Girls that you probably didn’t know about. For example, we mentioned that Estelle Getty had difficulty remembering her lines. Well, the character of Sophia – who was Dorothy’s mother, was originally supposed to be a temporary character.
But whenever Sophia came on screen, audiences loved her and she was one of the most charming characters from the show. She became a recurring character and a permanent fixture once the producers realized how popular she was with the audiences.
And strangely enough, Estelle Getty – the actress who played Sophia was actually younger than Bea Arthur, who played her daughter Dorothy! As a result, Estelle Getty had to spend hours in the makeup room – where the brilliant makeup artists made her look much older than she actually was.
As a side note, it was actually Betty White who was the oldest cast member and it was she who passed away last.
For many fans of The Golden Girls, Sophia is the best character. After all, she’s the oldest and the wittiest and has the sharpest tongue. Estelle Getty truly did a great job at performing this role. But did you know that she was actually nervous when playing the role?
She had tremendous stage fright and it would sometimes take several takes for her to land her lines. She was described as having confidence during rehearsals and nervousness when the cameras started rolling.
But also, Estelle Getty had control of the character. She loved the witty jokes that Sophia made but she wasn’t afraid to put her foot down when she found some of the jokes to be too vulgar. She refused to tell jokes that were too hurtful and she especially refused to do jokes that poked fun of gay people.
Her on screen daughter, Dorothy, played by Bea Arthur had a military-style discipline which she brought to her role. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though – because Bea Arthur herself was one of the first women to serve in the US military!
And while we now know that Bea Arthur didn’t always get along with Betty White – there was actually a great friendship between Rue McLanahan and Betty White who loved each other’s company and loved working together.
—
The show went through many interesting changes to become the success it was. For example, it wasn’t intended for Blanche to have a strong Southern accent – but this happened at Rue McLanahan’s behest – and became one of the highlights of the show. When she told her stories – especially involving men, the Southern accent just made things a bit more interesting and funny!
The cast, even if they had their issues, loved their characters and were dedicated to making a great show. They worked hard and were very involved in the production of the show and the story arc; their character development is what made The Golden Girls such a successful show.
THE LEGACY OF THE GOLDEN GIRLS
The Golden Girls ended in 1992. Yet, over 30 years later, it’s still one of the most popular sitcoms of all time and is an institution in itself.
And it had quite an interesting set of fans!
Her Majesty The Queen Mother was a huge fan of The Golden Girls and had requested the 4 actresses to perform for her. The girls obliged. They performed a show in England with The Queen Mother as part of the audience. In the sketch, they played the characters visiting London and also performed some of the most popular scenes from the show!
It’s not just after the series ended that it became a hit.
Even during its run, it was such a hit that many actors vied for a role on the show. Among the cameo appearances on the show were actors such as George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Alex Trebek, Burt Reynolds, Sonny Bono, and Dick Van Dyke – among many others. One wonders how many other actors and actresses wanted to be on the show and didn’t get a chance.
The show was such a huge success that a cheesecake company gave Bea Arthur several years’ supply of cheesecake – due to the many times that the character Dorothy ate cheesecake on the show. Funnily enough, Bea Arthur actually hated eating cheesecake yet tried it at least 100 times across the series.
While the show took place in Miami, the property in which The Golden Girls lived in was actually in Beverly Hills. It sold for $4 million in August 2020.
But, of course, all good things have to come to an end. Bea Arthur, perhaps the most serious of all the actresses – and the one who played the most serious character, wanted to eventually leave the show.
The show became a vehicle to promote the main cast members to a new generation as well as a previous generation who had seen them growing up. Many fans loved Bea Arthur as Maude and now Dorothy was another one of her great creations.
The show was well-written but the actresses also understood their characters and their respective personalities. They knew how to bring out the best of the characters and how to deliver the lines. They were made for these characters and one can’t imagine anyone else in these roles.
In 1992, the show came to an end when Bea Arthur announced that she wanted to leave. However, after the show ended, there was a short-lived spinoff called The Golden Palace which featured all the main cast members except for Bea Arthur. The spinoff wasn’t as successful and only lasted one year.
Nevertheless, The Golden Girls remains a huge success and even though these long-standing rumors have been confirmed we still think it’ll remain just as popular as its always been.
So, now let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of The Golden Girls? Did you know about the feud that some of the cast members had with Betty White?
In fact, here’s what we want to know:
Do you think that The Golden Girls still holds up as a great show today?
Or is it only liked by existing fans and doesn’t really appeal to a new generation?
