The Golden Television Show
Picture it: NBC Network, September 14th, 1985- the first airing of a Touchstone Pictures-produced sit-com about four elderly women sharing a house together in Miami, Florida. Throughout its seven-year run the hilarious The Golden Girls (1985-1992) and won four Golden Globes and 11 Emmy Awards. And even though it’s been 32 years since its original airing, it remains a classic in heavy syndication (Hallmark Channel, TV Land, and Hulu.) The show has an intriguing history, and I’d like to tell you about that in this blog.
The idea of a sit-com about elderly women was first envisioned at NBC in 1984. NBC Senior Vice President Warren Littlefield met with Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas (son of television legend, Danny Thomas), both of whom had just finished working as the creators of the ABC show Soap (1977-1981). Littlefield asked if they might consider developing the pilot script for the show. They declined, but Witt instead asked his wife, Susan Harris (who was one of the producers on “Soap,”) if she would develop the script. Surprisingly Harris agreed, despite the fact that she had been planning to retire after “Soap,” and unfortunately was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Once she developed the pilot script, she agreed to collaborate with her husband and Thomas once again, and Littlefield green-lit the show.
Director Jay Sandrich first cast Estelle Getty in the role of the irascible, wisecracking Sophia Petrillo, then Betty White and Rue McClanahan as Rose Nylund and Blanche Devereaux. Bea Arthur was the final cast member to join, in the pivotal role of Dorothy Zbornak. Casting was not as easy as it looked. Getty was intimidated by the role due to lifelong stage fright and the pressure of working with already established television leading ladies. And NBC originally brought in White and McClanahan in reversed roles, but Sandrich feared that Betty White as Blanche was “going to be Sue Ann Nivens (her Mary Tyler Moore character) all over again,” and the roles were switched.
On September 9th, 2009, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Beatrice Arthur, and Estelle Getty were all honored as Disney Legends which is an award you can receive for making any kind of contribution to the Walt Disney Studios from acting in a hit movie/television show to designing a beloved theme park attraction. At this point in time, Arthur and Getty were sadly both deceased and McClanahan was too ill to attend, so White accepted for the whole group. (While “Golden Girls,” remains the only contribution to Disney for Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan, Betty White has also appeared in a number of other projects for the studio. She acted in the Touchstone Pictures films, The Proposal (2009) and You Again (2010) and also lent her voice to Disney/Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo (2008), the ABC 30-min. short Operation Secret Santa (2010) and also an episode of the Disney Channel Original Series Mickey Mouse (2013)).
“The Golden Girls,” arguably serves as a great reminder that living life to the fullest can happen no matter one’s age, and tough times in later years can be overcome. One could easily characterize “The Golden Girls,” as a family sit-com, in spite of the fact that it is about a family that is not biologically related-just best friends. It helps keep the legacy of Disney family entertainment alive, but it also has a legacy of its own: living life at its fullest means always loving your friends!
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