Interesting Golden Girls Trivia

Set in 1980’s Miami, The Golden Girls is an amusing and often heartwarming look at life after marriage and children, as three widowed and one single woman become roommates.

Since the show’s cancellation in 1992 due to casting issues, The Golden Girls has earned its spot in popular American culture with syndicated showings on several networks such as Lifetime and most recently, WE.

Let’s explore a few hilarious, entertaining, interesting, and just plain silly facts about this incredible classic:

The Golden Girls was not just a hit in the United States, it is reported that the show has been shown in over 60 countries.

Elaine Stritch was at one point connected to the role of Dorothy. Lee Grant was later offered and refused the role due to the fact that she absolutely refused to play a character old enough to have grandchildren.

Rue McClanahan was originally cast to play the role of Rose, and Betty White to play the role of Blanche. However, Betty was uncomfortable being typecast due to her previous works. The two eventually switched scripts and the rest is incredible history.

Over the course of the seven years that the show was on the air, the girls consumed over one hundred cheesecakes. If that is not believable, Bea Arthur actually hates cheesecake!

After the show’s cancellation, the writers later admitted that they had always attempted to give Sophia the sauciest lines, as they felt that that specific character should be able to get away with more, due to the story line of her previous stroke.

Rue McClanahan is the youngest of the four girls. Estelle Getty is the second youngest – an incredible fifteen and a half months younger than her on-screen daughter, Bea Arthur.

The idea for The Golden Girls was inspired by then NBC Executive Brandon Tartikoff’s mother’s relationship with her female neighbor, as the two would argue and disagree on things quite frequently, but always made up and remained very close friends.

Estelle Getty reportedly suffered from terrible stage fright during the taping of the first twenty-six episodes.

The character of Blanche was not originally described as having a thick Southern drawl. Rue McClanahan suggested this addition herself.

Bea Arthur has been the star of two hit shows, both of which ended because of her desire to leave: Maude and The Golden Girls. Bea actually wanted to leave the series after finishing the fifth season, but was convinced to stay on for two additional seasons.

Throughout its seven year run, The Golden Girls received a total of 57 Emmy nominations.

The Golden Girls is very unique in that it is one of only three series in which all of the main characters have won Emmy awards. The other two shows? All in the Family and Will and Grace.

While this amazing show may have ended seventeen long years ago, the classic episodes and popularity of The Golden Girls is here to stay.

Sources:
http://www.goldengirlscentral.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088526/trivia