subject: The Golden Girls Seasons 1-7 [print this page] The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a Miami home.The series was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions in association with Touchstone Television and distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television in syndication.
The Golden Girls won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globes for outstanding TV series comedy/musical.All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series' run and each had multiple nominations.It also ranked among the top ten highest-rated programs for six out of its seven seasons. It has been listed as one of the greatest and most influential shows of all time.
As the series begins, three older women are sharing a home in Miami.The owner of the house is a widow Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), who has recently been joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (Betty White) and divorce Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), who had each responded to a room-for-rent ad on the bulletin board of a local grocery store. In the pilot episode the women had a gay cook named Coco. The character was eliminated because there was already too little dialogue for the three women.The three were later joined by Dorothy's mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty).
Estelle Getty was younger than both Bea Arthur (by 1 year, 2 months & 12 days) and Betty White (by 1 year, 6 months & 8 days) despite playing the elderly mother of Arthur's character. Getty was heavily made up in thick glasses and a white wig to look the part. Rue McClanahan was 12-13 years younger than the rest of the cast.
Originally, McClanahan was cast as Rose and White was cast as Blanche, but both actresses felt the roles were too similar to ones they had played previously. White had portrayed man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, while McClanahan had co-starred as sweet but scatterbrained Vivian Harmon opposite Arthur in Maude. Eager not to be typecast, they took the suggestion of veteran comedy director Jay Sandrich and switched roles.
Actress Lee Grant turned down a chance to star as Dorothy. Elaine Stritch also auditioned.During its original run, The Golden Girls received 65 Emmy nominations, 11 Emmy awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Viewers For Quality Television awards. All the lead actresses won Emmy Awards for their performances on the show. The Golden Girls, along with All in the Family and Will & Grace, is one of three shows where all the principal actors have won Emmy Awards.
