Pop Culture Retrospective Episode #1 - The Golden Girls: The story behind one of television's all time best shows!

 You are tuning in to the very first official episode- The Golden Girls, one of her and my, all time favorite shows! On today’s show you will learn a ton of information about this timeless television show including: how did the concept come about, how starred on the show and what was their story, and why, almost 30 years after it went off the air, is the show still so popular? You’ll also learn the answers to two very important questions:  just how many cheesecakes were eaten during the show’s run and which actress had a wardrobe clause in her contract? PS, that’s a lot of shoulder pads….

So kick up your feet, rest your head or focus on the road- here we go!

• Origins of the show
  • Came about during a 1984 NBC fall TV preview, two veteran actresses
    • Doris Roberts (Everyone Loves Raymond, Christmas vacation) and Selma Diamond (Night Court) were doing a sketch introducing Miami Vice.  They were bantering back and forth and mis-prouncing things and an NBC executive had an idea.  Wanted to develop a show that represented a demographic that wasn’t seen often.  Needed to look for the 4 stars of the show
      • When the show premiered:
        • Betty White, born January 22nd, 1922 was 63
          • Was born on the outskirts of Chicago, but moved to LA when she was 2
          • Parents taught her about being compassionate toward animals, this has always stayed with her
          • Growing up, she wanted to be a writer but after writing a play for school, she got bit by the acting bug
          • Volunteered during WWII doing alterations alongside her mother
          • Got her real start in television on a show called Hollywood on Television.  She became so popular on that show, that she was offered one of her own.  She starred in Life with Elizabeth for two years and served as it’s producer.  She was one of the very first ever female tv producers.
          • Betty has  a multitude of television acting credits including the Mary Tyler Moore Show, a short lived show called Maybe This Time alongside Marie Osmond.
            • Marie Osmond is a porcelain doll enthusiast.  She has her own line which you can find online. Some of those dolls include- “Standing Love and Laughter,” “Kiki June,” “Hershey Hugs,” and “Kissy A Frog.”
          • Longest television career of anyone, 80 years! 
        • Bea Arthur, born on May 13, 1922 was 63 at show’s premiere
          • Born in Brooklyn, New York but family moved to Cambridge, Maryland when she was about 10.  Her parents operated a women’s clothing shop.
          • Later during World War II, she was one of the first women to enlist in the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, she went through basic training and then was a typist and later was a truck driver. Which makes me think- what was her CB handle?  Not now Ma!? She was honorably discharged, meeting the rank of Sargent.  
          • Was a licensed med tech, but only worked in the field for about a year and a half
          • She realized that she wanted to be a star and decided to attend acting school.  For 15 a month, toilet in the hallway with a bathtub in the kitchen next to a sink.  
          • One of her first jobs was singing at a nightclub.  She was so stiff that she was fired pretty quickly. 
          • Started out as a serious actress and sort of accidentally realized she had comedic chops.  Was singing a song in a very serious manner and the audience started to laugh
          • Mother of 2 boys
          • Close friend of Angela Landsbury 
          • Starred in Maude previous to GG which was progressive for it’s time, covered controversial topics
        • Estelle Getty, born on July 25, 1923 in New York City was 62
          • Family owned a glass business 
          • Childhood nickname was “Etty” as her sister could not pronounce Estelle
          • On Friday nights, her dad were take her family to see stage performances which inspired her 
          • Always wanted to be an actress, parents were not supportive 
          • Secretary then auditioned later in the day, small plays throughout NY in her 20s
          • Mother of two boys
          • Get kids ready, go to work, lunch break auditions, then back to work, took care of family in afternoon/evening, unusual for women to work 
          • Acted in small plays for about 20 years
            • Took care of younger cast members
            • Close friend of Harvey Weinsteen acted is his plays with controversial topics, didn’t bat an eye 
            • Lost many fellow actors to AIDs, became prominent at AIDs events. 
          • The play- Torch Song Trilogy really put her on the map and got people’s attention
        • Rue McClanahan was 51
          • Grew up on the plains of Oklahoma
          • First of two daughters
          • Parents both owned businesses, unusual for women to work
          • Mom brought her to dance class with her and she fell in love, came naturally to her - later in HS she ended up running the dance studio
          • Enrolled in University of Tulsa to study German and Theatre Arts.
            • After graduated she moved in NYC to pursue a career in acting 
          • Spent the next several years working very hard to be an actress and finally made it on to TV.  She caught the eye of Norman Lear, a well-known TV producer at the time and he first put her on his show and then later on Maude with Bea Arthur
• Production started in Spring of 1985.  Everyone knew it was going to be a hit.  What else was happening in the world in 1985? 
  • Ronald Regan was president 
  • Windows 1.0 released
  • Pop stars gathered to sing We are the World - popularizing holding one hand to head phone and singing to the heavens
  • Average home price was about $89,000, brand new car about $9,000
  • Coca Cola introduced New Coke (didn’t last long)
  • Route 66 was removed from the United States Highway System
  • Michael Jordan was Rookie of the Year 
  • Other shows on at this time:  Punky Brewster, Kate & Allie (one of my mom’s favorites), Who’s the Boss, Growing Pains, Cheers, MacGyver and Perfect Strangers.  
• GG premiered on September 14, 1985 after a summer of constant promotion.  TV Guide said it was the best show in the last 10 years. 
  • Saturday nights
  • Ended the week with 25 million views
  • Starred Rue McClanahan as Blanche Deveroux: a widower who owned a home in Miami.  Rue described Blanche as being very insecure but pretended she had a lot of confidence, especially around men.  Many episodes include her escapades with men and some very risk-kay situations and behavior.  
  • Rose Nyland:  Also a widower, she answered an ad she saw at a grocery store, Blanche was looking for a roommate after she moved to Miami following the passing of her husband. Rose is from a small farming town called St. Olaf, Minnesota which she often recounts in a hilarious manner. Rose initially works at a grief center.  Rose is very naive and my grandma would often laugh at her commentary, and would slap her leg and say “she’s so stupid” 
  • Bea Arthur plays Dorothy Zbornak:  A divorcee, she also answered the advertisement looking for a roommate. She got married at a young age because she became pregnant but still remained in contact with her ex-husband, who was often the butt of her jokes.  She works as a substitute teacher.  Like her mother, Dorothy is extremely blunt and always tells it like it is.  She is rarely able to restrain herself when one of the other women says or does something ridiculous. It was often said that Bea Arthur was the anchor of the show because her dead pan delivery was incredible.   
  • Sophia Petrillo:  Dorothy’s mom, she moves into the house because her Senior Living Home, Shady Pines burned down in a fire.  A recurring theme throughout the show is Dorothy threatening to take her mom back to Shady Pines when she gets frustrated with her. She is extremely blunt and never holds back sarcastic remarks aimed at her roommates and daughter. 
• Premise of the show:  The Golden Girls followed the trials and triumphs and 4 unique and hilarious women as they navigated the later years of their lives. The show saw each of them in romantic relationships, at work, volunteering, dealing with health issues, loss and the joys and stressors of roommate-hood.  In many episodes, the group reminisces about their earlier years.  Sophia’s famous line was “picture it, Sicily, 1922” or something along those lines where she would recount a story that often doesn’t make a lot of sense, that happened when she was living in Italy.  And who can forget Rose’s St Olaf stories?  In one story she talks about the great Herring war which resulted in a herring circus which is like “sea world, but much, much smaller” and Dorothy, quietly chuckling, asks if a Herring gets shot out of a cannon to which Rose replies, “Yes, but only once.”  In another story, a milk diving tournament starts in St Olaf after her cousin falls into a milk vat.  Or the eskimo family that saved St Olaf during a drought when their igloo melted.  Dorothy and Blanche’s reactions to her stories are so well done and they are still hysterical to this day.  Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are laughing in character at the stories or if they are breaking character.  
• Theme song written by Andrew Gold and was sung by Cynthia Fee
  • Andrew Gold 
    • Talented singer and songwriter and musician.  Could play a lot of instruments including:  flute, synthesizer, accordion and ukulele.  Played alongside James Taylor, Freddie Mercury and Bonnie Raitt.  Allegedly took him just 1 hour to write the greatest tv theme songs of all time 
  • Cynthia Fee
    •   Voice heard in many 80s and 90s commercials including for Pontiac (RIP) and Hoover 

Interesting facts about the show

• Rue McClanahan once allegedly said that the GGs executive producer asked her to persuade Bea Arthur to play the role of Dorothy as initially she was reluctant.  McClanahan told her that she was going to be playing Blanche and Betty White would be playing Rose and that made her perk up.  McClanahan told her it was the best script that would come across her desk, why pass on it? 
• Technically speaking, Betty White was the oldest in real life, but she is the only survivor from the ensemble
• Bea Arthur’s favorite scene was Sonny and Cher - “oh god, it was fun” she once said.
• Progressive as far as LGBT topics
  • Lesbian character in one episode who is in love with Rose and Blanche gets upset that she doesn’t like her
  • Blanche deals with her brother who is gay, goes from rejection to acceptance within an episode 
• Gay bars would turn off dance music when the show came on
• Controversial topics - AIDs, Gay Marriage and Teen Pregnancy.
• Rue McClanahan got to keep all of her clothes from the show, which filled 13 closets per her contract
• Betty White was originally going to be cast to play the role of Blanche and Rue was slated to play Rose.  
• Bea Arthur never watched the show while it was on
• Rue McClanahan got marriage proposals, cat calls (inappropriate remarks)
• Estelle Gettey was allegedly very fearful of death so she never had any serious lines in the show pertaining to that subject
• Estelle Getty also dealt with a lot of anxiety on the show, she felt that Betty White and Betty White were such talented, experienced actresses and she couldn’t compete 
• Originally there was a 5th character, a male housekeeper.  A lot of classic scenes are around the kitchen table, really not room for an additional person.  
• Bea Arthur hated cheesecake and hated wearing shoes, always wore boots or sandals, she was 5’10’ Estelle Getty who played her mother was about 4’11’
  • Speaking of cheesecake, over 100 were eaten during the show’s run
• Women were very punctual for their table reads, arrived by 9:30am on Monday mornings, reading started at 10am and would rework scripts if need be
• Due to filming constraints, only 3 chairs at the dining table, capture shots of laughing, stool for 4th person 
• Queen of England was a huge fan of the show, the women did a stage version of their show for her and a large audience in London.  They were mobbed by fans and knocked it out of the park! 
• The exterior of the house was actually shot in Los Angeles, not Miami
  • Large walls
  • Can’t go inside
  • Has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2901 square feet.  Is there a lanai?
  • Facade at Hollywood Studios, then MGM Studios 
• Each star earned an Emmy award
• 27.2 million people watched the show’s finale, which showed Dororthy marrying Leslie Neilson, finally finding love
  • Ended after 7th season, spearheaded by Bea Arthur who really wanted to go out on top
• 3 spin offs- Golden Palace (1 season w/o Bea Arthur), Empty Nest and Nurses. 

• After the show…
  • Estelle Getty appeared as Sophia in a few TV shows including Blossom and Empty Nest.  She died in 2008 at 84 years old of Lewy Body Dementia
  • Bea Arthur wrote and starred in a one woman show on the stage which was nominated for a Tony Award.  She died in 2009 of cancer, she was 86
  • Rue McClanahan was diagnosed and eventually recovered from breast cancer.  Did some lecture series. died in 2010 from a stroke
  • Betty White has continued to act in movies and in TV shows.  She hosted SNL after an online petition got some traction.  
  • Show lives on….. 
    • For a fee, can watch on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, etc.
    • Runs pretty frequently on the Hallmark Channel 
    • Etsy has incredible amount of GG inspired products i.e. candles called Stay Golden, t-shirts, stickers - found one that said “picture it, Sicilly, 1922” with the likes of Estelle Getty on it. Or my personal favorite, a green keychain with pine trees on it that says “shady pines retirement home.”
    • There are tons and tons of youtube channels devoted to clips from the show
    • I own all seasons of the show, the ones I was missing I was able to obtain from my sister.  It holds up unbelievably well.  Even the first episode, the pilot is really good.
    • Incredibly comforting during this time. 

I hope you have enjoyed this deep dive into the unforgettable and classic show, the Golden Girls.  I hope you were able to learn something new that maybe you didn’t know before.  The more I researched the show and re-watched it, the more I appreciate it for so many different reasons.  For now though, be kind, be safe and hold tight to your memories. I hope you’ll join me for my next show where we will be discussing the incredible & resilient life of Tupac Shakur.