Estelle Getty of ‘Golden Girls’ Dies at 84

[RBA]

Estelle Getty of ‘Golden Girls’ Dies at 84

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:41 p.m. ET
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's ''The Golden Girls,'' has died. She was 84.
Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.
''She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents,'' her son said. ''She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived.''
''The Golden Girls,'' featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.
Three of its stars had already appeared in previous series: Bea Arthur in ''Maude,'' Betty White in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and Rue McClanahan in ''Mama's Family.'' The last character to be cast was Sophia Petrillo, the feisty 80-something mother of Arthur's character.

[PedroBourbon]

I wasn't a big fan of that show, but she was the funniest of that group by far. R.I.P.

[Rojo]

An underrated show. Only grandmas watched GG but it was pretty sharp.

[Red in Chicago]

The Golden Girls was once one of my favorite shows. I'll still catch a re-run every now and then. I loved "Sophia" and her "picture it, Sicily 19xx".

[guttle11]

Thank you for being a friend...

[Joseph]

I liked the show and Estelle. RIP.

[sonny]

Of Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Bea Arthur, I thought Estelle would be last to go.

[macro]

Back in the 80s, I thought she was actually in her 80s and had assumed it all these years. Wasn't Irene Ryan who played Granny Clampett much younger than her character, as well?

[minus5]

Back in the 80s, I thought she was actually in her 80s and had assumed it all these years. Wasn't Irene Ryan who played Granny Clampett much younger than her character, as well?

I think Irene Ryan was in her early to mid 60s during the run of Beverly Hillbillies. Heck Grandpa Jones started his charater of Grandpa when he was in his 20s.

[jmac]

The woman who played Estille's daughter on the show was actually older than her.

[RBA]

Heck Grandpa Jones started his charater of Grandpa when he was in his 20s.

Isn't that normal in the South?