Estelle Getty and the Golden Girls

There was a very nice article posted on July 22 about Estelle Getty from the Golden Girls, who had just passed away. However, the author was incorrect in stating that Getty played the mother of Betty White's character. Estelle Getty played Sophia, who was the mother of Bea Arthur's character, Dorothy. I think the author correctly stated this later on in her article, but I love the show so much that I had to make the correction.

One of the funniest aspects to me about that pairing was how short the mother was compared to how tall the daughter was. They had great comedic timing together, and Sophia was usually berating Dorothy for her lack of a love life, sex life, or even any life. She obviously thought Dorothy's ex-husband Stan was a putz (who didn't?), so she was always butting in and trying to get her to do more with her time.

One of my favorite segments ever on this show was when Sophia moved out for awhile...I think this was when she decided to be a nun (which was a riot in itself), but I could be wrong. The other three girls, Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche, were all sitting around the kitchen table talking about how much they missed Sophia, and how she was like a mother to all of them. Blanche said Sophia was always teasing her, calling her things like "slut." When Sophia returns, she calls Blanche a "slut puppy." Instead of being offended, Blanche gives her a hug because she's so happy to have her home.

Another one of the greatest scenes was when Sophia and Dorothy were preparing for their mother-daughter talent show performance. Rose is sitting at the piano, obviously ready to accompany them while they sing. They come out dressed as Sonny and Cher, with Sophia, the noticeably shorter one, as Sonny. They sang "I Got You Babe." It was hysterical. Obviously, Sonny had no hard feelings, because he guest starred on the show as one of Dorothy's potential suitors/lovers from her dreams.

I used to watch this show with my grandma, and then when I was in grad school, I'd watch the re-runs from 9:00-10:00 am on Lifetime while I was grading my students' papers! It's hard to find four people who have on-screen chemistry and comedic timing this great.

It's extremely sad to hear about Estelle Getty passing away, but hopefully, she's out there somewhere, and she's back in her prime, no longer dealing with a devastating illness like dementia.