It was with profound sadness that I read about Estelle Getty's death today. At the age of 84, she passed away from the advanced onset of dementia.
I can remember watching "Golden Girls" when I was little and getting about half of the wry humor Getty delivered as the wicker-handbag-toting Sophia Petrillo. The show debuted in 1985 when I was just six years old and ran for seven years.
But my true love for the show came from my first year of grad school. Reruns of the classic comedy ran on Lifetime at 7 and 7:30, and it wasn't unusual for me to park my TV tray (and sometimes my "TV dinner") in front of the back-to-back "Golden Girls" goodness. The jokes seemed smarter; the friendships more understandable. I'd even go so far as to say that the sitcom actually is one of the precursors to "Sex & the City." No really. The level of adult humor in that show is astounding for the age of the women, the stage of their lives, and the prime time spot it occupied for years.
Getty was the youngest of the foursome and almost didn't snag the role because of her incongruous youth. Thank goodness the producers took a second look. Picture it. Siciliy. 1940.
Rest in peace, Estelle.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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I, too, was weirdly upset by this development-- I kind of wanted to call my mom. Which made me realize that maybe I watch too much Lifetime. But really, is there such a thing as too much Lifetime?
This made me very sad. I guess I sort of thought the Golden Girls would live forever. No really, I think I did.
I know, and it's upsetting to think about her being so sick in her last years. You parked in front of the TV for dinner each night with the Golden Girls your first year of grad school makes me laugh because the year before, in Chicago, I did the exact.same.thing. Except it was central time, 6-7 pm. Dinner with the Golden Girls. Sigh. Those were the days.
Wow. That is very sad - especially to know she was suffering.
She was the youngest, really?! I didn't know that. Wasn't she 84 in 1985?! That's amazing. And, I agree, it probably was a precursor to S&TC. good call.
I didn't know about this until I read your post. . . how sad! Any time I'm at a place with cable, "Golden Girls" is always one of the first things I look for on the program schedule. It was such a great show, and like you, I definitely appreciate it more now than I did when I was younger.
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