Pop Culture | TV | 90s | 80s
6 Facts About 'The Golden Girls' That Even The Most Die-Hard Fans Probably Haven't Heard
Before there was Carrie & Co., there was Rose, Dorothy, Blanche, and Sophia. Golden Girls was the daring sitcom that followed glamorous grannies and beloved by anyone who couldn't help but smile at their antics.
We all remember the then-shocking bedroom humor from Miami's most provocative senior debutantes, whether we watched the show ourselves or looked on in horror as our mothers cracked up at their innuendos and sexual escapades.
Little did we know there was a ton of drama going on backstage that would have made for an interesting few episodes by itself! Let's see how much you know about these wonderful swinging widows!
1. Estelle "Sophia" Getty Had Serious Stage Fright
It must have been hard to play the leading matriarch in this drama filled line-up, let alone the fact that it took Getty 45 minutes to get into makeup for every shoot! It turns out that while Sophia had no trouble speaking her mind, Estelle would often freeze up on camera and was always worried that she couldn't live up to the rest of the cast. Well, we know now that wasn't true!
2. There Were Only Ever 3 Kitchen Chairs
Wait, what? As it turns out, it's hard to showcase the whole cast to a studio audience if they are all facing inwards. Sure enough, if you rewatch the episodes, you'll never see all four of them sitting comfortably around that infamous kitchen table where so much gossip went down!
3. They Have Fans In High Places
That's right, Lizzie loves the Golden Girls! She was such a fan that she invited the cast to perform live at the Royal Variety Performance in London. While the shows creators made sure to censor most of the 'offensive' material, the joke about how long Blanche waited after her husband died before she started having sex again had the Queen Mother in stitches; "Until the paramedics came!"
That's not all the gossip we have on these bronzed-bombshells...
4. 'Sophia' Was Younger Than Her 'Daughter'
Estelle was actually a whole year younger than Bea 'Dorothy' Arthur, but the creators thought that she would serve better as the snarky mother figure. There was no hard feelings surrounding it though, after all, it did take her 45 minutes to get her make-up all done!
5. "Sick and Tired" Was Autobiographical
"Sick and Tired" was based on a real-life experience that actually happened to producer Susan Harris about her discovering she had chronic fatigue syndrome, and was unable to find a doctor that would take her seriously.
6. They Brought Us The 'Lanai'
To those who resided in Florida, it was a hilarious moment where the rest of the country clued into their local slang. (Psst...The lanai is a porch with a cement floor and often enclosed by an awning or screens)
"Excuse me, Krystle Carrington!"