Estelle Getty otherwise better known as Sophia from "Golden Girls" passed away on 22 July 2008.
"Golden Girls" was one of my favorite comedy sitcom. In fact, it was one of my first comedy sitcoms since it was around that time that I started to watch TV.
I really enjoyed the series, though I cannot really relate to it then. I was not that old and mature yet (I was only a kid!), but I sure enjoyed a show about a bunch of old ladies living together. It depicted aging as something not that terrifying and that getting old, life can still be fun!
Sophia was my favorite character on the show. She got the best lines, the best one liners. Frankly, I dun mind having Sophia as my grandmother, she got a big heart and a potty mouth.
So rest in peace, Estelle!
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Channel News Asia
23 July 2008
'Golden Girls' star Estelle Getty dies at 84
LOS ANGELES: Estelle Getty, best known for her portrayal of acid-tongued Sicilian mother Sophia Petrillo on the popular NBC sitcom "The Golden Girls", died Tuesday morning, three days short of her 85th birthday.
According to her website, she passed away in her own home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family.
Her friend and caretaker, Paul Chapdelaine said Getty had been ill for the last eight or nine years with what doctors eventually diagnosed as Lewy body dementia, a brain disorder that causes cognitive problems as well as the tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease.
“The only comfort at this moment is that though Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us,” Betty White, one of Getty’s "Golden Girls" co-stars said in a statement.
Estelle Scher was born on July 25, 1923, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The daughter of Polish immigrants fell in love with the stage as a small child when her father took her to see a movie and five acts of vaudeville.
She got her start as a comic at resorts in New York state’s Catskill mountains and pursued her dream as an actress in regional theater and off-Broadway productions while raising two sons and working office jobs to make ends meet.
It was her 1982 role on Broadway as Harvey Fierstein’s interfering mother in the play "Torch Song Trilogy" that landed her the role of Sophia on "The Golden Girls" in 1985.
On NBC’s "The Golden Girls", Getty played the wise-cracking Sophia Petrillo, who in her twilight years joins the Miami household that her daughter (played by Bea Arthur) already shares with two other women (Betty White and Rue McClanahan).
Getty was younger than both Arthur and White, but relied on heavy makeup and skill to portray a character who was more than 20 years older than in real life.
For her character, she earned seven consecutive Supporting Actress Emmy nominations between 1986 and 1992, including a win in 1988.
Her performance also earned three Golden Globe nominations, including a win for Leading Role in a Comedy series in 1986.
The other three 'Golden Girls' survive her. White and Arthur are 86, McClanahan is 74.
The highly-rated series ran from 1985 to 1992 and was widely praised for showcasing a demographic - female retirees - not typically part of prime-time fare.
Getty is survived by sons Carl and Barry Gettleman, a brother, David Scher, and a sister, Rosilyn Howard. Her husband of 57 years, businessman Arthur Gettleman, died in 2004.
"Golden Girls" was one of my favorite comedy sitcom. In fact, it was one of my first comedy sitcoms since it was around that time that I started to watch TV.
I really enjoyed the series, though I cannot really relate to it then. I was not that old and mature yet (I was only a kid!), but I sure enjoyed a show about a bunch of old ladies living together. It depicted aging as something not that terrifying and that getting old, life can still be fun!
Sophia was my favorite character on the show. She got the best lines, the best one liners. Frankly, I dun mind having Sophia as my grandmother, she got a big heart and a potty mouth.
So rest in peace, Estelle!
------------------------------
Channel News Asia
23 July 2008
'Golden Girls' star Estelle Getty dies at 84
LOS ANGELES: Estelle Getty, best known for her portrayal of acid-tongued Sicilian mother Sophia Petrillo on the popular NBC sitcom "The Golden Girls", died Tuesday morning, three days short of her 85th birthday.
According to her website, she passed away in her own home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family.
Her friend and caretaker, Paul Chapdelaine said Getty had been ill for the last eight or nine years with what doctors eventually diagnosed as Lewy body dementia, a brain disorder that causes cognitive problems as well as the tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease.
“The only comfort at this moment is that though Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us,” Betty White, one of Getty’s "Golden Girls" co-stars said in a statement.
Estelle Scher was born on July 25, 1923, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The daughter of Polish immigrants fell in love with the stage as a small child when her father took her to see a movie and five acts of vaudeville.
She got her start as a comic at resorts in New York state’s Catskill mountains and pursued her dream as an actress in regional theater and off-Broadway productions while raising two sons and working office jobs to make ends meet.
It was her 1982 role on Broadway as Harvey Fierstein’s interfering mother in the play "Torch Song Trilogy" that landed her the role of Sophia on "The Golden Girls" in 1985.
On NBC’s "The Golden Girls", Getty played the wise-cracking Sophia Petrillo, who in her twilight years joins the Miami household that her daughter (played by Bea Arthur) already shares with two other women (Betty White and Rue McClanahan).
Getty was younger than both Arthur and White, but relied on heavy makeup and skill to portray a character who was more than 20 years older than in real life.
For her character, she earned seven consecutive Supporting Actress Emmy nominations between 1986 and 1992, including a win in 1988.
Her performance also earned three Golden Globe nominations, including a win for Leading Role in a Comedy series in 1986.
The other three 'Golden Girls' survive her. White and Arthur are 86, McClanahan is 74.
The highly-rated series ran from 1985 to 1992 and was widely praised for showcasing a demographic - female retirees - not typically part of prime-time fare.
Getty is survived by sons Carl and Barry Gettleman, a brother, David Scher, and a sister, Rosilyn Howard. Her husband of 57 years, businessman Arthur Gettleman, died in 2004.
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