Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

September 5, 2008 10:47:17 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

'Sophia' of Golden Girls Dead at 84

Posted Jul 22, 08 1:37 PM CDT in Arts & Living 

(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. The two-time Emmy winner, who suffered from advanced dementia, died this morning at home, her son told the AP.

"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. Getty, who was younger than co-stars Bea Arthur—who played her daughter—and Betty White (Rue McClanahan was the fourth) was the last actress added to the cast. She had been rejected twice because she didn't look old enough.

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Jonas Brothers Land TV Show

    12 hours, 36 minutes ago
    Jonas Brothers Land TV Show The Jonas Brothers will star in their own original Disney series, reports People. The unnamed show will be similar to HBO's Flight of the Conchords, with singing interludes. "It's going to be about us as a band but dealing with normal things like trying to take out the trash and not get hounded by fans," Joe Jonas told ELLEgirl magazine. More »

  • LinkedIn, CNBC Buddy Up

    Sep 4, 08 9:31 AM CDT
    LinkedIn, CNBC Buddy Up CNBC and LinkedIn have announced an alliance in which the business cable channel gets content and tools from the professional networking site—and the ability to more efficiently target ads to LinkedIn’s 27 million users, the Financial Times reports. Though LinkedIn’s CEO says CNBC won’t get users’ personal info—yet, at least—analysts say privacy fears could harm the enterprise. More »

  • Same ZIP Code, Few New Tricks

    Sep 3, 08 1:51 PM CDT
    Same ZIP Code, Few New Tricks Same Beverly Hills, same premise, same Kelly Taylor. 90210, the CW's much-hyped spinoff, sticks too close to the original series and lacks its power to shock, Laura Fries writes in Variety. The show that premiered last night “is a pallid copy of the original fish-out-of-water story, only with shinier cars, fancier clothes, and Botox aplenty.” More »

  • Letterman Perplexed by NBC's Move to Ditch Leno

    Sep 3, 08 8:32 AM CDT
    David Letterman isn't planning to head off into the sunset when his Late Night contract expires in 2010, the New York Times reports, telling a Rolling Stone interviewer that he would love to keep going at CBS—and that he was confused by NBC's decision to put longtime rival Jay Leno out to pasture next year. "I don’t know why, after the job Jay has done for them, why they would relinquish that,” said the 26-year veteran.
    More »

  • What We'd Like Steve Jobs to Do Before He Dies

    Aug 29, 08 11:35 AM CDT
    What We'd Like Steve Jobs to Do Before He Dies No word from Steve Jobs on whether he made it through all 17 pages of his own obituary, published prematurely by Bloomberg on Wednesday, but news organizations all over have been having fun at Bloomberg's expense. Forbes went one step farther last night, posting a list of the five things the mag would like the Apple co-founder to create before he actually does die. 
    More »

In this December 1985 file photo, actresses Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White, from the television series "The Golden Girls," are shown during a break in taping in Hollywood.   (Nick Ut)
In this Aug. 28, 1998 file photo, actress Estelle Getty displays the Emmy she won for "Golden Girls" at the 40th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif.   (LENNOX MCLENDON)
In this Jan. 29, 1986 file photo, actress Estelle Getty poses in West Hollywood, Calif. Getty died at 84 early Tuesday at home in Los Angeles.   (STEVE DYKES)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threads (1 of 4)

Tags

television  • obituary


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »