Sophia Noooooo....

[Mizango]

Estelle Getty who played Sophia on The Golden Girls died. She was one of the funniest people on TV. Troll away dammit, but I love the Golden girls ;_;

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...bit/index.html


"LOS ANGELES, California (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.


Estelle Getty, seen in blue, was known for playing Sophia on the show "Golden Girls."
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Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.

"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. "She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived."

"The Golden Girls," featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.

Three of its stars had already appeared in previous series: Bea Arthur in "Maude," Betty White in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Rue McClanahan in "Mama's Family." The last character to be cast was Sophia Petrillo, the feisty 80-something mother of Arthur's character.

When she auditioned, Getty was appearing on stage in Hollywood as the carping Jewish mother in Harvey Fierstein's play "Torch Song Trilogy." In her early 60s, she flunked her "Golden Girls" test twice because it was believed she didn't look old enough to play 80.

"I could understand that," she told an interviewer a year after the show debuted. "I walk fast, I move fast, I talk fast."

She came prepared for the third audition, however, wearing dowdy clothes and telling an NBC makeup artist, "To you this is just a job. To me it's my entire career down the toilet unless you make me look 80." The artist did, Getty got the job and won two Emmys.

It culminated a long struggle for success during which Getty worked low-paying office jobs to help support her family while she tried to make it as a stage actress.

"I knew I could be seduced by success in another field, so I'd say, 'Don't promote me, please,"' she recalled.

She also appeared in small parts in a handful of films and TV movies during that time, including "Tootsie," "Deadly Force" and "Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story."

After her success in "The Golden Girls," other roles came her way. She played Cher's mother in "Mask," Sylvester Stallone's in "Stop or My Mom Will Shoot" and Barry Manilow's in the TV film "Copacabana." Other credits included "Mannequin" and "Stuart Little" (as the voice of Grandma Estelle).

"The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985 to 1992, was an immediate hit, and Sophia, who began as a minor character, soon evolved into a major one.

Audiences particularly loved the verbal zingers Getty would hurl at the other three. When McClanahan's libidinous character Blanche once complained that her life was an open book, Sophia shot back, "Your life's an open blouse."

Getty had gained a knack for one-liners in her late teens when she did standup comedy at a Catskills hotel. Female comedians were rare in those days, however, and she bombed.

Undeterred, she continued to pursue a career in entertainment, and while her parents were encouraging, her father also insisted that she learn office skills so she would have something to fall back on.

Born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrants in New York, Getty fell in love with theater when she saw a vaudeville show at age 4.

She married New York businessman Arthur Gettleman (the source of her stage name) in 1947, and they had two sons, Carl and Barry. The marriage prevailed despite her long absences on the road and in "The Golden Girls."

Getty was evasive about her height, acknowledging only that she was "under 5 feet and under 100 pounds."

In addition to her son Carl, Getty is survived by son Barry Gettleman, of Miami; a brother, David Scher of London; and a sister, Rosilyn Howard of Las Vegas."

[Headspace]

Oh god, funniest old lady ever.

[Natallon]

she will be missed

[archibaldcrane]

Wow she's only 84? They did a great job making her look...like she was 84 on the show 20 years ago.

Good acting, I applaud you Estelle.

[Feielle]

Wow she's only 84? They did a great job making her look...like she was 84 on the show 20 years ago.

no kidding. My parents are nearly 60 and don't look anything like that.

Just shows you can't believe everything you see on TV >.>

[Day]

Ruined my day. =(

[KuaiEQ]

wow i thought she would be already dead since she looked about 100 on the show.

[Koyuki]

Goodbye sweet princess.

[Guyverarmor]

That was a decent show, my mom and grandma watched it....i saw bits and pieces of the show...not bad...will be missed.

[Lordwafik]

Echoing what archibaldcrane said, she was amazing and was hilarious to watch on the golden girls.

[Akucaen]

I won't lie, I loved the Golden Girls. I really liked Sophie too. She'll be missed. ;_;

[Deejay]

Fuck this show. When I was like 12 and first discovered late-night softcore porn, I'd see "Golden Girls" come up on the TVguide channel only to be SORELY DISAPPOINTED to find a bunch of old ladies talking about nothing.

[terranova]

She always made me laugh. I liked the one on the far left too. Btw, I thought all of them were already gone.

[Lujei]

Terrible news, she was a great actress. RIP.

[Howard Roark]

hmm for some reason I've been calling Bea Arthur 'Estelle Getty' for years now

[Remyo]

I wasn't aware she was still alive either.

[Charismatic]

Fuck this show. When I was like 12 and first discovered late-night softcore porn, I'd see "Golden Girls" come up on the TVguide channel only to be SORELY DISAPPOINTED to find a bunch of old ladies talking about nothing.

Hey, screw you man, Golden Girls owns.

[Taisaijin]

who's your avatar whore Howard?

[Callisto]

I just want to say that Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was fucking awesome. And yeah she was funny as shit even if you weren't into Golden Girls.

[Septimus]

Sad day. It was an international day of gay mourning. ;_;