Thank you for being a friend, Sophia

You don't need to turn in your man card, but you should hand over your damn diploma.

 

I was shocked to see she was only 84. Hell, she looked that old 20 years ago.

 

According to her obit, she lost the first two auditions for the role b/c she didn't look nearly old enough to play an 80-something woman. So she told the makeup artist that it was her job to get her the role that would put her over the top. And she did.

 

It took 45 minutes in make-up for Estelle to be transformed into Sophia.

 

That makeup artist needs a raise, then.

 

So did Blanche, the human mattress.

 

She was great on it, and it was a funny show. Probably the the best of the various takes on the same theme - Facts of Life, Sex and the City, Designing Women & Golden Girls - same plot, different stage of life.

 

The folks who did Golden Girls also did Soap. Much of the same sassiness, but Golden Girls had way more heart than Soap, which was also a great show.

 

That was Susan Harris, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas, the tandem who created hit shows, including...

Blossom
Benson
Empty Nest
Nurses

The shows that Harris/Witt/Thomas done was filled was sassiness, wisecracks, and one-liners that had you in stitches, but dooley is right IMO: The Girls had more heart.

Witt also did The Partridge Family.

 

Wow, forgot Nurses. Had the megahot Ada Maris. It's criminal that she never hit it big. Too much screwing around with the tone of the show, a la Picket Fences.

The tandem also had the quickly canceled but underrated Good and Evil.

 

"Picture it...Sicily..."

I knew she wasn't in terrific health - they mentioned it when they did the Golden Girls reunion marathon on Lifetime a few years ago and she was the only one who didn't participate. This makes me sad. Like many others have said, she was the best thing on that show.

RIP Sophia!

 

I believe the third partner in that group was Tony Thomas, son of Danny Thomas.