A Detailed Look
Back at Four Friends and a Lifetime of Laughs
By Chris Sabga
When
"The Golden Girls" first premiered on television in the
September of 1985, it was instantly
groundbreaking. Never before had women over 50 been portrayed so
warmly and richly. Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur), Rose (Betty White),
Blanche (Rue McClanahan), and Sophia (Estelle Getty) were complete
and fully dimensional human
beings. Nothing was off-limits for these Girls: they grappled with
sex, aging, medical problems, gender inequality,
political-social-economic issues, and – most hilariously – each
other.
30
years later, there is finally
a book dedicated to these dazzling dames. My first reaction: What
took so long? But "Golden
Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai" by
Jim Colucci was definitely
worth the wait!
From
the minute you hold it in your hands, you'll be impressed. So many
books today cut corners that it's refreshing to see one that
looks and feels like a high-quality publication. With its attractive
cover, thick pages, and glossy photos, you'll be proud to display
this on your proverbial coffee table.
"Behind the Lanai"
doesn't cover every single
episode, but it comes close. This is an exhaustive
guide to "The Golden Girls" with recaps, interviews,
and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from three of the four Girls – Bea
Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan – and an endless array of
guest stars and writers. However, If you're expecting nasty
gossip or catty feuding, look elsewhere. This is a nice,
heartfelt remembrance of one of television's all-time great sitcoms.
Speaking
of nice...
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The
show was originally going to be called "Miami Nice."
If you didn't grow up in the 1980s, you might not get the reference.
Back then, "Miami Vice" – a hip show about two stylish
police officers (played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas) –
was all the rage. "Miami Nice" was a cute play on that.
Thankfully, though, the name was changed along the way. "The
Golden Girls" has a much nicer ring to it, don't you
think?
George
Clooney and Quentin Tarantino (among many others) were guest
stars.
Yes, that George
Clooney. And yes, definitely that
Quentin Tarantino. This was early in George's career, and he was
already somewhat of a TV fixture – also appearing on shows like
"The Facts of Life" and "Roseanne" around this
time. There's an anecdote in the book which indicates just how little
demand there was for him back in the '80s. Needless
to say, fame and fortune
would eventually smile in
George's
direction.
While
Clooney already had some experience under his belt when he stepped
onto the lanai, "The Golden Girls" was Quentin Tarantino's
very first acting job. I wonder if both of them reminisced about
their time on the show when they played unlikely
brothers in "From Dusk
Til Dawn" a decade later?
There
was a gay housekeeper – "Coco"
– played by Charles Levin.
It's
no secret that the Girls had a gay housekeeper in the pilot –
pretty progressive for the '80s. His name was Coco and he was played
by Charles Levin. However, as these things go, the show was somewhat
retooled after the first
episode. Levin was dropped
from the cast and more focus
was placed on the Girls themselves – a wise decision, in
retrospect, because Bea, Betty, Rue, and Estelle are still four of
the most brilliant comediennes ever to grace the screen.
Fans
of both pro wrestling
and hilariously bad movies are familiar with Charles Levin too. He's
one of the two spineless executives – along with future Oscar
nominee David Paymer – in 1989's "No Holds Barred" who was
berated by tobacco-slobbering pro wrestler (and WWE Hall of Famer)
Stan Hansen for having "teeny wangers" Look up the clip on
YouTube and lament how
quickly things went downhill for poor Mr. Levin in only four short
years!
Another
Golden Girl from the Golden Era
of TV almost made a guest appearance.
Lucille
Ball, of "I Love Lucy" fame, seemed like a natural for a
show like "The Golden Girls." While she obviously wasn't
one of the four Girls, she was
highly sought after for a guest role. Unfortunately, it never happened. As the
book so eloquently points out, Lucy had her time in television
history and so too did the Girls.
Estelle
Getty could never remember her lines.
There's a hilarious anecdote about someone on the set gently asking
Estelle for permission to move a prop that contained her dialogue.
Her polite response was, "No, you may not." Estelle came
from the stage, where months of preparation was the norm. Therefore,
she was always a nervous wreck about remembering so many lines so
quickly and relied on notes and other shortcuts. Marlon Brando
famously did the same thing, so Estelle Getty is in great company.
The iconic character of Sophia Petrillo is proof of that.
Recognize
the kitchen?
The same kitchen set was actually used on "It Takes Two," a
short-lived 1982-1983 sitcom starring another Golden Girl, Patty
Duke, and Richard Crenna (of "Rambo" fame).
Bea
Arthur almost left the show during
the sixth season.
Remember the episode
where Dorothy wanted to remarry Stan and the Girls interviewed Debbie
Reynolds about becoming their new roommate? All of that was
apparently in case Bea decided not to continue with the show.
Thankfully, she stuck around for one more season. There were tabloid
rumors about on-set squabbles, but the book offers a different –
and much milder – explanation: she wanted to perform in the
theater.
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If you're concerned that I've spoiled all of the good parts, worry not – I've barely scratched the surface. "Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai" is the most detailed and comprehensive history of "The Golden Girls" you'll find anywhere.