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mental_floss mourns the loss of Beatrice Arthur, who died of cancer Saturday at the age of 86 (and joins cast mate Estelle Getty in that big Shady Pines in the sky). Arthur’s complete biography will certainly be the subject of many news posts in the next few days, so we don’t really need to tell you that she was born Bernice Frankel. Or that, even though she’d been starring on Broadway for many years, she didn’t receive mainstream recognition until she landed the role of outspoken Maude at the age of 50. We’ll leave those details to the Other Guys and pay our own respects to Bea in terms of her most enduring role, that of Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls.
Thank You for Being a Friend
Brandon Tartikoff got the idea for The Golden Girls while visiting his elderly aunt. His aunt’s neighbor was also her best friend, and he was amused at how they remained pals even though they constantly bickered with one another. When casting the show, Lee Grant was first offered the role of Dorothy, but she refused to play a woman old enough to have grandchildren. Oddly enough, the original production notes describing Dorothy Zbornak listed her as “a Bea Arthur type.” Producers didn’t think she’d be interested, however, and it took some time before they got the bright idea to offer her the part.
The Golden Girls was notorious for its subtle sexual references and double-entendres. Viewers always knew what Dorothy was referring to whenever she uttered her trademark “Whoa!”
Shady Pines
Poor Dorothy. Among the Girls, she was voted Least Likely to Attract a Man. And that included her mother, 80-something Sophia Petrillo, in the mix. It’s a tribute to Bea Arthur’s talent as an actress that she could run the gamut from “60-plus woman giggling like a love-struck ingénue” to “stern but concerned roommate” to “outraged by the insinuation but will ultimately play along as a faux lesbian on a local TV show” all within one scene. And of course, as always, when Dorothy feels cornered by her mother, she unleashes her ultimate weapon: The Home.
It’s Me, Stan.
Very picky Golden Girls viewers might note that Dorothy and Stan endured a “shotgun wedding” once recent high school graduate Dorothy discovered that she was with child. From the beginning of the series, Dorothy often mentioned having been married to Stan for 38 years before they divorced. Yet whenever the couple’s children, Kate and Michael, appeared on the show, neither looked to be even 30. How did the writing staff explain this discrepancy? According to more than one show runner, the writers never thought the show would live on in syndication, and didn’t feel that viewers would keep tabs on such “minor” details.
“Not Now, Ma!”
Dorothy’s intelligence and keen intellect took center stage in the final scene of “The Case of the Libertine Belle,” an episode centered around a murder mystery weekend.
Speaking of Dorothy’s smarts, who could forget her hilarious Jeopardy! audition? That’s a favorite of the mental_floss staff, natch.
What are your favorite Dorothy moments? What about her best conversational come-backs? As a tribute to Bea, please post your favorite Golden Girls moments so that the rest of us can nod in recognition and chuckle along. Thanks!
Comments (28)
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i’m a dedicated golden girls fan- in fact, i watch it every morning (it moved from lifetime, to hallmark channel- which bothers me because they edit the episodes BADLY. see, i have that much of a problem.)
and bea arthur is my favourite. some of my favourite lines are:
“no rose! don’t! that tea is for my mommy.” (hinting that the tea by sophia is poisoned.)
“chew it carefully, Ma. like they taught you at…Shady Pines.” (after stuffing a cookie in sophia’s mouth to keep her from making a comment.)
“aww, it’s scrunched up little face reminds me of my mother.” (starts smashing a crab with a mallet)
“blanche, you have to have written something to get writers block. otherwise we all have it.”
“i’m not patronizing you. i’m a’mockin’ you!”
“not to poo-poo you Ma, but…Poo-poo.”
–
i could really go on all day like this.
to celebrate my favourite golden girl, i’m gonna have a golden girls marathon and a big breakfast in the morning. cheesecake included.
posted by em on 4-26-2009 at 2:27 am
Golden Girls is “my show” I watch it whneever it’s on, usually halmark channel but it’s on 31 here also, I loved all four of them, all such good actress; Last year Estell Gettie and now Bea…how sad is that, I just now read she past away yeasterday (april 25th) I’m only 34 but grew up watching “Golden Girls” and still to this day, one of my most favorite shows. I have probably seen every episod 10 or 15 times and every time I watch them, there still always funny! Best wish’ to her familiy and know were all thinking of you.
posted by Chris on 4-26-2009 at 7:17 am
Whew! Those are some BIG shoulder pads!
posted by Karen on 4-26-2009 at 8:15 am
Well, I’m watching it right now – the 2nd part of the episode when Stan hits it big and Dorothy is sneaking around with him. I watch it almost every day.
My two all-time faves –
Dirk, the MUCH younger aerobics instructor, has just asked Blanche on a date. She is “considering” whether he’s too young….
Blanche – “Dirk is almost 7 years younger than me.”
Dorothy – “In what, Blanche, dog years?”
Later, after Blanche thinks she has beaten back the hands of time..
Blanche – “I’m gonna live forever.”
Dorothy – “Not outside an institution.”
Her timing, her split takes, her Turkey-Lurky, her Vera Charles… there’ll never be another one like her.
RIP, Bea. You live on in my funny bone.
posted by Willa on 4-26-2009 at 9:14 am
After a guest said that her husband had passed recently, Rose asked, “Passed what?”, to which Dorothy deadpanned, “A slow moving Winnebago”.
Dorothy told of accidently swallowing her engagement ring when Stan proposed by hiding it in food. She explained that it turned up “a few days later.” Rose asked where it turned up, and Dorothy replied, “On the Home Shopping Network.”
When Sophia made an inappropriate and embarrassing comment to a couple of guests, Dorothy smiled apologetically and explained, “You’ll have to excuse my mother; she suffered a stroke and ever since since she’s become…a complete burden.”
When Dorothy found out that her date for the senior prom hadn’t stood her up, but rather that her mother had turned him away at the door, (and had lied about it all these years) she was furious. Confronting Sophia, she sat down next to her, and speaking loving and with a tone of understanding, asked if the story of Sophia turning away the date was true. She explained that she would believe her mother no matter what she said:
Sophia: “Well…”
Dorothy (interrupting): “LIAR!”
As a previous commenter said, I could go on all day like this too! Dorothy was my favorite Golden Girls character.
posted by Michigan Mom on 4-26-2009 at 11:14 am
One of my favorite Dorothy moments was when her friend Jean, who is a lesbian falls for Rose, and they are explaining it to Blanche.
And she explains that they are discussing her being a lesbian not Lebanese.
Funny stuff.
She will be missed. :(
posted by Mike on 4-26-2009 at 5:19 pm
I love watching Golden Girls it sad about Bea Arthur passing she was funny.
I liked the epsiode with the Mystery Weekend when Dorothy was explaining the murder of Kendall Nesbitt and Sophia said big deal I took a whole place setting and Dorothy say “Not now ma” that was funny.
posted by Kari on 4-26-2009 at 7:23 pm
I used to watch “Golden Girls” all the time! Now I don’t know when it comes on. Dorothy was favorite, although I liked Rose and Sophia, too. I didn’t like Blanche. She pushed the stereo-type that all Southern women are harlots.
posted by Sara in Alabama on 4-26-2009 at 7:27 pm
The murder mystery episode is HANDS DOWN my favorite one from the entire series! When Sophia says that she “took a whole place setting,” Dorothy’s “NOT NOW, MA!” has to be one of the best and funniest of all her outbursts.
I still watch this show today and seriously can’t get enough of it. Bea, you’ll be missed.
posted by Rebecca on 4-26-2009 at 7:56 pm
One of my favorites is when Blanche is explaining how she can stay younger by eating right, etc, and living with women that look a lot older than you. She leaves the room and Dorothy turns to Rose and says, “Tell me Rose, is kill the bitch a traditional St. Olaf party game?”
Hilarious.
Also, when Dorothy is in the library checking out books saying how she always keeps her card current and returns her materials, then screams “Who are you to JUDGE ME!” to the librarian.
My friend and I are throwing a Golden Girls drinking game in memory of Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty, haha.
posted by Milly05 on 4-26-2009 at 8:31 pm
I just recently fell in love with “Golden Girls.” My mom watched when I was younger and I remeber thinking, “Why would ANYONE watch a show about old women?” Now at 27, I can relate to most of the show….even though I’m not that old.
I watch it all the time. It’s on from 4-7 on Hallmark and WE and then 11-1 am Hallmark. I can’t get enough.
Bea was so funny and was meant to play Dorothy.
She will be missed!!
posted by Emily on 4-26-2009 at 10:18 pm
I LOVE Golden Girls!! It’s become one of my favorite shows of all time since I started watching it in re-runs all the time over the past year or two. I love all four of the lovely ladies on that show and it’s so sad to know that 2 of them are gone now. Bea was a very talented and versatile actress and she brought such a high level of quality entertainment to Golden Girls. She will be sorely missed.
It’s so hard for me to pick one moment of Dorothy to remember because she was fantastic so much of the time, but I will never forget when Sophia and Dorothy entered the Shady Pines mother-daughter beauty pageant and they came out dressed as Sonny and Cher and sang “I Got You, Babe.” It was priceless!!
I’ll miss ya, Bea! Thanks for all the laughs!!
posted by Kim on 4-27-2009 at 12:00 am
Ohhh, her portrayal of Turkey Lurkey was the best!!! That’s one of my favorite Golden Girls episodes. Click on my name for the link to the Henny Penny video.
RIP, Dorothy.
posted by Jen on 4-27-2009 at 11:07 am
I grew up on the Golden Girls. I would watch it every weekday during the summer. It came on at 11am and I would sit there and watch it with my Mom and my Grandma. Granted I did not “get” most of the jokes. I still loved it. I would watch it anytime it came on in the years since. Recently I have been collecting the DVD’s with my wife. (She was amazed to find a straight man who also loved the Golden Girls and musical theatre.) I still cannot get over how well the show has held up. Other shows, you watch them now, and they just are not nearly as funny as they were back then. Not The Golden Girls.
My favorite scene is when Dorothy says to Sophia: “Get back here, you deceitful little Sicilian gekko!”
And I’ll put my wife’s favorite up here too:
(Trying to move a toilet from the living room)
Rose: Oh, don’t give up, Dorothy. If the ancient Egyptians could move twenty ton stone blocks to build the pyramids, we can move a toilet.
Dorothy: Fine, Rose. Get me twenty thousand Hebrews and I’ll see what I can do.
The world just lost a little bit of laughter. Thank God we still have these memories. . . .
posted by Nathan on 4-27-2009 at 11:24 am
Pretty much anything from that show was hilarious, and I still watch it at least once a week. I always loved her interactiona dn expressions when she would talkl with her ma or the roomates. I’m glad she got to marry for love, after Stan. I loved that Dorothy was tall, and still rocked the shoulder pads and witty come backs.
posted by Alison on 4-27-2009 at 11:41 am
I was so very sad to hear this news over the weekend. I grew up watching Golden Girls, even though I was far too young to “get” the show, and ever since then, it’s become something of a comfort item to me. When I’m sick, or homesick, or sad, the Girls always make me feel better.
For favorite Dorothy moments, I have to go with her dressing up as Cher and singing “I Got You Babe” with Sophia as Sonny, and the episode where Dorothy is convinced that Sophia is losing her hearing. The conversation they have out on the lanai in that episode is priceless.
posted by Jen on 4-27-2009 at 11:47 am
Condoms, Rose! Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!
posted by Robin on 4-27-2009 at 12:10 pm
No mention of the Star Wars Holiday Special? Not even from flossers?
posted by Dinosaur on 4-27-2009 at 1:33 pm
I grew up watching the Golden Girls…one grandmother would let me an laugh along, the other was sternly disapproving. And in college, my friends and I had a standing GG date at 11pm every weeknight (followed by Unsolved Mysteries, of course).
I am a huge fan of the Miami theme song episode. “Miami, Miami…you’ve got style…”
posted by Jen on 4-27-2009 at 1:34 pm
Turkey Lurkey (Help.) and the Library scene (Who are you to judge me??) were so funny, but the one scene that made me spit my soda out was when Stan puts Dorothy’s engagement ring in the potato (It’s a..it’s a SCOLDING HOT RING!!)
posted by Michelle on 4-27-2009 at 2:18 pm
Sophia: Was that the plumber?
Dorothy: No Ma, it was a little girl selling Girl Scout toilets.
I still laugh out loud at that line, even when it’s only in my head.
Bea, thank you for bein’ a friend.
posted by Beth on 4-27-2009 at 5:14 pm
Sophia: Was that the plumber?
Dorothy: No Ma, it was a little girl selling Girl Scout toilets.
Makes me laugh every time.
I’ll miss ya, Bea. Thank you for bein’ a friend.
posted by Beth on 4-27-2009 at 5:17 pm
My favorite episode is definitely “Ladies of the Evening” when Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are arrested for prostitution on their way to meet Burt Reynolds.
However, my favorite Dorothy line is from the episode “3 on a Couch” where the women seek help from a therapist to get along better:
(when describing a night when she was ill, and Blanche made her keep her date with a recently released convict)
Dororthy: I spent the evening going in and out of consciousness while some guy with a silver tooth and a scorpion tattoo tried to grope me through the Vick’s Vapo Rub.
Bea is irreplaceable. I hope you and Estelle have hooked up with Lucy and are having a blast.
posted by Crista on 4-27-2009 at 6:47 pm
Rose: Can I ask a stupid question?
Dorothy: Like no one else can.
Just brilliant delivery.
posted by Genaro on 4-28-2009 at 1:41 am
i totally have to add another couple of lines-
“you’re a furry little gnome and we feed you too much!”
“and how did her hair get singed? did it herself? i think NOT!” (talking about mrs. doolittle her childhood doll)
“i’m not wild about the fact that he keeps his toupee in the lettus crisper- but it looks fresher, and you move on.” (talking about how stan is a changed man)
posted by em on 4-28-2009 at 3:49 am
My favorite too was when Dorothy had the date with the priest and while sitting on the couch, he says, “You look nice” and Dorothy replies, “I look like the mother of a Solid Gold dancer.” OMG cracks me up everytime I see this epi!
posted by Michele on 4-28-2009 at 3:04 pm
“Rose, hand me the paper, the Metro section”
posted by lindseyu on 4-28-2009 at 3:19 pm
Did we forget Maude in this whole sappy trip down memory lane?
Granted, she was brilliant on G!@#$^n G(*&$s, but she really cut her teeth on Maude…
Allowed to get away with so much more back then. Too bad people are so much more delicate nowadays. Can you imagine All in the Family today??
posted by Ron on 5-1-2009 at 9:39 pm