Estelle Getty was made up to look older than her actual age for the purpose of playing “Mom” on The Golden Girls. In fact, “Dorothy” was actually Estelle’s senior by an entire year.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate Estelle Getty’s makeup artists.
The Southern Belle Accent
Everyone adored Blanche’s sweet southern accent, it also seemed very genuine, especially as the show progressed and she grew into her role. However, Rue McClanahan threw the accent in on her own. One day, she just started using it and producers asked her to keep it up.
Her accent added a “southern belle” aspect to Blanche that everybody just fell in love with. Can you imagine Blanche without that accent?
Where Art Thou, Dorothy?
Producers were thrown into a frenzy when Bea Arthur, who they’d originally hoped would fill the role of Dorothy, turned them down. They were launched into search mode, trying to hunt down someone who could bring to life the character that they’d envisioned. They were becoming discouraged and couldn’t seem to find anyone to fit the bill.
However, Bea made everything right when she suggested that White and McClanahan switch roles. They agreed and she then jumped back on board!
And the Emmy Goes To...
Each of The Golden Girls won an Emmy during their seven years on the air. In fact, Getty was nominated for seven of them. The show had an enormous fanbase, among it was even The Royal Family. Of course, this was all reflected in the numerous Emmy nominations that they had racked up over the years.
It really was the show that brought everybody together.
They Had Millions Upon Millions of Viewers
Fans were seriously in love with their Golden Girls. In fact, audiences were so thrilled by the show that the fanbase reached a record of twenty-five million people! The number of viewers remained steady throughout the running of the show.
The fans were loyal and stuck with the series throughout its seven-year duration.