The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Susan Harris
Starring	Bea Arthur Betty White Rue McClanahan Estelle Getty
Theme music composer	Andrew Gold
Opening theme	"Thank You for Being a Friend" by Cynthia Fee
Ending theme	"Thank You for Being a Friend Instrumental
Composer	George Tipton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	173 (original run) 180 (syndication) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Susan Harris Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas
Producer	Paul Junger Witt
Camera setup	Videotape Multiple-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company	Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions
Original release
Network	NBC Hallmark Disney+ TV Land Hulu
Release	September 13, 1985 (1985-09-13) – May 9, 1992 (1992-05-09)
Related
Empty Nest Nurses

The Golden Girls was an American comedy television series. It ran from 1985 to 1992 on NBC. It was about a group of older women who lived in the same house in Miami, Florida. The series was produced by Paul Junger Witt.

Characters

The women were:

• Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) - She was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Dorothy was the first person in her family to go to college and is a substitute teacher. She got pregnant in high school. Her parents are Salvador and Sophia, two Sicilian immigrants. She has a sister Gloria and a brother Phil. Phil was a cross dresser. She married Stan Zbornak because she was pregnant and stayed married for 38 years until he cheated on her and left her. With him she has two children: Kate and Michael Zbornak. After their divorce, she moved to the shared house with Blanche and Rose. Her mother Sophia criticized her love-life again and again. In the last episode Dorothy marries Blanche’s Uncle Lucas. After her marriage she moved out of the house.
• Rose Nyland (Betty White) - she grew up with her adoptive family including nine siblings on a farm in Saint Olaf, Minnesota. She is the outcome of an affair. Her father was a monk and her mother died during Rose’s childbirth. Nevertheless, she had a happy childhood with her adoptive parents and her eight siblings, including sisters Holly & Lily. She was married to a traveling salesman named Charlie Nylund until his death. He had a heart attack while they were making love and died. They have five children: three daughters named Kirsten, Bridget and Jenella and two sons called Adam and Charlie JR. She has at least one granddaughter, named Charlie. She worked as a counselor in a counseling center. Sometimes, she volunteers in a hospital. She is an honest person and loves animals. She always tells very long and odd stories about her life in Saint Olaf.
• Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) - she grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She has four brothers and sisters.she has two sisters named Charmaine and Virginia. She doesn't like them, but she is nevertheless friendly to them. She has two brothers. Clayton is gay and Tad. Her father is called Big Daddy. Until his death, she was his favorite daughter. She is the owner of the house they live in. She used to live with her husband George in this house. With him she had five children: two daughters named Rebecca and Janet and three sons named Biff, Doug and Skippy and she has at least four grandchildren: David, Sarah, Melissa and Aurora. She is obsessed with men and had many affairs with them. Blanche feels old and she is not satisfied with her age.
• Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty)- is the mother of Dorothy and lived in a nursing home called “Shady Pines. She moved in with the others after it is burned down. She did not like Shady Pines. In one episode she says she had been walking since 1904 even though in the first episode she says she’s 80 and that is 1985, meaning she would have been born in 1905. She was born in Sicily and eventually came to the US. She was engaged about four times. Once she was left at the altar, one they never explain how it ended, one she married and then had it annulled and then she married Salvador until his death. She has a sister Angela and a brother Angelo. She’s famous for telling stories and they always start with “picture it. Sicily. 1920” (or whatever year the story takes place)

Recurring characters

• Stanley "Stan" Zbornak (Herb Edelman)- was the classmate of Dorothy. In High School, he got Dorothy pregnant. Both were 17 years old and Dorothy’s parents forced them to marry. They were married for 38 years. He sells novelty items. He wears a toupé.
• Miles Webber (Harold Gould)- is in a relationship with Rose. He was a professor in a college. He is a widower and has one daughter, Caroline. In one episode it comes out that he is in the witness protection program.
• Salvador "Sal" Petrillo (Sid Melton)- was the husband of Sophia. He appears in several episodes. Always as either flashbacks or in heaven as he died before the show started.

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