Estelle Getty

The news of Estelle Getty's death has really put a cloud over my week. Since her passing, I keep finding myself wandering over YouTube to watch classic Golden Girls clips (the best are the ones with Getty's feisty old Sophia giving Blanche hell). It just reminds me of what a touchstone The Golden Girls really was.

YouTube clips may be convenient, but they hardly do the show — nor Getty — justice, which is why I'm thrilled Lifetime is running 10 Sophia-centric episodes in a marathon this Friday from noon to 5 p.m. (check your local listings for the exact times in your time zone). The final episode of the marathon with be the No. 1 “Sophia episode” as chosen by fans voting online.

Are you excited? Will you set your TiVo, DVR, what have you? To see a description of the episodes competing for the title of Sophia's best, read more

We love us some Golden Girls here at GiggleSugar, so it was very sad to hear that Estelle Getty, my favorite Golden Girl, passed away yesterday, three days before her 85th birthday. Estelle got her start in the Yiddish theater and as a comedian in the Catskills' "Borscht Belt." Her star began to rise when she played Harvey Fierstein's mother in the Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy, but it was her role as the wise-cracking, take-no-prisoners Sophia on The Golden Girls that made her a comic legend. Kvetching and bitching, Sophia gave as good as she got and made being a senior citizen look cool. "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her," Bea Arthur was reported as saying in the LA Times. Betty White, who played Rose on the show, said "The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us."

Sad news this morning, Buzz readers: Estelle Getty (a.k.a. Sophia from The Golden Girls) has passed away at the age of 84.

Best known as Sophia, the snappy, sarcastic mother of Bea Arthur's character Dorothy, Getty endeared herself to audiences everywhere for being hilariously no-nonsense — effectivey shattering the stereotype of the sweet old lady. According to the AP, Getty initially didn't get the part of Sophia because "she didn't look old enough to play 80." She later told an interviewer, "I could understand that. I walk fast, I move fast, I talk fast."

The AP article also includes this interesting tidbit:

Getty had gained a knack for one-liners in her late teens when she did standup comedy at a Catskills hotel. Female comedians were rare in those days, however, and she bombed.

Well, thank goodness she wasn't discouraged from continuing in the business; we'll all remember her as hilarious, sarcastic and spunky. We'll miss you Estelle Getty.

To check out a clip montage of classic Sophia moments, read more

Actress Estelle Getty, most beloved for playing sassy Sophia on Golden Girls, passed away early this morning. She had been suffering from advanced dementia and was at her home in LA at the time. Her son had this to say, "She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents. She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived." Our thoughts are with her loved ones, she will be missed.

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Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

If you could recast this 1985-1992 TV show with new actors, who else could capture the charm and pep of these funny ladies in their "golden" years? Who could play the flirty Southern belle Blanche, sweet Rose, no-nonsense Dorothy and her wisecracking mother Sophia?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, November 20, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more