A Tribute to Estelle Getty

[DLevine2]

Picture This:
Remembering Estelle Getty
(1923-2008)

For ten years, Estelle Getty entertained audiences around the world as Sophia Petrillo. Starting out on The Golden Girls, then moving on to The Golden Palace (all 24 episodes are available on YouTube), back to Empty Nest, and making the occasional appearance on Blossom and Nurses, Estelle proved to everyone that octogenarians are anything but senile; they love to party, have fun, and live active social and sex lives. In the ten years she played Sophia, Estelle Getty became a pioneer for more than one generation by inspiring older citizens to live by carpe diem and convincing younger citizens that one does not have to be young to be funny.

It is so amazing to find out that Estelle suffered from stage fright. In some older interviews, Getty claimed she was terrified before each show. She could have fooled us. Her performance as Sophia Petrillo kept audiences laughing for over 20 years because for one thing, Sophia reminds everyone of his or her mother, aunt, or grandmother. She is so cantankerous and raunchy, and her put-downs of Dorothy are hilarious. For instance, when Dorothy lifts a bin and comments, “Ma, this tub must way 30 pounds,” Sophia responds, “That’s EXACTLY what the doctor said when he delivered you.” Or, when talking about participating in dirty dancing, Dorothy says, “I can’t see myself wildly gyrating my pelvis and swinging my hips,” Sophia replies, “And the world heaves a collective sigh of relief.” Of course, Sophia and Dorothy’s relationship would not be complete with Dorothy’s comebacks, such as this one: “You’ll have to excuse my mother: she suffered a slight stroke which left her, if I could be frank, a complete burden.”

Sophia’s putdowns of Rose and Blanche are just as funny. In The Golden Palace, for example, Sophia calls Rose, “A cheese blintz in a wig,” and compares her to Timmy looking for Lassie. At one point, when Rose asks Sophia, “Penny for your thoughts, Sophia?” Sophia responds, “You’re stupid, and that’s on the house.” When it comes to Blanche, Sophia calls her an “aging drag queen,” a “round heeled mattress queen,” and a “Sealy Posteurpedic with a face.”

Even Sophia’s occasional senility provides a hardy laugh. One of my all time favorite scenes occurs in the season four episode, “Two Rode Together.” Dorothy takes Sophia for a vacation in Disney World only to drive Sophia nuts with family photos, histories, and slideshows. In one particular scene, Dorothy follows Sophia into a bar. As Sophia tries to tell an allegorical story about lightning bugs in her youth and how they inspired her, she all of a sudden lapses into George Bush’s inauguration speech. What a classic!

Despite her insults, Sophia is still loveable and even has a soft side. One of Sophia’s most touching moments occurs in the season six episode “Ebbtide,” when Sophia must come to terms with her son Phil’s death and resolve a decades-long feud with her daughter-in-law Angela. When she breaks down in the last minute of the episode, Sophia reveals her own vulnerability. Estelle could not have put on a better performance.

A few years after The Golden Girls ended, Betty, Rue, and Estelle appeared as themselves on The John Laroquette Show. I happened to have stumbled upon a clip on YouTube that involves the ladies putting on a Golden Girls musical and forcing John Laroquette to play Dorothy. The result is hilarious, and the expressions on Estelle’s face make this clip even more priceless.

While I was born in the middle of The Golden Girls’ run and was too young to watch The Golden Palace, I should still make it a point to mention that Estelle really made her mark in Harvey Firestein’s Torch Song Trilogy, playing his mother. Her performance really was a tour de force, and this lead to some other movie roles, including playing Cher’s mother in Mask and Sylvester Stallone’s mother in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. She may have been typecast, but no one can play an ethnic and loveable mother like Estelle Getty could.

I copied this off of Access The Golden Girls website.

[Scoobiedoo30]

nice tribute

[DLevine2]

I love reading this tribute. It's too nice to read about Estelle/Sophia.

[Scoobiedoo30]

I miss her