“Golden Girls” Writer Recalls Thought Estelle Getty Was Forgetting Lines Due to Partying, But a Secret Diagnosis Was to Blame
“Golden Girls” Writer Recalls Thought Estelle Getty Was Forgetting Lines Due to Partying, But a Secret Diagnosis Was to Blame
Angela AndaloroWed, February 25, 2026 at 6:21 PM UTC
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Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan as Sophia, Dorothy, Rose and BlancheCredit: Joseph Del Valle/NBCU Photo Bank -
Golden Girls writer Stan Zimmerman opened up about different experiences on set while discussing his new book, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore
Zimmerman recalled frustrations on set around Estelle Getty struggling to remember lines
While some had completely different ideas on why the actress was having a hard time, only a few knew she was struggling with memory loss related to a difficult diagnosis
The Golden Girls had each other's backs.
TV writer Stan Zimmerman — who talks about his time on historic sets in his new book, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore — shared a look back at the environment behind-the-scenes of The Golden Girls, which aired from 1985 to 1992.
The show followed three over-50 women — Rose Nylund (Betty White), Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) — living in a Miami home with Dorothy’s mother Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty).
Zimmerman explained that behind the scenes, there were concerns about Getty struggling to remember her lines on filming days. Only a few people were aware that Getty was quietly living with early-onset dementia.
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"It was thought that, 'She's going out every night to parties. If she would just stay home and learn her lines...', " Zimmerman said, but the reality was much different.
"She was going to AIDS benefits, in a time when actors did not," Zimmerman explains.
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As far as filming, "You would see her mess up her lines, and obviously they'll yell, 'Cut!' and then Betty White would start making jokes and go up to the audience, in the bleachers."
The disruption was irritating to some, Zimmerman noted. "Bea Arthur didn't like that, because she felt like you stay in character... and I would get mad thinking that [Betty] was making fun of Estelle. I was very protective, like, 'You don't.' So for years, I didn't like them laughing at her."
Getty retired from acting in 2001 due to her health, and she died in 2008 at 84 years old from Lewy body dementia.
Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan and Betty WhiteCredit: NBCU Photo Bank/Getty
Zimmerman admits that time has allowed him to see the situation differently. "Now, I kind of look at it like, 'What if Betty was going up there to draw attention to herself to give Estelle the time to work on the lines and get through it?' And it was the beginning of the relationship. I mean, I could see how years later, where it could get kind of annoying, but at that point, they were saying every word we wrote."
Getty became a fierce advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS after her nephew's AIDS diagnosis in the mid-80s. She cared for him until his death in 1992.
"I've been in show business all my life, and the majority of my friends are gay. I don't deny that. A lot of my friends have died from AIDS," she told the Ludington Daily News in 1989.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
