After Arthur decided seven seasons of The Golden Girls was enough for her, the trio that was left behind - Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), and Sophia (Estelle Getty) - embarked on a spinoff that aired on CBS for just one ill-fated season. The Golden Palace (street address unknown).Īh, yes, every Golden Girl aficionado’s dirty little secret. Technically, there’s another address in Miami where it all continued, but as a general rule … we don’t talk about … And after seven seasons’ worth of episodes I’ve seen hundreds of times (to quote Dorothy, “Who are you to judge me?”), there really isn’t a place I’d rather be than in the four-bedroom, ranch-style, wicker-heavy home at 6151 Richmond Street in Miami, the address where it all began. But self-soothing through Golden Girls repeats - even just as background noise (which actually proves tough because all I want to do is finish the character’s sentences) - made her death remarkably easier to digest. Almost a year later, I would get her face tattooed on my arm above a laurel wreath and the words “Thank you for being a friend.” Dorothy Zbornak lives forever on my left bicep.Ī world without Bea Arthur suddenly felt bleak. I’d sensed it before it was even confirmed, but the news was official: Bea Arthur had passed away. On April 25, 2009, my phone began to blow up with texts:
