I was really sad when I heard of the passing of Estelle Getty on July 22. Of course, she was very advanced in age but what was really saddening was when I found out that she had spent the last years of her life battling dementia. It must have been so tough for her and her loved ones. Estelle played Sofia Patrillo on the wonderful TV Show Golden Girls along with Bea Arthur as her daughter Dorothy, Rue McLahan as the sixty-something sexspot Blanche Deveraux and Betty White as the dimwit Rose from the village of Saint Olaf. Four seasoned comedians who did not miss a beat. They don’t (and won’t) make them like that anymore. It was through this show and reruns of Three’s Company that I honed my English speaking skills when I moved to North America at the age of eleven. I still watch reruns of Golden Girls whenever I happen to catch them and they still make me laugh heartily. Estelle, as Sofia, the acerbic Sicilian widow, had the best one-liners.
Rest in Peace Golden Girl, you will always be Golden to me!
