Estelle Getty

I’m a little ashamed, frankly, that it’s taken me over a week to make note of Estelle Getty’s passing. She is known best for her Golden Girls’ role as Sophia–the quick-witted, sassy mother of Bea Arthur’s character Dorothy. Estelle passed away three days shy of her 85th birthday, after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Although Estelle has been out of the public eye for several years because of her failing health, she will be greatly missed.

I am a self-proclaimed Golden Girls fanatic. There are those who might view this as a major character flaw. I believe it just shows that I have good taste in television. Yes, I do own all seven seasons of the series. No, I do not watch it everyday…anymore. There was a time when the ‘girls’ were just the medicine I needed for feeling blue. Now, their campy jokes just brighten my day and my knowledge of the show provides countless hours of sitcom trivia.

My favorite Sophia moment is from the episode where she and Dorothy dress up as “Sonny and Cher” for the mother/daughter beauty pageant. The two sing “I Got You Babe.” You’ve also got to love all of her “picture it…” moments–stories from Brooklyn or Sicily.

Here’s one of my favorite scenes…