Estelle Getty - Biography

Change Image Last Editor: hitomss				Estelle Getty Biography -   Name : Estelle Getty

Estelle Getty Trivia -

Getty played mother to Bea Arthur on "The Golden Girls" (1985), however, Bea is actually 15½ months older than Estelle. Estelle was born on July 25, 1923 and Bea was born on May 13, 1922. Getty's career actually began when she was much younger on the 'borscht belt' circuit and Yiddish stage, but she gave it up to raise a family. She returned to acting much later and became a hit on Broadway as Harvey Fierstein's meddling mom in "Torch Song Trilogy". It was the L.A. tour of this show that led to her being cast in "The Golden Girls" (1985) and at age 62 she became an "overnight" TV star. She retired in 2000 after revealing she had health issues. In the mid 1990s, she was misdiagnosed with Parkinson's disease. By the end of the 1990s, she was misdiagnosed again, this time with Alzheimer's disease. Later, she was correctly diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, which has similar symptoms to both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. She played the same character, Sophia Spirelli Petrillo-Weinstock, on five different TV series: "The Golden Palace" (1992), "The Golden Girls" (1985), "Nurses" (1991), "Empty Nest" (1988), and "Blossom" (1991). She was a strong supporter of gay rights. During a brief reunion in November 2004 with "The Golden Girls" (1985)'s Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Bea Arthur, it was reported on TV by the ladies that Estelle was suffering from severe dementia. She had two children with her late husband Arthur Gettleman: sons 'Carl Gettleman' and Barry Gettleman. She was born to Polish immigrants. Has a brother David and a sister Rosilyn. Her nephew Stephen died from AIDS in January 1992 at the age of 29. She was nicknamed "Slats" by her Golden Girls costars because of her short height and light weight. In 1991, as later reported in Star magazine, Getty helped her 29-year-old nephew Steven Scher, who was suffering from the final stages of AIDS and near death. Because his parents lived in England and his friends were no longer able to care for him in Greensboro, North Carolina, Getty took it upon herself to have him flown to California and admitted to hospice care. He died in January 1992.

Estelle Getty Detailed Biography -

Estelle Scher-Gettleman (July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, theatre and television. She is best known for her long-running role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992 and on The Golden Palace from 1992 to 1993. For the role, she won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. In her later years, after retiring from acting, she battled Lewy body dementia. Getty was born Estelle Scher in New York City, the daughter of Sarah and Charles Scher, Jewish immigrants from Poland who worked in the glass business. Getty got her start in the Yiddish theater and also as a comedienne in the Catskills borscht belt resorts, and among her most notable stage roles was as Harvey Fierstein's mother in Torch Song Trilogy during it's original Broadway run. She is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on the popular 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls. Her character was the wise-cracking Sicilian mother of Dorothy Zbornak, played by Beatrice Arthur (the other main characters being played by Betty White and Rue McClanahan); in real life, Getty was in fact one year younger than Arthur. Toward the end of her career, she wrote an autobiography, with Steve Delsohn, titled If I Knew Then, What I Know Now... So What? (Contemporary Books, 1988). Getty was married to Arthur Gettleman (from whose name she adapted into her stage name) from 1947 until his death in 2004. Getty had two sons: Carl Gettleman, who lives in California, and Barry Gettleman, who lives in Florida. In 1991, as later reported in Star magazine, Getty helped to nurse her 29-year-old nephew Steven Scher, who was near death and suffering from the final stages of AIDS. Because Scher's parents lived in England and his friends were no longer able to care for him in Greensboro, North Carolina, Getty had him flown to California and admitted to hospice care. He died in January 1992. In 2000, Getty stopped making public appearances after revealing she had Parkinson's disease and osteoporosis. In 2002, media reports claimed she was also suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Doctors later discovered she actually had Lewy body dementia; both the Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diagnoses were incorrect. In 2003, Lifetime television hosted a Golden Girls reunion, but Getty did not appear due to her failing health. On July 22, 2008, at approximately 5:30 a.m. PDT, Getty died in her Hollywood Boulevard home in Los Angeles from natural causes (according to her manager), three days before her 85th birthday. Each of Getty's former Golden Girls co-stars did not attend Getty's funeral, but did reflect upon her death: Rue McClanahan told the Associated Press, "Don't feel sad about her passing. She will always be with us in her crowning achievement, Sophia." Bea Arthur said in a statement, "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her." Betty White remarked, "The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us." In honor of Getty, Lifetime TV – which airs The Golden Girls – announced that it would air ten episodes of the series featuring the best of Sophia on Friday, July 25; fan voting for their favorite episode would be conducted on Lifetime's website, with the winning episode being aired last in the marathon. The handprints of Estelle Getty in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.