Product Code Database
Estelle Gettleman (Given names Scher; July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), known professionally as Estelle Getty, was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls (1985–1992), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She reprised the role in Empty Nest (1993–1995), The Golden Palace (1992–1993), Blossom (1990–1995), and Nurses (1991–1994).
Notable films in which she appeared include Mask (1985), a semibiographical film in which she played the grandmother of Roy L. Dennis, Mannequin (1987), and Stuart Little (1999). She retired from acting in 2001 due to failing health, and died in 2008 from dementia with Lewy bodies.
She graduated from Seward Park High School.
For years, Getty won roles in the New York theater circuit, while simultaneously holding a job and raising her two sons, but she struggled to gain notice for her talent. Finally, in 1982, nearing 60 years old, she found her breakthrough role as Mrs. Beckoff in the Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy, a character that playwright Harvey Fierstein had created specifically with her in mind. She received widespread praise for her appearance in the play—including a Drama Desk Award nomination—and went on to reprise the role in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions for four years. In 1985, the role heavily influenced Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions to cast Getty for the role of Sophia Petrillo on NBC's new sitcom, The Golden Girls. Getty relied on wigs, clothing, and heavy makeup to age herself to look the part of a mother in her 80s. In reality, she was a year younger than her television daughter, Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy Zbornak. In 1988, Getty won her most notable award, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for her work on the show.
The Golden Girls ended in 1992 after seven seasons (six of the seven seasons in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings) due to Arthur wishing to explore new projects. That fall, Getty, McClanahan, and White starred in the show's spin-off, The Golden Palace, for one season before its cancellation. Getty then appeared in Empty Nest, Nurses, Blossom, Touched by an Angel, Mad About You, and The Nanny. Her other television and film appearances prior to and during the filming of The Golden Girls included the TV series Fantasy Island, Cagney & Lacey and Newhart, and the films Tootsie (1982), Mask (1985) and Mannequin (1987), and a starring role in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992). Her final film role was Stuart Little (1999).
During her time on The Golden Girls, Getty wrote her autobiography, If I Knew Then, What I Know Now... So What?, with the help of Steve Delsohn, published by Contemporary Books in 1988. She also released an exercise video for senior citizens in 1993.
Career
After graduating from high school, Estelle continued to live at home with her parents. Her father was doubtful she would be able to forge a successful career in acting. She worked as a secretary, as the hours allowed for her to attend auditions in the late afternoon and evening while having an income.
Personal life
Family
Getty was introduced to Arthur Gettleman, whose last name she later used as the basis for her stage name, at a party by her friends from the New York theater circuit. The two married nine months later on December 21, 1947. They had two children together, sons Carl Gettleman and Barry Gettleman, and remained married until his death on September 24, 2004, at the age of 85. After they wed, the two lived in the Bronx for a time, and, after the births of their two sons, moved to Oakland Gardens, Queens, living in a liberal-minded cooperative built for Jewish veterans of World War II called Bell Park Gardens, while Arthur worked with his father-in-law in glass installation. The two lived separately for some time from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, as Getty moved to California to work on The Golden Girls, and Arthur Gettleman had no desire to leave New York, and continued to work in the family's glass business.
HIV/AIDS activism
Getty was said by friends Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O'Donnell, both notable members of the LGBT community, to have been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS activism and had lost close friends and family to the disease, among them her nephew Steven Scher (1962–1992), whom she cared for after he was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and her Torch Song Trilogy co-star Court Miller (1952–1986).
Death
Getty died in the early morning of July 22, 2008, at her home in Los Angeles aged 84, from the result of Lewy body dementia, according to her family. She was buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, her headstone inscribed with the words "With Love and Laughter" and a Star of David to indicate her Jewish faith. Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan, her co-stars from The Golden Girls were saddened by her loss; previously in a 2004 interview, they said that her disease had progressed to the point where she was not able to hold conversations with them or recognize them. She had reportedly started to show signs of dementia during the filming of the television series, when, despite more than three decades of theater work, she began to struggle to remember her lines, and in later seasons of the show, had to rely on . Getty also suffered from osteoporosis, and was also thought to have Parkinson's disease. This diagnosis was ultimately changed to dementia with Lewy bodies.
Filmography
1978 Team-Mates Teacher 1982 Tootsie Middle Aged Woman 1983 Deadly Force Gussie 1984 No Man's Land Eurol Miller TV movie 1984 TV movie 1985 Mask Evelyn Steinberg 1985 Copacabana Bella Stern TV movie 1987 Mannequin Mrs. Claire Timkin 1992 Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot Mrs. Tutti Bomowski Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress 1997 A Match Made in Heaven Betty Weston TV movie 1999 The Sissy Duckling Mrs. Hennypecker Voice, TV movie 1999 Stuart Little Grandma Estelle final film role
Television
1981 Nurse Sadie Mandler Episode: "Equal Opportunity" 1982 Baker's Dozen Mrs. Locasale Episode: "Dear John" 1984 Fantasy Island Money Lady Episode: "The Match Maker" 1984 Cagney & Lacey Mrs. Rosenmeyer Episode: "Baby Broker" 1984 Hotel Roberta Abrams Episode: "Intimate Strangers" 1985 Newhart Miriam the Librarian Episode: "What Makes Dick Run" 1985–1992 The Golden Girls Sophia Petrillo 180 episodes
American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Female in a Television Series
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series1987 Roomies Mama Episode: "Mid-Term Fever" 1990 City Helen Rutledge Episode: "Seems Like Old Times" 1990 The Earth Day Special Sophia Petrillo TV special 1991 The Fanelli Boys Dr. Newman Episode: "Doctor, Doctor"" 1991 Blossom Sophia Petrillo Episode: "I Ain't Got No Body" 1992–1993 The Golden Palace Sophia Petrillo 24 episodes 1993 Nurses Sophia Petrillo Episode: "Temporary Setbacks" 1988–1995 Empty Nest Sophia Petrillo 52 episodes 1996 Touched by an Angel Dottie Episode: "The Sky Is Falling" 1996 Brotherly Love Myrna Burwell Episode: "Motherly Love" 1997 Mad About You Paul's Aunt Ida Episode: "The Birth: Part 1" 1997 Duckman Aunt Jane Voice, Episode: "Westward, No!" 1998 The Nanny Herself Episode: "Making Whoopi" 2000 Ladies Man Sophia Gates Episode: "Romance" 2000 It's Like, You Know... Herself Episode: "Lust for Life", (unaired) 2001 Intimate Portrait Herself Episode: "Estelle Getty", (final appearance)
Theater
1982 Torch Song Trilogy Mrs. Beckoff
Exercise video
1993 Young at Heart: Body Conditioning with Estelle Herself
Book
External links
Categories: 1923 Births, 2008 Deaths, 20th-century American Actresses, 20th-century American Comedians, 20th-century American Jews, 21st-century American Actresses, 21st-century American Comedians, 21st-century American Jews, Activists From California, Activists From New York City, Actresses From Manhattan, Actresses From Los Angeles, American Film Actresses, American Lgbtq Rights Activists, American Stage Actresses, American Television Actresses, American People Of Polish-jewish Descent, American Women Comedians, Best Musical Or Comedy Actress Golden Globe Winners, Burials At Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Comedians From Los Angeles, Comedians From Manhattan, Deaths From Lewy Body Dementia, Deaths From Dementia In California, Jewish American Actresses, Jewish American Comedians, Jewish Women Comedians, Seward Park High School Alumni, Yiddish Theatre Performers, Jews From New York, Jews From California
|
|
