Estelle Getty | |
|---|---|
 Getty in 1989 | |
| Born | Estelle Scher (1923-07-25)July 25, 1923 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 22, 2008(2008-07-22) (aged 84) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1940s–2001[1] |
| Notable work | The Golden Girls The Golden Palace Empty Nest Mannequin |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Estelle Gettleman (néeScher; July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), known professionally asEstelle Getty, was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her portrayal ofSophia Petrillo onThe Golden Girls (1985–1992), for which she won aGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She reprised the role inEmpty Nest (1993–1995),The Golden Palace (1992–1993),Blossom (1990–1995), andNurses (1991–1994).[2]
Notable films in which she appeared includeMask (1985), a semibiographical film in which she played the grandmother ofRoy L. Dennis,Mannequin (1987), andStuart Little (1999). She retired from acting in 2001 due to failing health, and died in 2008 fromdementia with Lewy bodies.[3][4]
Getty was bornEstelle Scher in New York City on July 25, 1923, to Charles Scher and Sarah (née Lacher), Jewish immigrants fromPoland, at the family's apartment at 257 East 2nd Street on theLower East Side, which also served as thestorefront for the family's glass business.[5] She had a sister Rosilyn "Roz" Scher Howard, and a brother Samuel "David" Scher.[6][7][unreliable source?] As a child, she was known as Etty, a nickname that stemmed from her sister's inability to pronounce "Estelle" correctly, and it stuck with her throughout her life.[8] Her father owned and operated his own business, installing glass windows into automobiles and trucks, and her mother was ahomemaker.[9] As a weekly treat, every Friday night, her father would take their family to theAcademy of Music on14th Street to watch a film and a livevaudeville performance, and while watching those performances, Getty decided she wanted to become an actor.[8]
She graduated fromSeward Park High School.[10]
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.[10][11]
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 herbreakthrough role as Mrs. Beckoff in theBroadway production ofTorch Song Trilogy, a character that playwrightHarvey Fierstein had created specifically with her in mind.[12][13] She received widespread praise for her appearance in the play—including aDrama Desk Award nomination[14]—and went on to reprise the role in both Broadway andoff-Broadway productions for four years. In 1985, the role heavily influencedWitt/Thomas/Harris Productions to cast Getty for the role ofSophia Petrillo onNBC's new sitcom,The Golden Girls.[15] 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 playedDorothy Zbornak.[16][17] In 1988, Getty won her most notable award, thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for her work on the show.[18]
The Golden Girls ended in 1992 after seven seasons (six of the seven seasons in the top 10 of theNielsen 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 inEmpty Nest,Nurses,Blossom,Touched by an Angel,Mad About You, andThe Nanny. Her other television and film appearances prior to and during the filming ofThe Golden Girls included the TV seriesFantasy Island,Cagney & Lacey andNewhart, and the filmsTootsie (1982),Mask (1985) andMannequin (1987), and a starring role inStop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992). Her final film role wasStuart Little (1999).
During her time onThe Golden Girls, Getty wrote her autobiography,If I Knew Then, What I Know Now... So What?, with the help of Steve Delsohn, published byContemporary Books in 1988. She also released an exercise video for senior citizens in 1993.[19]
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.[20] After they wed, the two lived inthe Bronx for a time, and, after the births of their two sons, moved toOakland Gardens,Queens, living in a liberal-minded cooperative built for Jewish veterans ofWorld 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 onThe Golden Girls, and Arthur Gettleman had no desire to leave New York, and continued to work in the family's glass business.
Getty was said by friendsHarvey Fierstein andRosie O'Donnell, both notable members of theLGBT community, to have been heavily involved inHIV/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 withHIV/AIDS, and herTorch Song Trilogy co-starCourt Miller (1952–1986).[21]
Getty died in the early morning of July 22, 2008, at her home in Los Angeles aged 84, from the result ofLewy body dementia, according to her family. She was buried inHollywood Forever Cemetery, her headstone inscribed with the words "With Love and Laughter" and aStar of David to indicate her Jewish faith.[22][23]Bea Arthur,Betty White, andRue McClanahan, her co-stars fromThe 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.[4] 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 oncue cards.[24] Getty also suffered fromosteoporosis, and was also thought to haveParkinson's disease. This diagnosis was ultimately changed to dementia with Lewy bodies.[25]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Team-Mates | Teacher | |
| 1982 | Tootsie | Middle Aged Woman | |
| 1983 | Deadly Force | Gussie | |
| 1984 | No Man's Land | Eurol Miller | TV movie |
| 1984 | Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story | 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 |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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(1991, 1992) |
| 1987 | 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) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Torch Song Trilogy | Mrs. Beckoff | [26] |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Young at Heart: Body Conditioning with Estelle | Herself |
the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985
Estelle Scher in household of Charles Scher, Assembly District 6, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-517, sheet 61A, line 32, family 203, NARA digital publication T627
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