"Blanche" from The Golden Girls suffers stroke

[MarcB]

Rue McClanahan "Blanche" on The Golden Girls has suffered a stroke.

http://www.etonline.com/news/2010/01/82900/

I call this The Golden Girls Curse. "Sophia" Estelle Getty died in 08 and "Dorothy" Bea Arthur died in 09.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

It would be a curse if they died during or shortly after the show ended! Fact is, both Ms. Arthur and Ms. Getty were well into their 80s when they passed, and died from the common malady's that plague those of advanced age.

Ms. McClanahan will be 76 this year. Strokes, and according to the article you linked, heart problems requiring triple bypass surgery, are common for people in her age range.

Hardly a "curse" unless you're talking about the curse of growing old.

 

[MarcB]

I was just saying that both Estelle and Bea having fatal health problems with-in one year of each other and then Rue having health scares at then end of 09/beginning of 2010. That's what I mean by curse. And if I were Betty White, I'd be watching myself.

 

[quadraphonic]

Dude they're aging. That's what's causing them to get old and frail. Not a curse. Unless you think we're all cursed that way.

 

[Silkie]

Living things age.

 

[searadiofreak]

Rue is a fantastic comedic actress. Not only Golden Girls, but I believe she appeared in a number of All In The Family episodes, and then a regular in Maude. Very talented.

Also, the story is Betty White was first casted as Blanche, but the roles reversed as to avoid type-casting, and Rue took over the Blanche character, and Betty took the "Rose" role. I guess that worked out pretty well.

 

[LKellerIII]

I was just saying that both Estelle and Bea having fatal health problems with-in one year of each other and then Rue having health scares at then end of 09/beginning of 2010. That's what I mean by curse. And if I were Betty White, I'd be watching myself.

Betty White is turning 88 the day after tomorrow. She's still active, mentally alert, and physically healthy, as far as I know. At that age, I think you probably take it one day at a time.

 

[bpatrick]

I think Betty's proof that staying active is the best thing
a person can do. I often mention announcer-voiceover-
host Don Morrow, who turns 83 January 29; asked why
he keeps working at his age he said, "If I didn't work, I'd
die, and I don't want to die." He, too, seems to be mentally
sharp. And maybe Betty feels the same way...I hope.

 

[Stanislav]

I think Betty's proof that staying active is the best thing
a person can do. I often mention announcer-voiceover-
host Don Morrow, who turns 83 January 29; asked why
he keeps working at his age he said, "If I didn't work, I'd
die, and I don't want to die." He, too, seems to be mentally
sharp. And maybe Betty feels the same way...I hope.

Not to mention Don Pardo -- I remember seeing his little 90th birthday celebration on SNL and thinking, "No WAY this guy is 90!!" Keeping busy doing things that you love seems to be a good recipe for longevity.

 

[LKellerIII]

I think Betty's proof that staying active is the best thing
a person can do. I often mention announcer-voiceover-
host Don Morrow, who turns 83 January 29; asked why
he keeps working at his age he said, "If I didn't work, I'd
die, and I don't want to die." He, too, seems to be mentally
sharp. And maybe Betty feels the same way...I hope.

Not to mention Don Pardo -- I remember seeing his little 90th birthday celebration on SNL and thinking, "No WAY this guy is 90!!" Keeping busy doing things that you love seems to be a good recipe for longevity.

Pardo was an announcer for NBC radio before there was an NBC television network.

 

[Stanislav]

Rue is a fantastic comedic actress. Not only Golden Girls, but I believe she appeared in a number of All In The Family episodes, and then a regular in Maude. Very talented.

Also, the story is Betty White was first casted as Blanche, but the roles reversed as to avoid type-casting, and Rue took over the Blanche character, and Betty took the "Rose" role.

For those who may not make the connection, it was because White had already played a "slut" (as Sue Ann on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and wanted to do something different. One can't imagine it working out nearly as well had she and McClanahan stuck with their original Golden Girls roles: White's Rose was delightful with her wide-eyed naivete and befuddled misunderstandings. while McClanahan was the perfect "Southern Belle with a lot of mileage" slut.

The Golden Girls was an anomaly -- a show with four main characters who were senior citizens that, nevertheless, avoided skewing too "old" in viewer demographics. This was, IMHO, entirely due to the strength of the cast; in the hands of lesser actresses, the show would not have had nearly as much success.

 

[LKellerIII]

Rue is a fantastic comedic actress. Not only Golden Girls, but I believe she appeared in a number of All In The Family episodes, and then a regular in Maude. Very talented.

Also, the story is Betty White was first casted as Blanche, but the roles reversed as to avoid type-casting, and Rue took over the Blanche character, and Betty took the "Rose" role.

For those who may not make the connection, it was because White had already played a "slut" (as Sue Ann on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and wanted to do something different. One can't imagine it working out nearly as well had she and McClanahan stuck with their original Golden Girls roles: White's Rose was delightful with her wide-eyed naivete and befuddled misunderstandings. while McClanahan was the perfect "Southern Belle with a lot of mileage" slut.

The Golden Girls was an anomaly -- a show with four main characters who were senior citizens that, nevertheless, avoided skewing too "old" in viewer demographics. This was, IMHO, entirely due to the strength of the cast; in the hands of lesser actresses, the show would not have had nearly as much success.

True. Golden Girls was a show that attracted a younger demographic then (first run), and is still attracting a younger demographic now - reruns of the show are popular on college campuses, in dorms, etc. My daughter (27) is a huge fan. On her recommendation, we went to see a Golden Girls Christmas - a live stage performance here in San Francisco. Other than the fact that the actors were men in drag (I did say it was San Francisco), the production was very respectful to the show. The only lasciviousness was provided by Blanche (much as McClanahan would have played her), and it had a very Golden Girls style plot. They even had "commercial breaks" when the scenes changed that including audio from 80s era TV.

 

[Silkie]

Rue is a fantastic comedic actress. Not only Golden Girls, but I believe she appeared in a number of All In The Family episodes, and then a regular in Maude. Very talented.

Also, the story is Betty White was first casted as Blanche, but the roles reversed as to avoid type-casting, and Rue took over the Blanche character, and Betty took the "Rose" role.

For those who may not make the connection, it was because White had already played a "slut" (as Sue Ann on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and wanted to do something different. One can't imagine it working out nearly as well had she and McClanahan stuck with their original Golden Girls roles: White's Rose was delightful with her wide-eyed naivete and befuddled misunderstandings. while McClanahan was the perfect "Southern Belle with a lot of mileage" slut.

The Golden Girls was an anomaly -- a show with four main characters who were senior citizens that, nevertheless, avoided skewing too "old" in viewer demographics. This was, IMHO, entirely due to the strength of the cast; in the hands of lesser actresses, the show would not have had nearly as much success.

True. Golden Girls was a show that attracted a younger demographic then (first run), and is still attracting a younger demographic now - reruns of the show are popular on college campuses, in dorms, etc. My daughter (27) is a huge fan. On her recommendation, we went to see a Golden Girls Christmas - a live stage performance here in San Francisco. Other than the fact that the actors were men in drag (I did say it was San Francisco), the production was very respectful to the show. The only lasciviousness was provided by Blanche (much as McClanahan would have played her), and it had a very Golden Girls style plot. They even had "commercial breaks" when the scenes changed that including audio from 80s era TV.

The popular show on campus when I was in college was "Mary Hartman Mary Hartman", a rather dark humored soap.

 

[bpatrick]

I think Betty's proof that staying active is the best thing
a person can do. I often mention announcer-voiceover-
host Don Morrow, who turns 83 January 29; asked why
he keeps working at his age he said, "If I didn't work, I'd
die, and I don't want to die." He, too, seems to be mentally
sharp. And maybe Betty feels the same way...I hope.

Not to mention Don Pardo -- I remember seeing his little 90th birthday celebration on SNL and thinking, "No WAY this guy is 90!!" Keeping busy doing things that you love seems to be a good recipe for longevity.

Pardo was an announcer for NBC radio before there was an NBC television network.

Right. He started with NBC in 1944. That same year Bern Bennett started at CBS and although he retired in 2003 he was in his 80s. Most of you may recognize his voice as announcer on "The Young And The Restless" from 1973 to 2003, and "The Bold And The Beautiful" from 1987 to 2003.