Estelle Getty: Thank You For Being Alive
Posted Jul 22nd 2008 12:54PM by TMZ Staff

"Golden Girl" Estelle Getty has gone to the big lanai in the sky and died at the age of 84, just three days shy of her 85th birthday.

Estelle passed away at 5:35 AM this morning at her L.A. home surrounded by her family and caregivers. Getty had been suffering for years with Lewy Body Dementia.

Although one year younger than Bea Arthur, Estelle is best known for playing her wise-cracking Sicilian mother Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls." Co-star Betty White is also one year older than Estelle.

Getty is survived by her two adult sons.

http://www.tmz.com/2008/0...ing-alive/

How sad.. I loved her..



RIP


[Edited 7/22/08 10:35am]

Hated the show, loved her. RIP Sophia.

Sophia!

I loved her! just loved her Sofia charachter from the Golden Girls. I am so sad to hear this, may she rest in peace.

oh sophia!

R.I.P.

Awwwww shit!!! and I loved her acting

Awww...no! RIP!

Rip, I know it tore you up too. I was sad to see her struggle with her disease.....now she's gone. I should pull out my dvds and have a marathon of Golden Girls.

AnckSuNamun said:

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised she lived as long as she did. She'd been ill for so long.

One of my fave Sophia (and Blanche) moments.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Classic Golden Girls..thanks for the laughs Estelle!

R.I.P.


A couple of my favorite Sophia moments are in the beginning of this:

RipHer2Shreds said:

Bea Arthur is 85 and Betty White is 86? what years did this show run? I had no idea they were that all. Betty is on that pet meds commercial and she looks old but not 86.

Evvy said:

1985-1992.

And here too.

RipHer2Shreds said:

see- I thought sure they were in their mid- 50's on that show.

One of the best tv characters ever! One of the best shows ever on TV. This makes me so sad Rest in Peace Estelle and Keep the laughs comin in the afterlife

r.i.p

RIP

I loved The Golden Girls when I was growing up. I made it a point to watch it every Saturday night and I loved Sophia the most. She always knew how to get at Bea, Betty and Rue and I would holler. I knew that she had Dementia and it's a brutal disease. My grandmother died of it in 2003 and it's hell. My prayers go out to Estelle's family and friends.

Thank you for being a friend

She Rocked!
I loved how she always had that white purse.

so sad to see this

Nooooo! I loved Sophia/Estelle. She always made me laugh with her smart alecky comments on "The Golden Girls". She was never afraid to say exactly how she felt about anything. Gotta love her for that! RIP, you will be missed!