The Girls & Co. In Other Roles: Spreading It Around

[LilWharveyGal]

I thought it might be fun to have a thread devoted to discussing the other films/shows in which we've seen Golden Girls performers appear.  I just caught Summer Stock for the first time and immediately recognized Eddie Bracken, who played Buzz.  (Some little part of me wanted to go, "Whooooop!")

 

Recently I also caught a couple of episodes of Maude for the first time, and Bea Arthur looked so different.  Does anyone know if she lost a significant amount of weight between Maude and GG, or if it was just the awful 70's styling that made her look heavier?

 

 

 

 

[jonesingjay]

I saw Dorothy's one episode cop boyfriend in an old episode of Night Gallery on Hulu.

Edited August 5, 2014 by jonesingjay

[Boots]

Rue was great on Sordid Lives. God I miss that show.

[Maherjunkie]

I saw Maude yesterday.  Is that Rue's natural look?  Cause she had a radical makeover as Blanche if she did.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I was watching L&O SVU just now, and I saw Bob Dishy, otherwise as Mr. Terrific, playing a Jewish rabbi who took a young rape victim to a Hasidic community to keep him safe from his equally young assailant. I almost didn't recognize him because of the beard, but the voice was a dead giveaway.

[Blakeston]

I saw an episode of The Bob Newhart Show recently. The plot involved Bob getting a new patient, who was a priest. After his sessions with Bob, the priest decided to leave the priesthood, and Bob was left feeling guilty about the role he might have played in the decision.

 

And the priest was played by none other than John McMartin...who also played Father Leahy on The Golden Girls. It was downright bizarre watching him play out such a similar storyline.

[Maherjunkie]

Didn't he also play a priest on the short lived "From the Beginning"?

[RealityGal]

Betty White was on an episode of 30 Rock.  Traci tried to scare her to death by calling her and saying "boo!" and the conversation ended with Betty White telling Traci that she would bury him!

 

I still love Bea Arthur the most, but Betty White is so funny.

Oh, and of course this is widely known, but Quentin Tarantino in that episode about Sophia's wedding as an Elvis impersonator.

[BookThief]

I was doing some straightening up and had on Hallmark (which had been airing Golden Girls episodes, naturally) when this cheesy Hallmark movie "The Lost Valentine" with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt started (about Betty's character looking into what happened to her husband in the war--he was MIA).  I kept that TV on as I was coming and going and am still slightly horrified that at some point near the end I just sat and watched and started sobbing along with all the other characters.  Damn you, Betty White, for making that movie better than it should have been!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

BookThief, that is on right this second. I've seen it before, but it always makes me cry. Always. It's sappy, it's cheesy, but oh my God Betty breaks my heart at the end.

[Blakeston]

I thought this was interesting - Lynnie Greene, who was so good as the younger version of Dorothy in the Brooklyn flashbacks, was a producer of the show Masters of Sex throughout its first season.

 

I highly recommend that show to anyone who hasn't seen it. i never would have guessed that a Showtime series with such a cheesy title would be so emotionally involving (and at times, very funny).

Edited September 8, 2014 by Blakeston

[Maherjunkie]

What is it about?

[MuffinsHutchins]

Rue was on Murder She Wrote as a librarian who loved Jessica Fletcher's books. She actually had a big role in the episode too. 

 

I also saw Herb Edelman (Stan) on MSW as well, although he was only a bus driver who appeared on screen for a few seconds. 

[Blakeston]

What is it about?

 

Masters of Sex is about Masters and Johnson - Blanche's dream neighbors.

 

It begins in the late fifties, and it's critically acclaimed - a lot of people have compared it to Mad Men. I guess it has a similar vibe to Mad Men, but it also takes itself a lot less seriously.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Blakeston

[LilWharveyGal]

I just caught a Murder She Wrote episode that featured Father Laehy, John Quinn, and Dr. Norgan all together.  My mind, it was blown.

[Maherjunkie]

One for each of them!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I am watching an old episode of The Rockford Files on Me TV, and the actor that played the Russian diplomat who came to the house when Rose wrote to Gorbachev and Reagan is giving Jim the runaround.

[Miss Chevious]

Mark Moses who played George Devereaux's illegitimate son in one episode also appeared as Duck Phillips in Mad Men.

[Miss Chevious]

In the season 6 episode "Never Yell Fire in a Crowded Retirement Home" Sophia's lawyer Herb Shrewsberry is played by Stanley Kamel who also played the role of Dr. Kroger in Monk, which is another one of my all-time favorite TV shows.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I watched both Mask and Moonstruck again after a long time since I'd seen them. Estelle Getty played Cher's mom in Mask, and Louis Guss, who played Marvin in the seasons seven episode Old Boyfriends portrayed Raymond Cappomaggi.

[Blakeston]

I just caught a Murder She Wrote episode that featured Father Laehy, John Quinn, and Dr. Norgan all together.  My mind, it was blown.

 

I feel like there must be some sort of casting connection between the two shows. Every time I see Murder She Wrote, there's at least one actor from The Golden Girls on it. I know both shows used a lot of actors over the years, but the crossover is still ridiculous.

[Miss Chevious]

I thought it might be fun to have a thread devoted to discussing the other films/shows.

Recently I also caught a couple of episodes of Maude for the first time, and Bea Arthur looked so different. Does anyone know if she lost a significant amount of weight between Maude and GG, or if it was just the awful 70's styling that made her look heavier?

I believe IRL Beatrice Arthur was going through a divorce at that time, as a result she lost weight and had a face lift. She definitely looked different as a GG.

[Maherjunkie]

I think she and Tyne Daly look better older.

[Miss Chevious]

I think Tyne's brother Tim (currently seen on Madam Secretary) got a face lift too. I saw him on TV recently and his forehead didn't move!

[Miss Chevious]

Dorothy's cop boyfriend that she was crazy nuts about, Detective Al Mullins (Joe Campanella) also played the role of Bonnie Franklin's ex-husband in the sitcom One Day At A Time.

Edited to correct spelling

Edited April 30, 2015 by Miss Chevious

[LilWharveyGal]

I believe IRL Beatrice Arthur was going through a divorce at that time, as a result she lost weight and had a face lift. She definitely looked different as a GG.

 

Wow, good for her.  Even with the whiter hair she looked 100% better as Dorothy than as Maude, IMO.

[Blakeston]

I was watching L&O SVU just now, and I saw Bob Dishy, otherwise as Mr. Terrific, playing a Jewish rabbi who took a young rape victim to a Hasidic community to keep him safe from his equally young assailant. I almost didn't recognize him because of the beard, but the voice was a dead giveaway.

Speaking of Bob Dishy...

This weekend I watched the movie Lovers and Other Strangers, which starred Bea Arthur and Bob Dishy (and was presumably the inspiration for the episode title Sisters and Other Strangers.)

Bob Dishy played a young playboy type of character - I still can't believe he's the same guy who played Mr. Terrific. He aged so much in less than 20 years it's just incredible.

Edited to add: Various sources are reporting that Ellen Albertini Dow - aka Sophia's friend Lillian who was stuck in Sunny Pastures - has died at 101. She also played the rapping granny in The Wedding Singer. I understand she used to be almost as pretty as Blanche, although her breasts were much bigger.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Blakeston

[LilWharveyGal]

Edited to add: Various sources are reporting that Ellen Albertini Dow - aka Sophia's friend Lillian who was stuck in Sunny Pastures - has died at 101. She also played the rapping granny in The Wedding Singer. I understand she used to be almost as pretty as Blance, although her breasts were much bigger.

 

She was quite a dish, wasn't she?  RIP Ms. Dow.

[Maherjunkie]

Her grandmother added heat.

[Stinger97]

I just heard of Dow's passing on ABC World News Tonight! It's hard to feel sad considering her nice long life, as well as her extensive TV and movie career. May she rest in peace. 

[Blakeston]

Has anyone else seen this video? It's from the 1996 MTV Movie Awards. It's pretty entertaining, and I'm surprised I never heard of it until this year.

[LilWharveyGal]

Yesterday I caught a bit of The Odd Couple on TCM for the first time.  It featured Eddie the love machine...but also little baby (but already bald) Stan!!  He was so young, I couldn't get over it!

Ok friends, in the words of Blanche, "Why didn't you tell me about this befoah?!"

[MoistestCake]

Blanche has been on Murder She Wrote and Law and Order (she possibly slept with JFK).

[Gothish520]

On 8/1/2015 at 11:23 PM, Blakeston said:

Has anyone else seen this video? It's from the 1996 MTV Movie Awards. It's pretty entertaining, and I'm surprised I never heard of it until this year.

OMG just now watching this, so bizarrely funny! Is it weird that I actually want to see more?

[Mabinogia]

I LOVED that!!!! I would have watched that show. lol

[BigBingerBro]

Betty White and Rue both had recurring roles in the first 2 seasons of Mama's Family.  It's odd seeing them acting together in completely different roles.

Betty White has been in many shows since GG, but my favorite was her role as a Librarian at Brick's school on The Middle.

[MoistestCake]

I saw Betty for the first time as Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore Show (for which she's well known, but not to me until recently) and in her first episode (4x1) she has an affair with Lars Lindstrom. I suppose that in Minnesota that's not a very unusual name (?), but I wonder if it had anything to do with Rose being a Lindstrom (not a Nylund - despite that awful glitch where she says the Nylunds are her adoptive parents...)? 

[LilWharveyGal]

I just caught an episode of Matlock where Mr. Haha/Uhhh...Lou was accused of killing Lover Boy.  I wonder if they were fighting over hot dogs, toilets, or Preparation H? 🙂

[Irate Panda]

Dorothy’s cop boyfriend also played on Mama’s Family as Mama’s teacher when she goes back to night school.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

I stumbled upon a movie on the Tubi app called Baby of the Bride staring Rue. Kristy McNichols (neighbor Barbara the cop on Golden Girls) plays her daughter. Then, in the sequel called Mother of the Bride, Paul Dooley (Paul from "Empty Nests", Isaac Newton from "Love, Rose") plays her ex-husband.

Edit: OH! And Frida Claxton is the wedding planner!

Edited October 6, 2022 by BlancheDevoreaux

[andromeda331]

16 hours ago, BlancheDevoreaux said:

I stumbled upon a movie on the Tubi app called Baby of the Bride staring Rue. Kristy McNichols (neighbor Barbara the cop on Golden Girls) plays her daughter. Then, in the sequel called Mother of the Bride, Paul Dooley (Paul from "Empty Nests", Isaac Newton from "Love, Rose") plays her ex-husband.

I remember those. It's so odd to see those to actresses together playing mother and daughter after so many years seeing them as Blanche and Barbara. The movies are pretty good.