Golden Girls Talk Aging In Footage Gem From 1991

Several generations of people have adored following the comedic adventures of Golden Girls, Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia. When the show first began in 1986, it was pretty groundbreaking for a sitcom to be following the lives and friendship of four women over the age of 50. In celebration of the show’s three-decade anniversary, TODAY dug into their archives for some Golden Girls footage from 1991.

TODAY’s Joe Garagiola interviews the four leading ladies about the show’s overall refreshing attitude towards the concept of aging. “You don’t fall off the planet once you pass a given age,” Betty White says at the time. “You don’t lose any of your sense of humor… You don’t lose any of your zest for life, or your lust for life, if you will.”

See the ‘Golden Girls’ cast in archived footage from 1991, talking about aging

She continues, “If you were a dull young person, you’re going to be a dull old person. But I don’t think just because the years go by that you have to be that way.” Bea Arthur reveals she was sold on the show from the very first moment. “When I was sent the first script, the pilot, I just read it and I said, my God, this is literate, it’s adult, it’s funny, it’s wonderful,” she says at the time.

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Rue McClanahan adds on, “I thought, this is a piece of gold in my hands,” she said. “I said, I want to play Blanche; this is a role I know how to play.”

Estelle Getty, who played Dorothy’s mother Sophia, adds her own thoughts: “I don’t want to think about the future — not at my age. I just hope that my health will hold out, that I’ll be able to work, that I’ll go on working.” Check out the full archived footage below!