Golden Girl Estelle Getty Dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actress Estelle Getty of TV's "The Golden
Girls" died this morning at the age of 84 at her home in Los Angeles. Her
son says she suffered from advanced dementia. Getty was in her 60s
when she started playing the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia in the sitcom.
She would have turned 85 years old later this week. Getty was proud of
her role as Sophia on "The Golden Girls."
She told AP Radio in a 1988 interview that she thought Sophia
and the show had been an incredible boost to older people. She
embraced the fact that people thought of her as "the
quintessential older person," and she frequently spoke to senior
citizen groups about what it was like to have success at her age.
Getty said she also thought Sophia helped older actors break out
of stereotypical roles, like the grandmother or the token land lady
next door. And now they're cast in significant parts in sitcoms,
movies and commercials in ways that they weren't cast before.