Shocking Things You Never Knew About The Golden Girls

Bea Arthur Originally Fought Joining The Show

Bea Arthur thought joining the show would be redundant because she and Rue McClanahan were seen as largely reprising their roles from Maude. She also thought Betty White was more or less in her same role from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She only joined the cast when McClanahan told her that she and White had decided to swap roles. It didn’t help that Arthur was not too keen of White. “Bea had a reserve,” admitted White. “She was not that fond of me.”

On the set of Maude

If you’re wondering why Arthur had such strong opinions on the other women’s roles, read on.

Many people who aren’t die-hard fans of The Golden Girls aren’t aware that some of the women had worked together prior to the show. Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur had co-starred in the 1970s CBS sitcom Maude. As the title character “Maude,” Arthur portrayed a no-nonsense, sometimes overbearing, liberal feminist. Rue McClanahan played the role of Vivian Harmon, a friendly but forgetful neighbor who was a second wife to her doctor husband. Betty White, as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1973-1977, was a cruel and backstabbing nymphomaniac behind a sweet façade. It’s easy to see why the two would want to swap roles when they joined The Golden Girls together.

They seemed to handle any disagreements well