Title: The Golden Girls (season 1)
Content: apprehensive because of McClanahan's approach, as she did not "want to play (their "Maude" characters) Maude and Vivian meet Sue Ann Nivens." Arthur was further convinced when hearing that White would be playing Rose and McClanahan would be playing Blanche. The role of Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy's mother, was played by Estelle Getty, who was discovered by Tony Thomas while performing in the Broadway play "Torch Song Trilogy" as the mother character. Getty, being younger than Arthur and White, wore heavy make-up, thick glasses, and a white wig to age her. The character of Sophia was thought by the creators to

Title: The Golden Girls (season 1)
Content: and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", Rue McClanahan and Betty White were considered for the parts of Rose Nylund, the bubbly Nordic woman, and Blanche Devereaux, the sexy siren, respectively. Sandrich, who was hired to film the pilot, suggested that the women switch roles to avoid typecasting. The character of Dorothy Zbornak was tailored toward Bea Arthur, but being unavailable at the time, the producers looked at Elaine Stritch for the role. When her audition flopped, Harris asked McClanahan to convince Arthur, with whom she costarred on "Maude", to take the role. Arthur flipped upon reading the script, but was

Title: Bea Arthur
Content: Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedian, singer, Marine, and animal rights activist. Arthur began her career on stage in 1947 and made her Broadway debut in "The Threepenny Opera" in 1954. She won the 1966 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Vera Charles in "Mame". She went on to play Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms "All in the Family" (1971–72) and "Maude" (1972–78), and Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom "The Golden Girls" (1985–92), winning Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress

Title: The Golden Girls
Content: played Blanche the way I felt Blanche. She thought an accentuated Southern accent...would be sexy and strong and attractive to men. She wanted to be a southern heroine, like Vivien Leigh. In fact, that's who I think she thought she was." Though Harris had created the character of Dorothy with a "Bea Arthur type" in mind, Littlefield and the producers initially envisioned actress Elaine Stritch for the part. Stritch's audition flopped, however, and under the impression that Arthur did not want to participate, Harris asked McClanahan if she could persuade Arthur, with whom she worked previously on the CBS sitcom

Title: Rue McClanahan
Content: Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on "Maude" (1972–78), Aunt Fran Crowley on "Mama's Family" (1983–84), and Blanche Devereaux on "The Golden Girls" (1985–92), for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1987. Eddi-Rue McClanahan was born in Healdton, Oklahoma, on February 21, 1934. She was the daughter of Dreda Rheua-Nell ( Medaris; 1912 – 1973), a beautician, and William Edwin "Bill" McClanahan (1908 – 1999), a building contractor. Her mother's maiden name

Question: Which actress links Dorothy in The Golden Girls and Maude Findlay in Maude?
Answer: Bea Arthur