It looks like the Golden Girls were not as friendly as we thought they were.
During a recent appearance at the Pride LIVE! Hollywood festival, Golden Girls producer Marsha Posner Williams disclosed that Bea Arthur and Betty White had a prolonged backstage rivalry.
Williams noted, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, “When the cameras were rolling, there were no more consummate professionals than those women. However, once filming stopped, it was as if their rapport had frozen over.”
Alongside Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, Arthur and White portrayed a group of women experiencing their later years together in Miami. Yet, it seems their on-screen camaraderie had its limits.
During the panel, Williams revealed that Arthur called White “the C-word” multiple times throughout their years of working together on the classic NBC sitcom, which ran from 1985 to 1992.
“[Arthur] used to call me at home and say, ‘I just ran into that [c‑‑t] at the grocery store. I’m gonna write her a letter,’” Williams remembered. “And I said, ‘Bea, just get over it for crying out loud. Just get past it.’”
She continued, “I remember, my husband and I went over to Bea’s house a couple of times for dinner. Within 30 seconds of walking in the door, the C-word came out.” Casting director Joel Thurm also shared on the panel that he heard Arthur call White that, as well.
The panelists discussed what could have caused the longstanding feud. Producer Jim Vallely speculated whether it was because White received more applause from the audience during cast introductions.
“Betty would break character in the middle of the show [and talk to the live audience],” Williams said. “And Bea hated that.”
White alluded to having issues with Arthur on set in a 2011 interview.
“Bea had a reserve,” White claimed. “She was not that fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. It was my positive attitude — and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she’d be furious!”
Williams also revealed during the panel that Arthur was ultimately the reason why the show ended after just seven seasons.
“The show would have continued after seven years,” she said. “The executives went to the ladies, and Estelle said, ‘Yes, let’s keep going,’ and Rue said, ‘Yes let’s keep going,’ and Betty said, ‘Yes, let’s keep going.’ And Bea said ‘No fucking way,’ and that’s why that show didn’t continue.”
