By the Fall of 1997, I had really become quite serious with my autograph collecting. Not that I hadn’t been before, but now I had actually purchased a P.O. Box at the post office in Airway shopping center to house the incoming loot. I had become nervous about the barrage of yellow envelopes being left outside my apartment door. I had also begun purchasing – and eventually subscribing to – Autograph Collector magazine. They featured a monthly section about through-the-mail autographs where contributors would share their success stories. One of the first pieces of advice of theirs that I took was to get a letter off to Estelle Getty.
Although it may not be the coolest thing to admit, I always loved watching The Golden Girls. It was a hilarious and seemingly wholesome show that could be enjoyed by my entire family in the late 1980’s. Actually it wasn’t really all that wholesome and some call it the original Sex and the City. Of particular interest to me was the performance of Estelle Getty, who portrayed Sophia, the snippety old-as-dirt member of the golden clan. Amazingly, although she played the mother of Bea Arthur’s character Dorothy, Getty was in fact one year older than Arthur. Simply an incredible performance. I could scarcely envision Estelle Getty without the wig, makeup, and perfect performance that defined her role of Sophia.
Autograph Collector magazine indicated that Estelle Getty would send out a signed photo if you sent along a letter and s.a.s.e. so I wasted no time in writing her a nice note on October 24, 1997. It worked like a charm and I actually received the exact same photo that was shown in the magazine – one of her both in and out of character – on December 10. She also signed the obligatory two notecards that I sent along.
My friend David is a huge fan of The Golden Girls and he would often quote lines from the show during our trip to Paris, mostly at Parc Disneyland. Not a week later after I had returned home, I was surprised to hear that Estelle Getty had passed away on July 22, 2008. In her honor, I purchased the first two seasons of the show and have been enjoying them again every since.
Autographs of 1997 will continue…
Picture it! Brad and David strolling through Paris and quoting lines from “The Golden Girls”!
That would never happen in Saint Olaf!
Randy Skretvedt
November 8th, 2008
Hey, I dont know if you saw this or not, but I found an excellent picture of the golden girls reunion!
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/01/18/nyregion/jersey.184.2.jpg
Jason
November 11th, 2008