Today Would Have Been Rue McClanahan’s Birthday — See Fun Facts About ‘The Golden Girls’!

Rue McClanahan's contract allowed her to keep Blanche's 13 closets worth of custom-made clothing!

It took nine hours to film one episode

During a past interview, stars Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty claimed it took nine hours to rehearse and film an episode due to the size of the set.

NBC was against casting Bea Arthur as Dorothy

The president of NBC at the time insisted the actress' ratings were too low and she wasn't lovable enough to play the part. This came as a surprise considering the director wrote the role of Dorothy with Bea in mind.

Queen Elizabeth is a big fan of The Golden Girls

The Queen even invited the stars to London for a special performance back in 1988.

Estelle Getty (aka Sophia) was only one year younger in real-life than her TV daughter Bea Arthur (aka Dorothy)

Betty White's favorite episode was "A Little Romance"

In this episode, her character, Rose, is hesitant to tell her friends about her boyfriend because he is a little person and she's afraid they will make fun of them.

There were only 3 chairs at the kitchen table even though 4 women lived in their house

This was due to filming restrictions — the crew didn't want any of the actresses to have their backs to the camera!

Bea Arthur's ears weren't actually pierced

Every pair of earrings her character, Dorothy, wore on the show were just clip-ons!

Estelle Getty (aka Sophia) had a serious case of stage fright

Elaine Stritch auditioned for the part of Dorothy, but said she didn't get the role because the show's writer didn't like her