The oldest of the Golden Girls, Sophia Petrillo, was played by actress Estelle Getty who found fame in film later in life after establishing a successful Broadway career.
In 1982, Getty had her big break when she was cast in the Broadway show The Torch Song. In the years that followed, she portrayed the major role of Mrs. Beckhoff on and off Broadway.
When she auditioned for the role in Golden Girls, Getty was so determined to get it that she made sure she looked older than she really was. Rumors are that she even had the famous straw purse which made through the seven seasons with her. In fact, Sophia, Getty’s character, was a year younger than Beatrice Arthur, who played Sophia’s daughter, Dorothy.
With her white curls, huge glasses, floral house dresses, and cardigan sweaters, Sophia became a much loved character who made millions laugh. Even today, years after Getty’s passing, her character brings joy and laughter in many people’s lives through the series’ re-runs.
Golden Girls ran for seven seasons, Getty then reprised her role in Golden Palace, a one-season 1992 show, and later in Empty Nest.
Getty was the first one of the cast of the legendary series to pass away. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain condition that is commonly confused with Alzheimer’s. This caused her difficulties memorizing her lines.
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Her co-stars shared that Getty would ask for cue cards and would experience panic episodes.
“She had an awful time remembering lines because she would freeze, she panicked. She would start getting under a dark cloud the day before tape day. You could see a big difference in her on that day. By tape day, she was unreachable. She was just as uptight as a human being can get,” Rue McClanahan, who died of stroke in 2010, said back in the day. “Finally, she asked for cue cards, which appalled us all, and at first the producers refused to stoop to such an unprofessional thing. But eventually, she had to be given cue cards for those deliciously funny Sophia stories.”
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Getty died quietly in her sleep in 2008, at the age of 84.
According to her son, Carl Gettleman, Getty’s co-stars didn’t attend her funeral. Shortly after his mom’s passing, Carl told Inside Edition that he was disappointed Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan skipped the service.
“They would certainly have been welcome. I don’t know why they wouldn’t be attending mom’s funeral. Maybe it’s a painful thing,” he said. “If it was someone I’d been tight with like that and worked with all those years I’d have been there.”
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Bronny, the 18-year-old son of basketball legend LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California (USC) on Monday, TMZ reported.
According to a statement from Bronny’s family spokesperson, he’s out of the intensive care unit and in stable condition.
“Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the statement said.
“We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
According to reports, the 911 call was made around 9:30 the morning of July 24 after which Bronny, who was unconscious, was rushed via ambulance to the nearest hospital.
Sports figures from all over the country, as well as the world, sent their messages of support and wished the young star a complete recovery.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest during an NFL game last season and who has since been active in advocating for AED training and awareness which potentially saved his life, tweeted his support: “Prayers to Bronny & The James Family as well (prayer emoji) here for you guys just like you have been for me my entire process.”
New York, NY - January 30, 2018: Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto attend Exploring the Arts 11th annual gala at Ziegfeld Ballroom
Tony Bennett, a music legend in his own right, spent the last couple of years of his life in his splendid Manhattan apartment. The New York-born star passed away at the age of 96 on July 21, 2023. During the final years of his life, he battled Alzheimer.
Bennett’s career, which spanned decades, started in the most unexpected way. He possessed incredible voice and a singing talent that he was able to show to the guests of an Italian restaurant located in his neighborhood where he worked as a waiter. Young Bennett would serve the customers while singing to them. “I loved that time of my life, and I honestly feel that, if I hadn’t made it professionally, I would be perfectly happy going back to being a singing waiter,” Bennett shared with The San Diego Union-Tribune.
After he learned that entertaining audiences was his calling, Bennett started studying singing at the American Theatre Wing just after his service in the war was over. His singing coach, Mimi Spencer, was probably the person who impacted his career a great deal. She would always say to him not to imitate other singers, but musicians instead.
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“That’s the same thing that Billie Holiday said in her book, that she imitated Louis Armstrong. I imitated (jazz pianist) Art Tatum. He held on to the basic melody like a rock, but his chords and sense of accompaniment were astounding.”
During his career of many years, Bennett released 60 studio albums, 11 live albums, and sold 50 million records worldwide. He has a huge number of hits which brought him numerous awards, but one song in particular, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, is what defined his singing career.
Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer in 2016 with his wife Susan Benedetto being his primary caregiver. Speaking of his diagnosis and how he accepted it, Susan once shared a conversation she had with her husband. “He would ask me, ‘What is Alzheimer’s?’ I would explain, but he wouldn’t get it. He’d tell me, ‘Susan, I feel fine.’ That’s all he could process, physically felt great.”
Bennett’s residence was located in a high-rise building overlooking Central Park, on the 15th floor. It consisted of three bedrooms, a large kitchen where Bennett spent time cooking featuring oak cabinets, stainless steel appliances, a massive dinner table and plenty of counter space. The place included a decked-out entertainment room, home office, bathrooms, and more.
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The giant windows of his apartment allowed him to enjoy the incredible skyline from the comfort of his home.
One of the bedrooms was converted into a studio where the Grammy-award singer kept his sketches adorned on the walls. Besides being a musician, Bennett was also a passionate painter in love with creative work.
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The living space, which felt inviting, featured soft yellow walls, hardwood floors and an Italy-inspired interior design along with a black grand piano which Bennett was known to play for hours on end.
Bennett and his third wife met when he was in his 60s and she was in her 20s, but the age difference of 40 years didn’t stop them from starting a relationship.
July 22 marked the 10th birthday of Prince George, the future king of Britain. However, although it may take many, many years before the young Prince is crowned, his parents make sure he, as well as his siblings, know just how important their roles will be in the days to come.
Although they are royalty, the lives of George, Charlotte, and Louis are as normal as they could be all thanks to William and Kate who teach them how to be hard-working, hang out with friends, and appreciate the fact that whether they love it or not they are privileged.
At the moment, the three siblings attend the prestigious Lambrook school where they learn how to take care of animals, get involved in a number of sports, and attend lessons.
According to royal expert Jennie Bond, “[Prince William and Princess Kate] want George, Charlotte, and Louis to be very aware of the privileged way in which they are growing up. Have a proper sense of empathy, charity, and responsibility,” as per OK! Magazine.
“It’s very much the Diana style of parenting. They want them to know how lucky they are and not take any of it for granted.”
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Now when it comes to George’s birthday, just like any royal birthday, his was a pretty much secretive.
“They’ve always been intensely secretive and private about his birthday,” royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told Fox. “They’ve never released anything… in terms of a birthday party, and what they do is shrouded in secrecy.”
“We are starting to see [George] a lot more in public these days, but they’re still very keen on keeping him private property rather than public property,” he added.
“His parents have been incredibly hands-on, and they’ve followed a very similar upbringing Kate would have had with two siblings, a close-knit family. They’re focusing very much on the value of the family. They’ve built quite a unique family unit.”
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Besides all the chefs who work at the Palace, it is Kate who always makes her children’s birthday cakes. “I love making the cake,” Kate revealed on A Berry Royal Christmas in 2019. “It’s become a bit of a tradition that I stay up ’til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing, and I make far too much. But I love it.”
As the tradition goes, a new photo of George was posted by the Palace. This time, however, the photo wasn’t taken by Kate as usual but by Millie Pilkington, who also took George’s photo on his fifth birthday.
The young Prince poses on the stairs at Windsor wearing a checked shirt and trousers. He has a huge smile on his face and looks as adorable as always.
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Among those who presented Prince George with a birthday gift is Julia Samuel, one of Princess Diana’s closest friends. She always tends to keep one of Diana’s traditions alive and that’s buying “impossible toys” which take days to assemble. “I do to George what [Diana] did to us, which is give impossible toys that are really noisy and take a lot of making,” Julia Samuel said. “William then has to spend days putting together. And then put all the machinery together, and it makes awful tooting noises and lights flashing and all of that.”
Samuel added that William struggled for days, which brought the rest of the family great pleasure, especially “cheeky” George.
“[It] makes [her] laugh, and it makes George laugh,” Julia added, saying that George is one “amazing” boy. Speaking of the young Prince, Samuel said “He’s funny and feisty and cheeky, and God [Diana] would have loved him so much.”
As expected, the number of cards and birthday wishes George received was huge.
“Happy Birthday to Prince George!” the post on the official Instagram of the Royal Family read.
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What many couldn’t help but notice is that Harry and Meghan didn’t wish George a happy birthday publicly, although it’s not certain whether they sent their congratulations privately on Saturday.
Fans of the royals argued that the Sussexes should have wished George a happy birthday through the social media, but at the same time, they agreed that no royal has posted any birthday messages to Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie and Lilibet, in the last few years.
In his all-tell memoir Spare, Harry wrote of the joy he felt when George was born. However, he wasn’t invited to spend as much time as he wanted and expected around him. “I took it for granted that I would be invited to their house at any moment. But the days went by, and it didn’t happen,” Harry wrote in Spare. “I understand, I thought. They’re busy! Building a family! Or maybe… three’s a crowd. Maybe if I get married things will change.”
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People weren’t happy with Harry involving his nephew in whatever issues he and William faced and according to the Daily Express’s royal expert Angela Epstein, Harry might have “overlooked the damage he could do” to George.
“So given the way tragedy arced his young life, surely Harry’s concern for his own nephew, George, would be a matter of auto-fill. As the doting and fun-loving uncle, Harry has always displayed affection for his brother’s three young children,” Epstein said.
“So the possibility that George, as second in line to the throne, could be harmed in any way by the Duke’s rage against the monarchy should surely be a concern to him.”
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When you think about it you realize that no matter what we do, we can never say enough “thank you” to the men and women in the military who sacrifice it all for our country. Not only they put their life on the line, but leave their family and friends behind.
Being away from home has to be hard both for those who are departed and those who stay home and wait for their loved ones to get back safe and sound.
Bridget Stevens knows all to well what it feels like to be a military wife.
Although this woman’s story takes place during a harsh Pennsylvanian winter, it will still warm your heart.
One day, Bridget found herself in trouble. It was very cold outside and the heating in the house stopped working. She didn’t have any extra money to spend, but she had to contact Betlyn’s Heating and Cooling to fix the problem, otherwise, her children could freeze.
They gave her some instruction on how to try and fix it herself, but once they realized the problem was more serious the owner, Paul told Bridget he was on his way to her place to trace and fix the problem.
Once he arrived, Bridget told him how her husband is the one doing the repairments around the house, but this time he wasn’t there to take care of the problem. He was deployed and Bridget was left to look after the house and their kids all by herself.
Paul did an excellent job of fixing the issue and handed Bridget the bill. She took it and was in anticipation to see how much this would cost her, when she read something that left her overwhelmed.
The bill read, “No heat evening call. Deployment discount $1.00.”
It was Paul’s way of thanking her husband for his service in the military.
Bridget was moved by the whole experience so she decided to share it on her Facebook page.
“This is a bit lengthy, but I just want to take a minute to acknowledge Betlyn Heating and Cooling. I came home with the boys to a cold house that was 50 degrees. When turning up the thermostat was not kicking the furnace on, I called Betlyn’s, thinking I’d get a machine and have to leave a message, then run to the store for space heaters.
Ultimately, Paul, the owner, answered and was very patient as he walked me through different things to do to try to get it back on. When none of that worked, he said he needed to come to the house to fix it.
As he was working on the furnace, we got to talking about Bobby and the deployment. I had mentioned in passing that I tried to figure it out with my husband, but since he’s deployed and couldn’t see it, he wouldn’t know what to do.
After he was finished, I was a little apprehensive about how much it was going to cost. He handed me the slip that is in this photo. When I tried to give him any money at all, he said that the $1 was a joke, and to thank my husband for his service.
So, thanks Paul Betlyn. My house is nice and warm thanks to you.”
We are thankful that Paul knew how to appreciate the sacrifice of a fellow citizen who was in the military. We should always do our best to help the families of our heroes and that way repay for what they do for all of us.
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From using a mobile phone while driving, to drunk driving, speeding, and disrespecting the rules, there are people out there whose careless driving puts others in danger. Sadly, these drivers are likely to cause accidents in which there are victims.
One family had it enough of reckless driving and speeding through their neighborhood after their family dog was killed that they decided to set up a huge sign in their lawn that had the entire neighborhood talking especially because many found it as a threat.
”We buried our dog last week because you won’t slow down,” the sign read. “If you hit 1 of my kids your family may be burying you.”
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The photo of the sign was first posted on Reddit but was soon shared on other social media sites such as Facebook.
In a matter of days, the post attracted the attention of many and sparked a debate about whether the late dog owners were right placing the controversial sign.
”I never understand why people speed through neighborhoods…or parking lots. Seriously…what’s the logic in that?” one user commented. ”Love the sign. People drive way too fast in neighborhoods. More than 20 is to fast. Kids on bikes. Kids playing in their own yard and a ball goes in the street, it happens. So why is there this problem. Well it’s because people are f**king idiots. Plain and simple,” another user added.
”Damn straight! One of my dogs got away from me and the woman who ran over him didn’t even slow down. Just ran over him. Same could happen to a child,” a third commented.
There were also those who condemned the people who posted the sign saying they should have taken better care of their dog. Since it was hit by a car, they assumed the owners let it roam freely instead of keeping it on a leash.
”I don’t feel sorry for them one bit. Have the same problem in my neighborhood. Everyone thinks it is free range country for dogs and cats. My dogs do not leave my property without my permission,” one reader wrote.
”Keep your dog on a leash! If you cared about your fur friend you would take better care of them,” said another.
”Speeding is bad, but your dog and kids are your responsibility to keep them out of the street,” yet another added.
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All those standardized tests students are forced to take limit their creativity, and a very talented boy named Joe Whale experienced that first hand.
Namely, Joe loves doodling and he’s extremely good at it. During lesson time when he wasn’t in the mood of listening to his teachers he would draw in his notebook and that put him in trouble numerous times. When his school teachers told Joe’s parents that he was obsessed with doodling, instead of telling him off, his mom and dad decided to help him become even better at what he loved doing so they sent him to an after-school art class.
Joe was given the chance to nurture his talent and promised to pay more attention during lesson time at school now that he found a place where he could express himself.
His art teacher, Kerry, was impressed with Joe’s incredible work. “I asked his parents for some of his work to assess his level and could not believe what I was looking at, we moved him into an older class straight away,” she told Metro Newspaper.
“His work is very exact and immaculate, it’s very balanced, he goes straight to ink and creates perfect work straight from the start, no practicing beforehand.”
Kerry decided to share photos of Joe’s work on Instagram and then something incredible happened. The owner of the local restaurant ‘Number 4’ contacted Kerry and asked if Joe wanted to decorate the restaurant dining room with his drawings.
Kerry called Joe’s parents and they were more than happy to accept the offer.
“Joe is a really talented little boy, he’s excelling at school, he’s a great footballer and cricketer, but drawing is definitely what he is most passionate about,” his proud dad told Metro.
“He was in school getting frustrated at the little amount of art he could do so he used to doodle on the table’s whiteboard in class and get into trouble for doodling.
“We’re so proud of everything he’s achieving, the fact that a completely independent business has asked our nine-year old son to do a professional piece of work for them is incredible.”
For more on this lovely story and a closer look at this boy’s art go to the video below.
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Love is the moving power that makes this world go round, and out of all forms of love, that between a father and a daughter is one of the purest and strongest.
The following situation depicts this love the best.
A dad was fishing together with his young daughter, but the girl wasn’t that interested in the fish. However, that didn’t prevent her from finding another form of fun, and that’s placing strange looking things on her dad’s head. Many said they believe what she put on his hair was a bunch of burdrock, a sticky plant that children delight in.
In a matter of minutes, the dad’s entire head was covered in burdrock burs.
It seems like he didn’t get mad at all as soon as it made his girl happy and laughing.
Father-daughter love truly is unmatched.
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