“Those two couldn’t warm up to each other.” 30 years after the end of The Golden Girls, the show's crew returns to the nasty dispute between Betty White and Bea Arthur
There was conflict on the set of The Golden Girls between the two stars of the sitcom, who, according to the show's co-producer, “couldn't warm up to each other” no matter what.
Although Betty White and Bea Arthur came off believably as friends on screen, they were not so in private life, where it was apparently difficult to even talk about mutual affection. According to reports from the team working on The Golden Girls, which met at the Pride Live! Hollywood festival, it appears that the actresses were not fond of each other (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Co-producer of the sitcom, Marsha Posner Williams, explained that when the cameras were rolling, White and Arthur were true professionals and put aside any antipathy, however, once the cameras were off, the situation changed dramatically.
When that red light was on [and the show was filming], there were no more professional people than those women, but when the red light was off, those two couldn’t warm up to each other if they were cremated together. [Arthur] used to call me at home and say, “I just ran into that c-word [about White] at the grocery store. I’m gonna write her a letter,” and I said, “Bea, just get over it for crying out loud. Just get past it.”
People that worked on The Golden Girls and were present at the panel didn’t quite agree on what was behind the actresses' conflict. Williams revealed that Arthur was annoyed by the way White during the performance addressed the audience that was present in the studio.
And Betty would break character in the middle of the show [and talk to the live audience], and Bea hated that.
And as we learned during the panel, The Golden Girls could have continued and received more than the 7 seasons that were created. Most of the actresses were in favor of the idea, only Bea Arthur was not interested in extending her contract.
The show would have continued after seven years. Their contracts were up and… 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 f***ing way,” and that’s why that show didn’t continue.
Sympathy and antipathy between co-workers is nothing new, including on film sets. What deserves to be appreciated about Betty White and Bea Arthur, however, is that the actresses maintained their professionalism, and The Golden Girls didn’t suffer from their conflict, as both gave their best when the cameras were on.
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