Rue McClanahan's intuition about The Golden Girls couldn't have been more accurate
She trusted her gut, and the rest is sitcom history!
Sometimes when a good thing is about to happen, you just know. It’s that deep-rooted intuition or that "trust your gut" feeling. We all have it, and sometimes we ignore it. But Rue McClanahan wasn’t about to ignore hers when the first script for The Golden Girls came her way.
According to a 1989 interview with the Democrat and Chronicle, McClanahan insisted that as soon as she saw the first script, she knew it was a winner. She hadn’t actually read the script, mind you. She had only seen the cover page.
"It was a sixth sense, actually," McClanahan said. "I took the script out of the envelope and saw that it said The Golden Girls, I knew it would be special."
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*available in most MeTV marketsAt the time, The Golden Girls wasn’t the only great comedy on television, although we’re sure McClanahan would argue it was the funniest of them all.
Cheers and The Golden Girls were considered two of the best-crafted comedy series on television. The list also included Family Ties, ALF, Night Court and Dear John. But when it came to her character, Blanche, and the series, McClanahan wouldn’t have asked for anything more.
When the script arrived, she saw it was from creator Susan Harris, who had previously created Soap. In McClanahan’s words, she "knew it couldn’t miss." And she was right.
The Golden Girls went on to win multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1986, and became one of television’s most beloved sitcoms.
While we’re sure you know by now how the story goes, McClanahan was originally supposed to play Betty White’s character, Rose Nylund. But McClanahan’s personality, humor and timing led her to Blanche Devereaux, and just like she knew with that first script, she knew Blanche would be something special.
"I immediately picked up on Blanche," McClanahan said. "I thought, 'Oh, what a wonderful character!'"
"I love her wonderful optimism, her upbeat nature," McClanahan continued. "She’s vain, and I find that funny. I find being self-centered funny."
