Want to know why Dorothy Zbornak left The Golden Girls? The character was portrayed by Bea Arthur. She didn’t leave the show but also bid bye to Miami, making it more emotional for the fans. It’s been more than three decades that The Golden Girls ended. To be more exact, the last episode aired in 1992. Now, fans are lately showing their interest in why Dorothy Zbornak left suddenly.
Bea Arthur is no more alive. This incredible American actress, hailing from New York City, passed away in 2009. Some of her other hit acting credits included Lovers and Other Strangers, Maude, My First Love, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Talking about The Golden Girls, the sitcom ran for seven seasons. It premiered on NBC back in 1985. The story focuses on girls from different parts of the country. They participate in a series of contests, flaunting their unique skills just to win the title.
Concerning the success of The Golden Girls, it won a couple of Primetime Emmy Awards. We saw Bea Arthur, playing Dorothy, being very compassionate, introspective, and protective towards her family.
Dorothy Zbornak left The Golden Girls, leaving everyone wondering the reason. It somehow felt like she was highly disappointed about something while making her departure from the sitcom. About what? That was probably one of the reasons. Here is everything you need to know.
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Reason Behind Bea Arthur, Aka Dorothy Zbornak Leaving The Golden Girls Revealed
The major reason why Dorothy Zbornak left The Golden Girls was she was unhappy about how the episodes were going on. In other words, she was not at all satisfied with the quality of the sitcom, as she felt like it was declining. It was something about which Bea was highly disappointed. In the last episode, we saw Dorothy getting married and also moving out of Miami.
Many from the audience wondered if Bea Arthur had a feud with the show’s management. But it was not anything like that. It was she who made the decision and parted ways. That led to the season finale of the sitcom.
Bea Arthur was also not happy about how her character got teased. She was tired of getting along with The Golden Girls.
Concerning Dorothy Zbornak’s exit from The Golden Girls, her real-life son, Matthew Saks, also had his saying. He mentioned that his mother’s age also played a vital role in her decision.
To be more exact, she was then 70 years old. Not to forget to mention, in 2009, Bea died after suffering from lung cancer. During an interview, he said, “The ideas had started to run out.” Therefore, it was pretty much understandable.
As The Golden Girls ended, its spin-off series, The Golden Palace, started. The producers, Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, approached some of the actors to make a comeback. Bea, aka Dorothy, was one of them. She did make a guest appearance in one episode. But, she denied making a reprise role permanently, again.
Overall, Dorothy Zbornak felt that the sitcom had run its course. She wanted to move on in her life, and that’s when she decided to part ways with The Golden Girls. In another way, we may say that she was ready to be finished with her portrayal. That’s when the core team wrote off Dorothy. Filming an entire season with so many episodes was not at all easy.
It still feels bad to accept that we lost the real-life Dorothy Zbornak. The actress, Bea Arthur, is highly missed.
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