Estelle Getty of "Golden Girls" has died at age 84... She struggled with Alzheimer's disease...

according to her co-star, Betty White. Betty guested on one of the late shows and I happened to see it months ago. Estelle did not recognize her co-star any more at that point.

http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/AP/story/613676.html

By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES -- Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84.

Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.

"Estelle always wanted to be an actress, and she achieved that goal beyond her dreams," former "Golden Girls" co-star Rue McClanahan told The Associated Press. "Don't feel sad about her passing. She will always be with us in her crowning achievement, Sophia."

"The Golden Girls," featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.

(More at link above)

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RIP Estelle. You had my mother's name and my mother-in-law's delightful New York accent.

It's a day of mourning in our house. Estelle will be missed.

Estelle suffered not from Alzheimer's disease, but from Lewy Body Dementia, which mimics symptoms of both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, but stems from different causes. It's no less terrible than Alzheimer's, but is much less well understood.

The article just says "advanced dementia" -- do you have a source for that diagnosis? I have a first cousin whose father had Parkinson's Disease. After being told for decades that Parkinson's is not a genetic disease, she developed it in her 70s. I feel so badly for her, but she is upbeat and keeps on keepin' on with her life.

Peace.

RL in OR

SeeU@theDU

PS. I love your "hobbies" -- "long naps and vague ennui" -- :rofl:

...we've been following Estelle's condition for some time, right back to when her doctors thought is WAS either Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. Her symptoms didn't exactly match either disease, though (the Parkinson's symptoms would spontaneously appear and disappear; she'd have days or weeks of lucidity followed by almost total dementia), so they had to come up with another explanation - particularly since the drugs used to treat these diseases don't have much effect on Lewy Body Dementia.

I don't know what she was like right at the end, but even a year ago, she had lucid periods lasting hours at a time, during which she could function semi-normally. I don't know if this is better or worse that being totally gaga. I suspect much worse, because you repeatedly get to grieve for what you've lost.

Anyway, she's at peace now. Rest well, Estelle.

symptomatic in his late 50s. He's the picture of health - tan, slim, and able to get around very well. He was taking some alternative drugs the last time we saw him (2006). He has Alzheimer's. His wife had to build an addition on to her daughter's home (this is his stepdaughter) so she could have someone help take care of him.

We took them to Marco Island one year, and Sanibel Island the next. I think that was 2002 and 2003. He was too ill to travel last December, and we had to cancel our Florida trip (2007).

Michael Reagan spoke of his father President Ronald Reagan not being able to recognize family. I don't know how I could ever handle this close-up in a family member.

Thank you for your insight.

Peace.

RL in OR

:(