The Golden Girls - Old Friends (Dorothy breaking bad news to Sophia) 

Today's sitcoms will never get to that level...

I met and worked with Estelle in the early 80s. She was as lovely sweet funny and kind as you’d think. She made me feel as if I had known her my entire life. And this was years before GG.

"I'll remember him..." gets me every time.

For me what makes this episode even sadder is the fact that Estelle Getty herself suffered from dementia in her later years. :(

Estelle won her Emmy for this episode!

This scene is some of the best acting in the entire series, and it's especially moving because Estelle Getty, who played Sophia, died from Alzheimer's in real life.

Dorothy helping Sophia up the stairs ...always gets me ...if we are lucky to have an elderly parent ..you know what I mean

Estelle and Bea performed this scene beautifully!

"Hey, someone's sitting there" and then that look. One of the best.

As hysterical as this show was, the writers never lost sight of its characters and reality, and always found a way to present it in a way that never seemed forced or cliched. This episode really showed that.

Estelle really utilized this character to bring awareness to social issues. This is what makes Sophia such an inspiration

For a one shot, Alvin was a great character. And as hysterical as the Golden Girls was, it could be really powerful when it got to serious issues. These clips are proof.

There's a very subtle moment in this series that really shows Bea and Estelle's dedication to their roles. Dorothy takes Sophia's arm and helps her up the steps as most younger members do for the older members of their family.

This was one of the BEST, GREATEST shows ever made. There will never be another show this good.

This still is one of the most poignant scenes in TV history. This terrible disease impacted my family's life...and this just highlights the ache and love we carry with us.

Whenever I rewatch this scene, the central message for me is Sophia pointing out that you're not just happy to be old because you're old. Clearly, you still need to know what to enjoy life for, because otherwise you'll just be busy surviving and not living. I'm sure none of us will be happy seniors solely by kinda making it from one day to the other for just a bit longer, we gotta live...all within the means of our health, security and finances, but we gotta live, don't we?!

I liked it the way Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty collaborated with each other in this scene. They knew how to captivate they audience. S.I.P Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan & Betty White.

Beautiful scene and acting by Estelle Getty and that last piano note...wow! Bravo!

This brings tears to my eyes....i loved what sophia said its so true. Even dorothy's voice cracks in this scene. Beautifully acted ladies.

This show never gets old

"You need a reason to get up in the morning, and sometimes whenever you find one, life can turn right around to spit in your face." That statement is so true; even when you're not that old.

This is still one of the most difficult GG scenes to watch, it's absolutely gut-wrenching. You really feel for poor Sophia. And, of course, knowing Estelle died in a similar manner makes it even harder to watch. But stellar performances by both ladies.

This show was a comedy, but when it got sad, it’s hard hitting

They were always wonderful together, made a perfect mother/daughter team.

Sofia is right, it's not enough to just be alive you need to have quality of life.

i love the golden girls. today's sitcoms will never get to that level.

This episode broke my heart for Sophia, she loved her time with her friend.

TGG was full of these small moments in which laugh was left behind to adopt a sad, more serious tone. I've always thought the cadence from that laugh to sadness was very well done. The script, the actresses, the timing... TGG is a masterpiece.

What a beautifully poignant scene, wonderfully acted by Estelle and Bea.

Will always be one of my favorite shows. Estelle could really knock it out of the park.

alzheimer's has to be THE worst disease out there. Or at least one of the worst. My mother has a form of dimentia & has been living with it for 3 years now. She doesn't even remember me anymore. She raised me & now to see here like this is so heartbreaking. All diseases are terrible but at least most still gives you your mind. Seeing a scene like this & any other scenes from other shows where this disease is a main story its very hard to watch. Its a little too close to home. Just breaks my heart.

Man, estelle getty was a superb actress and a real entertainment treasure. It's hard to see her as anything other than an 80 year old woman, sophia in particular. She so embodied that character. No on like her, and never will be again.

This gets me every time I watch it. The emotion and tone this show had his funny moments but when it had serious moments it tugged at your heart. RIP Estelle.

Estelle’s acting is so genuine in this scene!! Bravo!!

Hurts even more knowing what happened to Estelle

Smart, witty, full of spicy humor but on the other hand full of everyday life and all its aspect, RIP girls!!!

I saw this episode the other day after I got done feeding my 5 mo old son. He likes to watch Golden Girls with me in the morning. I was bawling at the end. :( This is the first episode that ever made me cry. My grandmother had Alzheimers so I can relate to this episode.

You know, without the laughs, this is a very emotional scene. A powerful one too.

Best sitcom ever...I miss these gals...there was such to learn from this show.

I like Golden girls because it didn't need a laugh track or a feel sad track or feel a surprised track it led the characters show the audience what they were feeling it's a show I used to watch from my mom a lot and yes it is way better than big bang theory

This show had a lot of funny and hilarious moments but it hits home when it tackles issues such as these that reminds you that growing old isn't always going to be so cheery. Life can spit in your face and there comes a time when it stops giving you things and starts taking things away from you. This was a poignant scene. RIP Dorothy and Sophia (aka Bea Arthur/Estelle Getty)

This is something that i want to hug sophia for because this hit me very hard my neighbour was just like the man that sophia made friends with. i had to calm him down because he did not know his wife i still remember seeing him for the last time when i went down for a visit 5 months before the day that i got word that he went into hospital that is when i thought of him. and a few days later he passed away peacefully at the age of 88 in april of last year i got the shock of the news. i went down with my mother to see how his wife and daughter were holding up. I went to his funeral that is when i said my last goodbye to my nieghbour for the last time that is when i cried at the funeral still to this day i go down to visit my nieghbour and her daughter as a good person.

Golden Girls is fantastic and keeps me up when I get down.

It is sad... I remember from 1999 to 2008 My Mother and I always watched this show together. It never got boring, as it was always funny no matter how much we watched it, and my dad got into it with us as well. That was my Golden Child Hood even though I was in my 20's. We all had that child likeness about us... But After 2008 my Mother got sick and this episode hearing what Sophia said about living for such a long time is not so lucky she felt for her and understood, because my mother was getting old and she was not well physically, and she was also depressed... She passed on August 10th 2013 she was 76. It's been almost 4 years, but we still cannot get over it. My Father, he was in charge of The House, Our Trees, and keeping them beautiful. He built our home shortly after I was born in 1978 and we are still here. My Mother was in charge of Faith, Family, and keeping us United. My 3 older siblings and their children always came here for every Holiday, We always had so much Joy and Laughter all the time. We refer to her as The Queen Mother. Woman of God. God's Secretary. Christ's Apostle. Our Faith in The Lord. She was so very wise. She truly believed that all of us will make it into Heaven, past, present, and future. We still miss and need her so much... Near the end of 2016 her sister whom was her best friend and only friend passed on too. I remember my Father saying after my Aunt left us that it felt like he lost his wife all over again. My Aunt was very Jolly and Fun, but in 2014 she was slowly dying inside because she missed Mother her sister, her best and only friend more and more. My Father and her were also like brother and sister and we did our best to be there for each other. The family does not come any more. All that's left is My Dad, My Cat, and Me. If there is Heaven I believe it will be like our Golden Childhoods filled with Joy and Laughter and Creativity. We were all artists too.

This episode absolutely broke my heart

I'll remember him.

The last part with Sofia was so cute. Bea and Estelle were so adorable together.

I’m in tears! As a child, I remember watching this episode and I still remember it vividly. Ironic that the daughter in this episode would turn out to be me and the father would be my mom. I’ve left my job a year ago so that I could take care of my mom and I don’t regret it. Since her diagnosis, she’s progressed so rapidly and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to care for her myself. Thanks Dorothy and Sophia. Rest In Peace knowing you helped me tremendously.

At the end of the first scene when Sophia sat back down the knit the scarf again, she looked like she had the world on her shoulders. It broke my heart. Old age awaits all of us if we are lucky. We dont exactly live in the safest of Worlds. But when it comes it has its own sets of challenges. If you are old, it doesn't change the fact that you are still human. You are still able to fall in love. You are still able to dream about finding a partner. But unfortunately, old age makes it hard for these dreams to come true.

Life can be really something

Poor Sophia...that quote rings so true, at any age.

Sophia: “You know, Dorothy, people think if you live to be my age, you should be grateful just to be alive. Well, that’s not how it works. You need a reason to get up in the morning, and sometimes even after you find one, life can turn right around and spit in your face.” 💔

I wish I could give Sophia a hug. We lost my grandma in the summer of 2013 to pneumonia brought on by dementia. You just learn to cope with it. Like one time, she offered to make me a ham sandwich a few days before Thanksgiving in 2009. It was actually canned tuna spread on two pieces of bread, but I choked it down. I just turned 15 a couple months before. A year or so later, she mistook me for my older brother, who is twelve years older than me. No problem, as I went on to tell her all about my goals for school at the time, to her joy. Another year or so after that, she offered me a beer, not remembering I was only 17 at the time. Don't worry, my dad was there to stop her. I still remember hugging/kissing my grandma and her husband goodbye before going back home from Thanksgiving 2012, the year before she died. It just now hit me that she's dead.

Isn't this the episode that won Estelle her first and only Emmy?

One of the saddest endings ever.

My sister's mother-in-law, who is a very sweet lady who let me stay over at her house in Peru when my family was visiting there and hotel rooms were low, has alzheimers. The worst part is, besides the alzheimers, is that she's staying at my sister's place so she can be taken care of with family so her grandchildren have to see their beloved Grandmommy slip away. Alzheimers sucks.

Sometimes just being alive just isn't enough.

'that was you? thank God, I thought Gino--the Enforcer was out on parole.' LOL

Hands down one of the saddest golden girls episodes they made.

a very sad scene.

I need a friend like Sophia 🥰😭👸🏻

Dorothy was a good daughter.

Remains one of the best TV series in history for a plethora of reasons

And the saddest thing, is that Estelle passed away of advanced dementia :/

My lovely moment

I’m thinking about mom she’s 85 and she’s forgetting things I pray for her everyday

A classmate- now deceased- has a sister with Alzheimer's. I read about it and it's a horrible thing to have. In layman's terms it's the brain slowly dying. My heart goes out to the families and friends of people who suffer from it .

I Remember Watching The Golden Girls With My Mom😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

I felt for the guy that just wanted to sit down. That could have been a new friend for her.

My grandmother passed away from a stroke. This was her favorite show

Estelle had Lewy Body Dementia. It also got Casey Kasem.

my mom has stage 3 alzheimer's and i think about this episode often

My grandfather died of Alzheimer's disease. Everyone suffers. Even the loved ones of the person affected. Bless the Golden Girls.

i did some research on this episode the one who played alvin and his daughter have also passed away...breaks my heart

One of my former teachers has Alzheimer’s. She used to remember me really well, but now she cannot. It took this show to teach me how bad Alzheimer’s is. They handled this so perfectly.

it’s so sad to think about how estelle died because of alzheimer’s/dementia.

this scene breaks my heart! i was hoping Sophia and Al would be great friends!

This is just one of the many MANY examples of how Golden Girls was ahead of its time. Just how they were able to shine light on serious issues like mental disease, emotional abuse, and even death. If you ask me, this is the kind of stuff they need to show, especially with how the world is going down the crapper. And, to be entirely honest, I think they need to put a little bit of that back into current kids' shows. I'm not saying drop the super serious issues in, but just enough to show older kids that the world isn't just sunshine and candy. I was born in the mid-90s, so I grew up to shows that knew how to address serious issues, but still knew how to keep it kid-friendly

A wonderful scene--one of the things that this series did better than others.

I remember watching this episode vividly. It reminds me how precious life is and we never know what is round the corner. My lovely mum has Alzheimer's and nothing can prepare you for the rollercoaster ride it brings for the whole family. I'm grateful that she is still around after 10 years of these disease which has destroyed this beautiful fun loving woman and has turned her into an empty shell. I look forward to a time when she will be free from this hideous disease.

I lost my great-grandmother to Alzheimer's when I was little. It really tore me up to watch her deteriorate like that. Now my grandfather is suffering from the effects Dementia. He's still here with us but it still hurts that he's the only grandparent I have left.

The best thing to happen to television since its invention...

As much as we admire her talent in this episode, both Estelle and Robin Williams suffered from the same illness. But only Estelle lived to see old age. After all these years, there must be a cure for alzheimers or dementia or lewy somewhere. Diseases of the mind are just plain cruel. If your diagnosis is cancer, you have options to help put it back in remission. Lewy, Parkinsons or dementia is a living nightmare because you struggle against remembering your own life. You just buy time if caught early but eventually you awake up and your memories are gone your purpose and most importantly you don't recognize those near and dear to you. I don't know what's worse these diseases or the role it takes on the family

This is the best scene for these 2 in this series.

She said it once. People think that as you get older it's something, but as the older you get the more loved people you lose.

this was such an underrated episode. i sobbed every time i see this episode

Not sure if I’m the only one, but I never really found Sophia’s sense of humor that funny or appealing. I mean yeah, she had her moments for sure that had me laughing. But the biggest comic relief to me was always Dorothy, Blanche, or Rose. However, when it came to tender, sensitive moments, no one came close to Sophia in my book. Particularly in the scene where she says, “My baby is gone.” You could feel the heart and soul Estelle put into every word. Boy how she brought Sophia to life. Sophia and the rest of the girls will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️

I love Dorothy and Sophia’s daughter and mother relationship

This scene really got me. I know how bad Alzheimer’s can be. My grandfather passed away from it. It was devastating to see how he forgot everything as the days went by.

"I thought Gino 'The Enforcer was out on parole." 🤣

Just watched this episode in full for the first time in 14 years. I'm crying. It's so beautifully done, to the very last second.

Probably the saddest episode on the show😟😢

I remember watching this episode when I was around 7 or so. I remember almost every episode of "Golden Girls". This show is even more meaningful for me now. My father is 86 years old and GG taught me how to be sympathetic, patient and understanding when it comes to the older generation.

This show had some of the best writing; and a group of damn fine women. May they soar on the stars. 🌹

What a beautiful scene!

Sophia and dorothy's relationship is like me and my daughter. I love this show always have.😀

Tear jerker every time!

Maybe I don't wanna know. Maybe I'm happier now knowing Or maybe you know already. I'm not stupid. I could tell there was something about Alvin that wasn't right

Estelle and Bea were such great TV mother and daughter. I still love this show. Whenever I’m sad I watch The Golden Girls and it makes me feel better right away even in touching episodes like this. Thx for the upload.

My Mom had Alzheimers, it was the worst thing ever besides losing her to cancer.