Gone Too Soon: Stars We Lost in 2008

PEOPLE.com says goodbye to the celebs who left an indelible mark. By Cara Lynn Shultz

  • ESTELLE GETTY photo | Estelle Getty

Credit: Touchstone Pictures/Everett

Updated: Monday Nov 24, 2008 | 06:00 AM EST

ESTELLE GETTY

Beloved as the acid-tongued scene-stealer Sophia Petrillo on Golden Girls, Getty, 84, died on July 22 after a long battle with Lewy's Body Dementia, which has been described as a type of Alzheimer's disease. "She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents," her son Carl Gettleman told the Associated Press. "She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived."