11:38 AM EDT 08/08/2008

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Betty White Shoots Down Reports of Estelle Getty Snub

TV News

Betty White Shoots Down Reports of Estelle Getty Snub

Originally posted 08/07/2008 11:55AM

The collective reputation of TV's Golden Girls seemed to tarnish somewhat when word circulated that not a single cast member attended the funeral of costar Estelle Getty, who died July 22.

But Betty White, who starred on the hit sitcom with Getty, Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur, says no disrespect should be inferred.

"We were with Estelle when it mattered," White, 86, tells Entertainment Tonight, reports ET.com. "I didn't go to her funeral and Paul, her wonderful caretaker, knew I wasn't going to her funeral."

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Golden Girls Star Estelle Getty Dies at 84

Tributes

Golden Girls Star Estelle Getty Dies at 84

Originally posted 07/22/2008 02:10PM

Estelle Getty, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as the tart-tongued Sophia Petrillo – mother of Bea Arthur's character – on TV's The Golden Girls, has died. She was 84.

Getty's longtime manager, Alan Siegel, told PEOPLE on Tuesday: "As of 5:35 this morning, surrounded by her family in her Hollywood Hills home, Estelle Getty passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes. Her family and close friends thank everyone for being so loving and supportive of Estelle in her last few years."

For many years, Getty had suffered with Lewy's Body Dementia, which has been described as a type of Alzheimer's disease.

Also starring with Betty White and Rue McClanahan on the NBC sitcom, Getty's Sophia resulted in her receiving seven Emmy nominations, and a win in 1988. Equally winning were her well-delivered insults on the show. A typical Petrillo put-down: "I think there's a connection between your brain and wallpaper paste."

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