Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak is a fictional character from the TV series, The Golden Girls. Dorothy was the strong, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating and arguably most grounded of the four women in her house. Image File history File links Gg_beaarthur. ... For the Seinfeld episode, see The Engagement (Seinfeld episode) The Engagement is the pilot episode of the television series The Golden Girls. ... The Golden Palace was a spin-off of the sitcom The Golden Girls that aired during the 1992–93 season on the American TV network CBS. It featured three of the four characters from The Golden Girls operating an upscale hotel called The Golden Palace. ... A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable because of illness or other reason. ... Sophia Petrillo Sophia Spirelli Petrillo Weinstock is a fictional character from the TV series, The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. ... Stanley Zbornak is a fictional tv character featured on The Golden Girls and played by Herb Edelman. ... Lucas Hollingsworth was a fictional character in the final episodes of the sitcom The Golden Girls. ... “TV” redirects here. ... The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 9, 1992. ...

She was portrayed by Beatrice Arthur. Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel, May 13, 1922) is an Emmy-and Tony Award winning American actress, singer, and comedian. ...

Family

Dorothy was born in Brooklyn, New York, prior to 1930, to Italian immigrants Sophia and Salvatore Petrillo. She has two younger siblings: younger brother Phil, a cross-dresser who died later in the show's run, and a younger sister, Gloria, who married rich and with whom Dorothy was sometimes estranged. This article is about the borough of New York City. ... “NY” redirects here. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sophia Petrillo Sophia Spirelli Petrillo Weinstock is a fictional character from the TV series, The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. ... This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ...

She was a "bookworm" and over-achiever in high school. Yet, she suffered from low self-esteem, because one boyfriend was emotionally abusive, while another one stood her up at her prom, or so she thought. He actually did show up, but Sophia didn't like the way he was dressed and turned him away and never told Dorothy. Dejected, she later accepted a date with Stanley Zbornak (Herb Edelman), because she felt she couldn't do any better. She became pregnant, while still in high school, resulting in a shotgun wedding to Stan. They remained married for 38 years and had two children, Kate and Michael. Both children appeared in the show, although two different actresses played Kate. Bookworm can refer to: The insect of that name. ... Stanley Zbornak is a fictional tv character featured on The Golden Girls and played by Herb Edelman. ... Herb Edelman (1932-1996) was an American actor who was noted for playing Dorothys loser ex-husband Stanley Zbornak on The Golden Girls. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into forced marriage. ...

It's not mentioned at what stage Dorothy and Stan moved from New York to Miami, but they both continued to live in Miami after their eventual divorce due to Stan's infidelity. For the record label, see Divorce Records. ...

Career

Dorothy worked as a high school substitute teacher of American History (also her college major) and English, but usually got stuck teaching driver's education. A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable because of illness or other reason. ... Pre-Colonial America For details, see the main Pre-Colonial America article. ... An academic major is a general scholarly pursuit in a specific area of study which often yields, at the end of a tenure usually of four years, a bachelors degree. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Ohio Drivers Manual, 1950 Drivers Education or Drivers Ed is a class or program offered by independent agencies and most high schools in the United States, where students learn how to drive and practice road safety. ...

Dorothy also had summer and part-time jobs, which included tutoring and working alongside Blanche at the Museum (causing jealousy after Dorothy appeared to have become the boss' favorite).

Major events

After her divorce, Dorothy moved into a home in Miami, Florida, with Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund. Shortly thereafter, her mother, Sophia Petrillo, moved in after her nursing home, Shady Pines, burned down. Dorothy shared a unique relationship with her roommates, one often laced with her famously sardonic comments; the four shared a home for seven years, and in more than one episode it was pointed out that, despite a lack of blood relation, they were as much a family as any other household. This article is about the city in Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Information Age 53 Date of birth 1932 Family Elizabeth and Curtis Big Daddy Hollingsworth (parents) Virginia Hollingsworth, Charmaine Hollingsworth (sisters) Tad Hollingsworth, Clayton Hollingsworth (brothers) Spouse(s) George Deveraux Children Rebecca Devereaux Janet Devereaux Doug Devereaux Matthew Devereaux Biff Devereaux Skippy Devereaux Relatives Lucas Hollingsworth (uncle) Jamie Devereaux (brother-in... Rose Lindstrom Nylund was a fictional character featured on the popular 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, and its spin-off The Golden Palace. ... Sophia Petrillo Sophia Spirelli Petrillo Weinstock is a fictional character from the TV series, The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. ... Rest home for seniors in ÄŒeský Těšín, Czech Republic SNF redirects here. ...

During the course of the show, Dorothy saw both of her children get married: Kate, to a podiatrist named Dennis, and Michael to a woman named Lorraine, a singer in his band whom he had gotten pregnant. Lorraine was African-American and almost twice Michael's age, which initially did not sit well with Dorothy because she felt Lorraine was far too old for Michael (ironically, Lorraine's family didn't want her to marry Michael because he was white). Kate's husband, Dennis, cheated on her, but she took him back, almost causing Dorothy and Kate to stop speaking, but they eventually reconciled. Lorraine left Michael later in the series, and there was no specific mention of his child with Lorraine (Dorothy's grandchild) thereafter. Dorothy did have grandchildren, but it was never specified whether they were Michael's or Kate's children.

Like the other women in the household, the series saw Dorothy progress through her fair share of romances, with her love life often coming into criticism by her mother. Ex-husband Stanley made regular attempts throughout the series to "win her back", and nearly remarried Dorothy, though in the end she called it off after Stanley and his lawyer presented her with a pre-nuptial agreement to sign. A prenuptial agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup, is a contract entered into by two people prior to marriage or civil union. ...

Some of Dorothy's suitors turned out to have less-than-virtuous characters. Elliot Clayton, a respected doctor, made a pass at Blanche, and when Blanche told Dorothy about it, Dorothy accused Blanche of making up the whole thing and wanting Elliot for herself. Blanche, deeply hurt that Dorothy would believe Elliot's word over hers, announced she was kicking Dorothy out of the house, and this would have ended their friendship for good had Rose not exposed Elliot for the liar he was on the day Dorothy was to move out. Another suitor turned out to be a married man, which led Dorothy to break off the relationship because she remembered how much it hurt to be cheated on by her husband. Yet another prospect, named Eddie, was the best lover Dorothy had ever had, but Dorothy finally had to break up with Eddie as well because their relationship never progressed past the physical stage. Her high school teacher Mr. Gordon, whom she had a crush on, came back into her life many years later, only to take credit for a article that she had written. Stan's brother Ted told her that he had a crush on her since they were young and kissed her and almost ruined her friendship with Blanche, who had been Ted's date. Later, Ted asks Dorothy to baby-sit kids belonging to a stewardess that he wants to date, making Dorothy feel humiliated.

A few other suitors were portrayed by well-known actors, including Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Nielsen, whose character (Lucas Hollingsworth, an uncle of Blanche's) she married over the course of the final two episodes. Richard Wayne Dick Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an Emmy-Award winning American actor of film, stage, and screen, comedian and dancer. ... Leslie William Nielsen OC (born February 11, 1926) is a Canadian-American comedian and actor. ... Lucas Hollingsworth was a fictional character in the final episodes of the sitcom The Golden Girls. ...

In spite of her strength, Dorothy does have phobias, namely hospitals and fear of flying. She managed to conquer both her fears with help from her friends.

In keeping with the show's practice of raising social awareness, a two-part episode involved Dorothy suffering from extreme exhaustion, which was ultimately determined to be chronic fatigue syndrome; Susan Harris, the show's co-writer, also suffered from the relatively unknown condition. In an earlier episode, Dorothy's friend, Jean, a lesbian, came to Miami for a visit and struck up a close friendship with Rose, with whom she soon realized she was in love. Dorothy was also shown to have a recurring gambling problem that eventually caused her to seek help through Gamblers Anonymous. She started smoking cigarettes again after quitting many years earlier, because of stress from her mother's remarriage and work. Presumably, she was able to kick the habit, since we never see her with a cigarette again. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is one of several names given to a poorly understood, highly debilitating disorder of uncertain cause, which is thought to affect approximately 4 per 1,000 adults[1] in the United States and other industrialized countries, and a smaller fraction of adolescents. ... Susan Harris is the producer of many television sitcoms, such as Soap, Benson, and The Golden Girls. ... A lesbian is a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted only to other women. ... Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is Twelve Step program for problem gamblers. ...

Dorothy also appeared in two episodes of The Golden Girls' short-lived successor, The Golden Palace. The Golden Palace was a spin-off of the sitcom The Golden Girls that aired during the 1992–93 season on the American TV network CBS. It featured three of the four characters from The Golden Girls operating an upscale hotel called The Golden Palace. ...

External links

• Dorothy's biography on Lifetime TV's website.
• Lifetime TV's site for The Golden Girls

Original logo (1984-1995) 20th Anniversary logo (2004) Lifetime Television, more commonly known as Lifetime, is an American television network which as its tagline notes, is Television for Women. ...