Sophia Petrillo
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| Sophia Petrillo | |
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| First appearance | "The Engagement" 1985 |
| Last appearance | "Remembrance of Clips Past" 1995 |
| Cause/reason | End of series' |
| Information | |
| Age | 87/88 at end of series |
| Date of birth | April 1905 or 1906 |
| Occupation | Co-Owner of The Golden Palace/ Assistant Chef |
| Family | Angelo (brother) Angela (sister) Papa Angelo (father; deceased) Eleanor Angelo (mother; deceased) Carmine (brother-in-law; via Angela) |
| Spouse(s) | Augustine Bagatelli Giuseppe Mangiacavallo (broken engagements) Guido Spirelli (annulled) Salvatore Petrillo (husband; deceased) Max Weinstock (married/separated) |
| Children | Dorothy Zbornak Phil Petrillo (deceased) Gloria Petrillo |
| Relatives | Stanley Zbornak, ex son-in-law Lucas Hollingsworth, son-in-law Carmine (brother-in-law; deceased) Kate Zbnornak (granddaughter) Michael Zbnornak (grandson) Cecilia (cousin) Carlo (uncle, deceased) Renata (aunt) Mario (uncle, deceased) Graziella (niece) Frederico (nephew) Anthony (cousin) |
Sophia Petrillo-Weinstock (nee Angelo[citation needed]; formerly Spirelli) is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. She was portrayed by the late Estelle Getty and was arguably the breakout character of the show. Beatrice Arthur, who played her daughter Dorothy Zbornak on the show, was in real life a year older than Getty.
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[edit] Early history
Sophia Petrillo was born in April 1905 or 1906 in Sicily to Don Angelo Angelo and Eleanor Angelo[citation needed], with two brothers, Angelo and Vito, and two sisters, Regina and Angela. It is revealed that her 50th birthday was in April 1956 in one episode (however, in the first episode of The Golden Palace (1992) it was revealed that Sophia was 87). While in Sicily, as a teenager she was briefly engaged to a young man from her village, Augustine Bagatelli. Later, she became engaged to Giuseppe Mangiacavallo, who jilted her at the altar. She moved to New York after she annulled her arranged first marriage to Guido Spirelli when she was fourteen. She has no accent left to show that she grew up speaking the Sicilian language. Instead, she sports a thick Brooklyn accent with a fast speaking pace, which often contributed to the humor in her one-liners.
Then she married Salvatore "Sal" Petrillo (played by Sid Melton) (although in one episode she states she met him when she bargained with someone in a dark alley in Sicily, and another episode she says she won him in a contest when she stood on a rock so they were the same height in Sicily), and had three children with him: Dorothy, a divorced substitute teacher; Phil, (an unseen character) a cross-dressing welder with a wife named Angela and several children in a trailer park in Newark, New Jersey who later died during the series; and Gloria (played by Doris Belack and Dena Dietrich), who lived in California and married into money and who later lost the fortune that her husband had left her in an investment scam.
[edit] 1985-1995
In her older years, Sophia suffered a stroke (the effects of which are said to be a partial explanation for Sophia's uncensored and brazen remarks) and was subsequently placed in Shady Pines retirement home by Dorothy. After it was damaged in a fire, Sophia moved in with Dorothy. Sophia does not have many good things to say about "the home", alluding to poor treatment by the staff many times, and Dorothy often threatens to send her back there to check Sophia's behavior.
While living in Miami, Sophia has many suitors but does not date any for a substantial amount of time. She does remarry once more though to Max Weinstock (Jack Gilford). Max is her late husband's long-time business partner for whom Sophia had long blamed for ruining the business, although it was later revealed Sal was responsible. Sophia and Max forgave each other after the latter reveals the truth, and the two quickly became close and got married. The newlyweds realize their romance would not work out, and they part ways as friends. However, both remained legally married, as divorce would have gone against her Catholic beliefs.
Due to Sophia's Sicilian descent, there are regular hints in the series that she and her family have some mafia connections; she has made reference to several vendettas. It is even hinted that Sophia herself has done mob work; she once stated that no one in her family had "ever left a body to be found". Sophia also claimed to have been present at the St. Valentines Day Massacre to which she then took back stating, "Oh yeah, I was at the movies that day."
Sophia believes strongly in ancient Sicilian custom and traditions, and in the power of a "Sicilian curse." The list of people she claims to have cast curses on include: Shelly Long, the Baltimore Colts, the New York Jets, Giuseppe Mangiacavallo (the boy who stood her up at the altar), and Mr. Barton (the girls' next door neighbor who expressed disdain for Italians). She has threatened to cast a curse on Dorothy (before she found that it was prohibited by another arcane custom), and on Stan Zbornak. In the final season, Sophia spent two episodes doing odd tasks in order to save Dorothy from an ancient curse from a Sicilian strega, or witch.
[edit] Relationships
Sophia is best known for her wisecracks, put-downs and brazen remarks, often commenting on Dorothy's lack of love life, Blanche's promiscuity, and Rose's stupidity. However, despite her sharp criticism of her daughter and roommates, she loves and cares for them deeply; she even sees Rose and Blanche as surrogate daughters. The other women usually seek Sophia out for advice, which Sophia is all too willing to share, usually beginning with her catchphrase, "Picture it…" Like Rose's tall tales, Sophia's parables often end with a moral, from which advice can be gleaned. These stories usually also involved historical figures, with Sophia claiming to have had trysts with Pablo Picasso and Winston Churchill.
Members of Sophia's family who have appeared on the program include: Her sister, Angela (Nancy Walker); her brother, Angelo and her father (both roles were played by Bill Dana); her daughter, Gloria; her husband, Sal (in flashbacks and in dream sequences); and Sophia's own mother, Eleanor (Bea Arthur in a dual role who also didn't have a Sicilian accent), who also appeared exclusively in flashbacks; and even Dorothy at a younger age (played by Lyn Greene).
[edit] Appearance
In her younger years, Sophia apparently had always been short, with reddish-brown hair (Estelle Getty's natural color), but in one episode she says she was "a tall voluptous blonde with a butt like granite" when she was younger. During the series' run, Sophia resembled the archetyphal "old lady" in looks: White-haired, small stature, wrinkles, and large-framed eyeglasses. She was shown to have a fondness for conservative, elderly clothing such as cardigans, knee-high stockings, and mumus. Sophia owned a tan bamboo handbag which became her personal trademark, as she carried the purse everywhere, even around the house (including the bathroom). Sophia's sister Angela closely resembled these traits as well.
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