The world lost one hell of a gal yesterday. Estelle Gettleman, better known as Estelle Getty, left this life but will forever be remembered. Throughout childhood we watched as Sophia, Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy taught us what it truly meant to be a friend. Most of the world knows the theme song to The Golden Girls, and if you stood up in a restaurant and belted the tune, you’d surely be joined by most of the people around you. Even if you only sang the first line, someone would pick up where you left off, that’s just the kind of impact The Golden Girls had. The show was a part of growing up for our generation. Whether you loved it or not, you knew who they were.

You can go to any news outlet online and find an obituary, but we’d rather give her a tribute. In the spirit of all things Sophia, here’s what you don’t know about Estelle Getty:

Born Estelle Scher, she started acting at the age of 20, and struggled for 40 years until she finally landed the role of Sophia on The Golden Girls. Estelle was 60 years old when she auditioned for the part of Sophia, but was turned down twice because she “didn’t look old enough.” They said she walked too fast, talked too fast, and just didn’t look like she was 80 years old. Estelle came back the third time to audition for the role, dressed in what she thought looked more “80″ and told the makeup artist, “To you this is just a job. To me it’s my entire career down the toilet unless you make me look 80.” The makeup artist did just that, and Estelle landed the role of a lifetime. Estelle’s character, Sophia, was the oldest of the group… but Estelle was not the oldest of the actresses. Sophia’s daughter, Dorothy, was played by Bea Arthur, who is a year older than Estelle.

Estelle was nominated for award after award for the role she played from 1985-1992. Sophia stole the show in almost every episode. Estelle was truly a star and was recognized for being such, repeatedly. She was nominated for 7 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992) and 3 Golden Globe Awards (1985, 1986, 1991).

Estelle suffered from the little-known disease Lew Body Dimentia, which in laymen’s terms is a cross between Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. She was incorrectly diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2000, then Alzheimer’s in 2002. In 2003 she was finally correctly diagnosed with Lew Body Dimentia.

Estelle left this world Tuesday, July 22, 2008, just 3 days before her 85th birthday.

Lifetime will run a tribute to Estelle on Friday, July 25, from noon to 5pm EST. They will be airing the best of Sophia and you can vote in their poll for your favorite episode, which will air last.

We love you Estelle. Rest in peace, dear.

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Chris Douglas-Roberts probably was the most overlooked college player in this year’s NBA draft. While his fellow teammate, point guard Derrick Rose went number one, Douglas-Roberts dropped all the way to the 40th spot. New Jersey selected the 6 foot 7 guard, and may have gotten a steal in the draft. Along side Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson, the New Jersey Nets are looking good going into the 2008-2009 season. Douglas-Roberts wasn’t even a little bit upset about where he was picked, he said this: “I could have ended up on the Lakers, you know? Somewhere like that, where there’s no playing time.” He was then ask if he had a chip on his shoulders, and he told ESPN: “Big. Big chip. Big. That’s the biggest motivation I have. Getting picked 40, I’m gonna write a book.”

Douglas Roberts was part of the Memphis Tigers team that went 38-2 (including the tournament), and averaged 18.1 points per game last season. Douglas-Roberts came out to say that he didn’t workout for all the NBA teams, and when the draft got around the 15 to 25 pick he knew he wouldn’t be selected. We don’t understand that decision, because we think that you would want to try out for every team so everyone knows about you. He might have ended up in a great place, but for younger players trying to make it to the NBA, shop yourself everywhere. Don’t limit yourself to just a few teams.

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As if Kanye didn’t need something else to blog about….

In a concert at the Glastonbury Festival in England, Amy Winehouse shocked the crowd when she re-worded her song “Some Unholy War” and instead of the actual lyrics, Amy shouted out, “at least I’m not opening for a cunt like Kanye.” She later said that Kanye’s next album should be titled “Cunts Like Kanye.” There has been no known bad blood between the two entertainers, but we are sure it had something to do with Kanye’s 2 and a half hour delay at the Bonnaroo festival. Kanye commented back about the diss in a blog saying, “This just in…Amy Winehouse hates me!!!I’ve really made it!!!LOL!!!” Hip Hop mogul Jay Z also performed at the festival, and had this to say to MTV news about the remarks:

?She said something about Kanye late on (in her set) but I didn?t hear it and I don?t agree with it. He?s my brother and the biggest artist on Roc-A-Fella (records) right now.” I guess I should hook them up because he?s a great guy too. I don?t know what the problem is- I don?t know where that (comment) came from.?

Prior to her remix bashing Kanye, a video of the concert shows Winehouse bending down during her performance of “Rehab” and grunting as she punched one of the fans in the cowd. Also seen in the video, Winehouse mean mugs this person for the rest of the song. James Gostelow commented after the show that there were no hard feelings and “Not everyone can say they been hit by Amy Winehouse.” Nuts, we know. Galstonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis, defended Winehouse’s actions saying the fan either grabbed her hair or her breast.

Winehouse has always been a media hog, with her antics attracting the attention of the paparazzi day in and day out. Lately she has been in the news even more than usual with her recent blackout and extended stay in the hospital where she was treated for pre-emphysema symptoms. Shortly after being released from the hospital, Amy was seen firing up a cigarette. Just when the sparks where starting to die out Amy had to add fuel to the fire to keep the spotlight on her with her remarks about Kanye.

We will keep you posted!!

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