Betty Field

She died from a cerebral haemorrhage in Hyannis, Massachusetts. In 2002, it was revealed to the media that she is also suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Her marriage to playwright Elmer Rice ended in divorce. In 2000, she stopped making public appearances after she revealed that she has Parkinson's disease. Her final film role was in Coogan's Bluff in 1968. One of the most ironic things about casting Getty in this role was that she is actually two months younger than Bea Arthur: on Golden Girls, Getty was heavily made-up to seem significantly older. She preferred performing on Broadway but returned to Hollywood regularly, appearing in The Great Gatsby (1949), Picnic (1955), Bus Stop (1956), Peyton Place (1957), Butterfield 8 (1960 and The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). In it, she played the wise-cracking old Italian mother of Dorothy, who was the show's main protagonist, played by Bea Arthur.

Her role as Mae in Of Mice and Men (1939) established her as a dramatic actress, and she played supporting roles in films such as Kings Row (1942). Estelle Getty (born Estelle Scher on July 25, 1923) is an American actress best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on the popular 1980s sitcom, The Golden Girls. She returned to the United States and appeared in several stage successes, before making her film debut in 1939. Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began her acting career on the London stage in She Loves Me. Betty Field (February 8, 1913 - September 13, 1973) was a American actress.