The Golden Palace: The 10 Best Guest Stars

Even though The Golden Palace wasn’t nearly as successful as its predecessor, The Golden Girls, it is still an enjoyable sitcom, full of both laughter and pathos. Furthermore, like its predecessor it also managed to have several notable guest stars who appeared during the course of its run. Some of these were holdovers from The Golden Girls and so helped to establish continuity with that series or to bring closure to some of its storylines.

Others, however, were entirely new and helped to build up this series identity as its own entity with its own universe.

Bea Arthur

Dorothy was, of course, an iconic and indelible part of the original series, and her marriage to Blanche’s uncle Lucas meant the end of the foursome as it had existed.

However, she makes a special appearance in The Golden Palace, and though she ultimately realizes that the women have moved on with their lives, it is still a very enjoyable guest appearance. As she always does, Arthur shows why Dorothy remains one of the best characters in the history of the sitcom.

Harold Gould

The romance between Rose and Howard Gould’s Miles is one of the most important romantic relationships in The Golden Girls. He only appears twice in The Golden Palace, and both of his moments are important for Rose’s development as a character.

At first, they break up because Miles has fallen in love with someone else, and then, slightly later, they get married at the hotel. Even though it’s difficult to see this romance end, Gould still manages to convey how much Miles still loves Rose and doesn’t want to hurt her.

Anne Haney

There have been many great character actors in television, and Anne Haney would definitely be one of them, having appeared in numerous TV shows and movies.

In The Golden Palace, she appears as an elderly woman who wanders into the hotel and is very disoriented and clearly not well. Though she was a very funny actress, Haney’s brilliance in this episode is that she is able to wring so much pathos out of this character, showing a side of her talent that wasn’t always obvious in some of her other roles.

Bobcat Goldthwait

It’s hard to imagine another actor who sounds and acts quite like Bobcat Goldthwait, with his high-strung demeanor in his remarkable voice. He brings his considerable comedy talents to bear in his one-episode appearance in The Golden Palace, in which he is mistaken by Rose and Blanche for a possible murderer.

Given that he is almost constantly yelling and appearing to be dangerous, their confusion is understandable, and it makes for a very funny episode that comes close to capturing the original joy of The Golden Girls.

Barry Bostwick

Barry Bostwick is another prolific actor who has been in many television series and movies, and he makes a very important appearance in this series as a man that Blanche falls in love with. There’s no doubt that he is very handsome and charming, so it’s not surprising that Blanche would find herself drawn to him.

However, it is ultimately revealed that he is a con man who is trying to swindle her out of her money. His confrontation with Rose is one of the best moments in the entire series.

Bill Engvall

Bill Engvall looms large in the world of stand-up comedy, and many of his specials have been widely acclaimed. In this series, he appears as Blanche’s son who, ironically, wants to give up his career to take up stand-up comedy. As he always does, Engvall shows that he has a keen eye for what makes humor work.

At the same time, it’s easy to believe that he is Blanche’s son, as the two of them fall very easily into the mother/son dynamic, each of them not quite willing to give in to the other.

Eddie Albert

Eddie Albert is most famous for performing on Green Acres, one of the most iconic sitcoms of the 1960s. Here, he plays a man that looks identical to Rose’s first husband Charlie, leading her to fall in love with him.

There’s no question Albert has a charismatic screen presence, and there is also an undeniable chemistry between him and Betty White’s Rose. Just as importantly, however, he shows genuine sadness at having to end their relationship, since he realizes, even if she doesn’t, that she can never really love him independently of her ongoing affection for her late husband.

Herbert Edelman

Stan was one of the best supporting characters to appear on The Golden Girls, so it makes sense that he would also put in a guest star appearance on The Golden Palace.

Herbert Edelman, as he did throughout his time on the previous series, manages to make Stan into both a jerk and yet also someone the audience can cheer for. He may not always be the most honest or reliable person, but he is still a man with a complicated life, as his final conversation with Sophia amply illustrates.

Ned Beatty

As with so many other actors that appeared on the series, Ned Beatty had already demonstrated that he was a formidable acting talent (he was most famous for being in Deliverance, a movie that holds up remarkably well).

In his appearance, he plays Blanche’s brother, Tad, who has an intellectual impairment. He manages to make the character into something more than a stereotype, and the episode also emphasizes respect for everyone.

Nanette Fabray

After Rose has to accept the fact that Miles has left her, she befriends an older woman who has come to stay at the hotel. This woman, Fern, is played by Nanette Fabray, an actress with a venerable pedigree in Hollywood.

She allows Fern to become a kind and gentle sort of person, and there’s a clear friendship developing between the two. However, it turns out that she is the very woman that Miles left Rose for, and as much as it pains Rose to do it, she ultimately plans and hosts their wedding at the hotel.

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