ANIMIZE Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 March 2017 | Page 56

Sitting in Rue La Rue Café, one can’t but wonder how similar Rue and her character Blanche were. Michael says Rue denied their likeness. ‘All of her friends and family would roll their eyes when she would say that. I put a photo of each marriage up here, so there are pictures of husbands one through six, and that pretty much gives you the evidence that she was exactly like Blanche. She was boy crazy. We were talking about guys up until twenty minutes before she left this earth. She was on her way to husband number seven when she died. She was divorcing number six and she had met this man, an eighty five year old lottery winner. I told her marry him immediately. And she was looking forward to marriage number seven, she said everyone knows seven is a lucky number.’

So why do people still love Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia? La Rue had the opportunity to ask three out of four actresses why they thought the show was so popular. ‘Betty White, Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan all credited the writers for the longevity and the continued success of the show. And I was able to say to all three of them, I think you’re acting abilities had something to do with the success as well.’ As The Golden Girls continues to play in syndication around the world today, Michael hopes to reach out to not only the devoted fans of the show, but to anyone who has laughed at the antics of four older women living in Miami. ‘Because of my unique situation of managing Rue’s estate and now being a co-owner of this café, people speak to me about their experiences with The Golden Girls on a daily basis. One of the things I’ve heard over and over from people is that they have an emotional connection to the show because of who they watched it with. They either watched it with a grandmother or their mother or some other relative. So when they watch episodes in re-runs now, it beings back the feeling they had then when they were connecting with a love one. And I think that’s a really beautiful nostalgic thing.’ And for Michael that memory is of watching it with his friend Rue. ‘After Rue had her stroke and before she passed away, for that seven month period, once she came home from the hospital and rehabs I watched The Golden Girls seasons with Rue McClanahan. And to sit on the couch watching episodes with Rue was an experience I will never forget.’

‘I hope they take away the central theme that we’re trying to convey which is friendship, how important friendship is. Lovers come and go, as Rue demonstrated. Husbands come and go, spouses come and go, but friendship can really be for a lifetime. And Rue was a special friend for me, and I want to honor her with this café, and I hope when people leave here, they pick up the phone and call their friends too and just say hello.’

Rue La Rue Café is located at

4396 Broadway

New York, New York

Follow them on facebook.com/ruelaruecafe