Dorothy Zbornak - Major Events

Major Events

After her divorce from Stanley Zbornak, in which she kept her married surname, Dorothy Zbornak moved into a house in Miami, Florida, with widows Blanche Devereaux (owner / co-owner (all the girls decided that they should all own the house in one episode due to the building codes) of the house, played by Rue McClanahan) and Rose Nylund (Betty White). Shortly thereafter, Dorothy's mother, Sophia Petrillo, moved in after her nursing home, Shady Pines, burned down. This was a running gag during the show's run, where Sophia would often refer to Shady Pines as a prison, and Dorothy would defend it as a lovely retirement village. Other times, when Dorothy would become exasperated with her mother or try to get Sophia to listen to her, Dorothy would threaten "Shady Pines, Ma!", after which Sophia would immediately fall in line. Dorothy shared a unique relationship with her roommates, one often laced with her famously sardonic comments; the four shared a home for seven years, and in more than one episode it was pointed out that, despite a lack of blood ties, they were as much a family as any other household.

During the course of the show, Dorothy saw both of her children get married: Kate, to a podiatrist named Dennis, and Michael to a woman named Lorraine, a singer in his band, whom he had gotten pregnant. Lorraine was African American, and almost twice Michael's age, which initially did not sit well with Dorothy because she felt Lorraine was far too old for Michael (Lorraine's family didn't want her to marry Michael because he was white). Kate's husband, Dennis, cheated on her at one point, but she ultimately forgave him, almost causing Dorothy and Kate to stop speaking, but they also quickly reconciled. Lorraine left Michael later in the series, and there was no specific mention of his child with Lorraine (Dorothy's grandchild) thereafter. Before Lorraine, Michael had previously slept with Rose's daughter Bridget. Dorothy did have grandchildren, but it was never specified whether they were Michael's or Kate's children.

Like the other women living in the house, Dorothy had her fair share of romances, with her love life often coming into criticism by her mother. Ex-husband Stanley made regular attempts throughout the series to "win her back," and at one point nearly re-married Dorothy, though she called it off after Stanley and his lawyer, the famed Marvin Mitchelson, presented her with a pre-nuptial agreement to sign.

Some of Dorothy's suitors turned out to have less-than-virtuous characters. Elliot Clayton, a respected doctor, made a pass at Blanche, and when Blanche told Dorothy about it, Dorothy accused Blanche of making it all up, and wanting Elliot for herself. Blanche, deeply hurt that Dorothy would believe Elliot's word over hers, announced she was kicking Dorothy out of the house, and this would have ended their friendship for good had Rose not exposed Elliot for the liar he was on the day Dorothy was set to move out. During the battle, one of Dorothy's classic lines was this: "It's not enough that you've had half of the men in Dade County, you want to have everyone else's men, it's PATHETIC!"

Yet another incident which put her at odds with Blanche was when she dated Stan's brother, Ted (McLean Stevenson). She was so angered that Blanche didn't want to see anyone but herself happy, she angrily told Blanche, "Blanche, have you seen the latest ad campaigns? Join the Navy, see the world, sleep with Blanche Devereaux; Join the Army, be all you can be, and sleep with Blanche Devereaux; the Marines are looking for a few good men who have NOT slept with Blanche Devereaux!!!"

Another suitor turned out to be a married man, Glen O'Brien (portrayed by Alex Rocco in the first season); Dorothy broke off the relationship when she remembered how much it had hurt to be cheated on by Stanley. She dated Glen again a few years later (this time portrayed by Jerry Orbach) when he was divorced, but she broke off with him again because she felt that the only reason he wanted to be with her was that he didn't like being divorced and alone. Yet another prospect, named Eddie (John Fiedler), was the best lover Dorothy ever had, but Dorothy broke up with Eddie as well because their relationship never progressed past the physical stage. Her high-school teacher, Mr. Malcolm Gordon (James T. Callahan), whom she'd had a crush on, came back into her life many years later, only to plagiarize and take credit for an article that she had written. Stan's brother, Ted Zbornak(McLean Stevenson), told her that he had had a crush on her since they were young. They then "spent the night" together, nearly destroying her friendship with Blanche, who had gone out with Ted earlier that night. Later, Ted asked Dorothy to baby-sit the children of a stewardess that he wanted to date, making Dorothy feel humiliated. However, Dorothy got her revenge when she announced to everyone that he was impotent.

A few other suitors were portrayed by well-known actors, including Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Nielsen. Leslie Nielsen played Lucas Hollingsworth, Blanche's uncle (her father's brother(whom she later married)). Blanche was excited to hear that he was coming to visit her in Miami, but, because of a previous engagement (a supposedly very important tennis date), she pawned him off on Dorothy. The date was rather dull, and both Dorothy and Lucas were angered with Blanche for her inconsiderate attitude. To get even with her, Dorothy and Lucas decided to fake an engagement. They played it up for weeks, angering and annoying Blanche. However, during the ruse, Dorothy and Lucas fell in love for real, he proposed, and she accepted. Despite Stan's hope to derail the marriage, he took her to the church in style (in a limo), and although he wanted to say something, he didn't. With that, Dorothy moved to Hollingsworth Manor in Atlanta, and moved on with her life. At first, Sophia was to move with her, but she decided to remain in Miami with Blanche and Rose (they all later opened a hotel named The Golden Palace and a spin off was also named The Golden Palace).

In spite of her strengths, Dorothy does have phobias, namely hospitals and flying. She eventually manages to conquer these fears, however, with help from her friends.

The series showed a social awareness in various episodes. A two-part episode involved Dorothy suffering from extreme exhaustion, which was ultimately determined to be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Susan Harris, the show's co-writer, also suffered from the then largely unrecognized condition. In an earlier episode, Dorothy's lesbian friend, Jean (portrayed by former Miss America semifinalist Lois Nettleton), came to Miami for a visit and struck up a friendship with Rose, with whom Jean suspected she was falling in love. Dorothy was also shown to have a recurring gambling problem that eventually caused her to seek help through Gamblers Anonymous. She started smoking cigarettes again after quitting many years earlier, because of stress from her job and her mother's re-marriage. Presumably, she was able to kick the habit, since we never see her with a cigarette again.

In the episode Stan Takes A Wife, Dorothy states that she is a Leo during a conversation. This information, combined with her birth year of 1929, means that she is 56 when the first season begins and 63 when the final season of The Golden Girls goes off the air.

Dorothy also appeared in the two-part episode of The Golden Palace, "Seems Like Old Times"; she is revealed to still be married to Lucas, who does not appear, although Dorothy is shown speaking to him on the telephone. She appeared in one episode of Empty Nest, entitled Dumped, in which her favorite nephew Jim dumps Barbara (Kristy McNichol).

According to the episode Mary Has A Little Lamb, Dorothy's childhood nickname was "Moose."