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"It's like we say in St. Olaf, Christmas without fruitcake is like St. Sigmund's Day without the headless boy." This article is incomplete. You can help the Golden Girls Wiki by expanding it. |
Angela Rachel Vecchio (née Grisanti) is a recurring character in the 1985 NBC sitcom The Golden Girls. She is the sister of Sophia Petrillo and the maternal aunt of Dorothy Zbornak.
Angela appeared twice in the series, in Season 2's "The Sisters" and "Long Day's Journey into Marinara". She is portrayed by the late Nancy Walker.
Characteristics[]
Like Sophia, Angela has a distinctively eccentric Old World charm. She says that her routine in Sicily is to get up in the morning, milk the goat, go to a funeral, come home, feed the goat, drink a bottle of Chianti and pass out. She has a tendency to take and use things that are not hers. Also like Sophia, Angela tells stories by opening with "Picture it!" and stating the location and the year.
Biography[]
Background[]
Angela was born in 1907[1] in Sicily to Don Angelo Grisanti and Eleanor Grisanti with her brothers, Angelo and Vito, and her sisters Sophia and Regina Grisanti. She married Carmine Vecchio and moved to Brooklyn, New York, living near her sister Sophia and her husband Sal. The two couples would regularly attend Francesca Regusso's annual Christmas Eve parties.[2]
Golden Years[]
On December 24th, 1955, Angela, Carmine, Sophia, and Salvadore attended Francesca Regusso's annual Christmas party. Sophia took Angela into the kitchen and confided in her that Salvadore De Milo kissed her while she was looking for a seltzer to wash down Francseca's manicotti. Angela swore she wouldn't tell anyone. Later, Carmine arrived at the party in a Santa Claus costume, and as he passed under the mistletoe, Maria Fenestru, who had been previously drinking out of the eggnog bowl with a swizzle stick, made a beeline for him and kissed him so hard that she "practically sucked the beard off his face". Because Maria was wearing Sophia's fringe shawl, Angela thought Sophia was making a move on her husband and yanked her into the pantry to confront her. Sophia denies what happened, saying she thought it was Coenio the bookmaker in the Santa suit, and Angela didn't believe her. Sophia then accused Angela of betraying her as well, as everyone at the party had found out about Salvadore De Milo kissing her -- when in actuality, Vinny Jiamalla was drunk under the table and overheard everything, and had blabbed to the rest of the party. The sisters had a big fight, each denied the accusations, and they refused to speak to one another for the next thirty years.[2]
Some time after the Christmas party, Carmine passed away and Angela decided to move back to Sicily in 1956. On the boat back to Sicily, she befriended a little person named Peewee Bombunzi, who says he's being chased by the mob. Angela and Peewee were inseprable for the next few days, but then he disappeared. When the boat docked in Sicily, the customs man opens up Angela's suitcase only to find Peewee's corpse stuffed between Angela's beaver mink coat and the veal shank she was carrying for Mother's Day. She burned the suitcase, the beaver mink coat, and "...the veal shank never did taste right.". This ultimately led to her affinity for not carrying suitcases.[2]
Reconciling with Sophia[]
In 1987, at Sophia's birthday party, Dorothy brings in Angela as a surprise for Sophia. Sophia does her best to find out the surprise and made several attempts to make Rose Nylund spill the surprise but Dorothy and Blanche Devereaux stopped her every time. After the party starts, Blanche brings in Angela. Sophia was surprised, calls Angela an old bag, declares she hates her and storms into her bedroom. Angela does the same and storms into Dorothy's room. Later that night, Dorothy confronts her and Angela tells her version of the 1955 Christmas party story. Meanwhile, Rose and Blanche confront Sophia and Sophia tells her version: that a very attractive man named Salvadore DeMillo kissed her when she was going to get a Bromo seltzer. Being a respectable married woman, '"...and after copping a couple good feels...", she pushes Salvadore away and runs back to the party . She tells her sister, Angela, about it in the kitchen but five minutes later everyone at the party was talking about it. She drags Angela to the pantry and accuses her of betrayal, they had a big fight, Angela denies the whole thing and they never spoke again. The girls bring the two together but after cursing each other (and Angela cursing Sophia with "May your marinara sauce NEVER cling to your pasta!"), Angela runs away and Sophia chases her, leaving Dorothy frustrated.
The next morning, Angela prepares to leave with Dorothy but a confrontation between the two makes Dorothy push the two together to finish their problems. Dorothy says that when she was a little girl, she admired her mother Sophia and her favorite aunt Angela but now the two are at each other's throats and it's breaking her heart, and says "...so my Mother kissed your husband at a stupid Christmas party, what does it matter now?" Sophia, who realizes that there is an error, tells Angela that there is an error ("I never kissed Carmine, YOU never even kissed Carmine!"). Angela remembers that Sophia wore a green satin dress and a fringe shawl. Sophia denies that she wore a fringe shawl, saying she lent it to Maria Venestro, a flirtatious and big breasted woman. Sophia insists that she betrayed her by telling everyone Salvadore DeMillo kissed her. Angela denies this, saying that they weren't alone in the pantry because Vinnie Giomallo was drunk under the table. Sophia doesn't remember this and Angela reminds her that he threw up in her shoe and he must've been the one who blabbed her secret. The two reconciled, touching Blanche ("I think it's sweet!") and Rose ("I think I'm gonna cry!"), except for Dorothy ("I think they both should be committed.").[2]
Moving to Miami[]
Later that year, Angela returns to Miami out of the blue, and Sophia thinks she's being chased by the Balducci family. Angela responds that there is no vendetta anymore, as the Balduccis ate some sausages they shouldn't have at their last family picnic and died -- not from food poisoning, but because they had stolen the sausages from the Calabrese family. Nonetheless, Angela insists that she's only in Miami because she wanted to see her family. She and Sophia cook dinner for the ladies, and Angela tells Dorothy that all the old family is dead. Sophia suggests that Angela move to Miami, and Angela reluctantly agrees after Dorothy offers to let her stay with them until she finds a place to live.[3]
Over the next three weeks, Angela shoots down all prospective apartments and drives Sophia crazy while she lives there, insulting her coking and taking her things. Angela cooks a chicken she found in the garage freezer for dinner that night, not knowing that Rose is hosting show chicken Count Bessie in the garage. When Rose can't find Count Bessie and learn where Angela got the chicken from, they assume she killed and cooked Count Bessie. Rose then threw herself on the cooked chicken and called Angela a murderer.[3]
The next day, Angela tells the ladies that she's found an apartment from an advertisement at the senior's center, and that her new roommate will be coming to pick up her things. Sophia accuses her of stealing the pearl necklace their mother gave Sophia for confirmation, and Angela gives it back saying she took it to cover her wart. Sophia's then-boyfriend Tony arrives, revealing that he's Angela's new roommate, and Sophia is outraged, believing that Angela is trying to steal her boyfriend. The sisters trade insults and Angela leaves with Tony. Sophia later goes to Tony's apartment to confront Angela, and Tony intervenes in the argument, leading them to reconcile. However, another woman comes out of Tony's bedroom, revealing that he was cheating on her -- just not with Angela. The sisters then beat him with their purses and order him to beg for forgiveness.[3]
Angela goes back to the house with Sophia, and as they tell the ladies what happened, they decide that they can't live near each other. Just then, Count Bessie comes back into the house and plays on her piano. Angela tells the relieved women that she got the chicken from the freezer, not a cage, asking "You think I know how to kill a live chicken? Who am I, Conan the Barbarian?" Angela says she has to get out of the house and find an apartment, and Dorothy insists that she stay in the house until she does. Both Angela and Sophia ask to speak to Dorothy for a moment, and go out onto the lanai.[3]
Family tree[]
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| Mr. Petrillo † |
| Mrs. Petrillo † |
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| Don Angelo Grisanti, Sr. † |
| Eleanor † |
| Uncle Nunzio † |
| Aunt Teresa † |
| Aunt Renata |
| Uncle Bruno † |
| Uncle Vito |
| Uncle Gino † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Salvadore Petrillo † |
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| Sophia Petrillo |
| Regina Grisanti |
| Angela Vecchio |
| Carmine Vecchio † |
| Angelo Grisanti, Jr. |
| Philomena Grisanti † |
| Uncle Mario † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stanley Zbornak |
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| Dorothy Zbornak |
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| Gloria Harker |
| Mr. Harker |
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| Phillip Petrillo † |
| Angela Petrillo |
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Dennis Griffiths |
| Kate Griffiths |
| Michael Zbornak |
| Lorraine Wagner |
| Katherine Harker |
| Jim Harker |
| Harvey Petrillo |
| Five sons |
| Four daughters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Robby Zbornak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relationships[]
Sophia Petrillo[]
Angela is one of Sophia's sisters, though whether she's older or younger isn't made clear. Angela moved to Brooklyn around 1925, and Sophia was good friends and neighbors with her and her husband Carmine.
Though it seems that Angela and Sophia had a good relationship, a Christmas party in 1959 would change the course of their relationship for the next thirty years. At Francesca Regguso's Christmas bash, Sophia was sexually assaulted by a man at the party and told Angela what had happened. Though Angela swore herself to secrecy, the entire party began talking about what had happened to Sophia. Enraged, Sophia dragged Angela into a closet and accused her of betraying her, while Angela accused her of the same after seeing a woman wearing Sophia's shawl kiss Angela's then-husband Carmine.[4] Sophia denied it, and the sisters didn't speak again until the late 1980s. Angela later moved back to Sicily, presumably after her husband died.
The sisters were forced to interact again in the late 1980s, when Dorothy brought Angela to the States as a birthday present for Sophia. The sisters immediately began to fight over the old wounds, and refused to make up despite Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose's intervention.[4]
Carmine Vecchio[]
To be added.
Dorothy Zbornak[]
When Dorothy asks Angela to make up with Sophia for her "favorite niece", Angela asks what her cousin Graziella had to do with any of this.[5]
Rose Nylund[]
To be added.
Blanche Devereaux[]
To be added.
Tony[]
To be added.
Quotes[]
- “May your marinara sauce never cling to your pasta!”
- — Angela insults Sophia; "The Sisters" (1987)
Appearances[]
The Golden Girls (1985 - 1992)[]
Season 1
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1. "The Engagement": | Absent | 14. "That Was No Lady": | Absent | ||
2. "Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding": | Absent | 15. "In a Bed of Rose's": | Absent | ||
3. "Rose the Prude": | Absent | 16."The Truth Will Out": | Absent | ||
4. "Transplant": | Mentioned | 17. "Nice and Easy": | Absent | ||
5. "The Triangle": | Absent | 18. "The Operation": | Absent | ||
6. "On Golden Girls": | Absent | 19. "Second Motherhood": | Absent | ||
7. "The Competition": | Absent | 20. "Adult Education": | Absent | ||
8. "Break-In": | Absent | 21. "The Flu": | Absent | ||
9. "Blanche and the Younger Man": | Absent | 22. "Job Hunting": | Absent | ||
10. "The Heart Attack": | Absent | 23. "Blind Ambitions": | Absent | ||
11. "The Return of Dorothy's Ex": | Absent | 24. "Big Daddy": | Absent | ||
12. "The Custody Battle": | Absent | 25. "The Way We Met": | Absent | ||
13. "A Little Romance": | Absent |
Season 2
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1. "End of the Curse": | Absent | 14. "The Actor": | Absent | ||
2. "Ladies of the Evening": | Absent | 15. "Before and After": | Absent | ||
3. "Take Him, He's Mine": | Absent | 16."And Then There Was One": | Absent | ||
4. "It's a Miserable Life": | Absent | 17. "Bedtime Story": | Absent | ||
5. "Isn't It Romantic": | Absent | 18. "Forgive Me, Father": | Absent | ||
6. "Big Daddy's Little Lady": | Absent | 19. "Long Day's Journey into Marinara": | Appears | ||
7. "Family Affair": | Absent | 20. "Whose Face is This, Anyway?": | Absent | ||
8. "Vacation": | Absent | 21. "Dorothy's Prized Pupil": | Absent | ||
9. "Joust Between Friends": | Absent | 22. "Diamond in the Rough": | Absent | ||
10. "Love, Rose": | Absent | 23. "Son-in-Law Dearest": | Absent | ||
11. "'Twas The Nightmare Before Christmas": | Absent | 24. "To Catch a Neighbor": | Absent | ||
12. "The Sisters": | Debut | 25. "A Piece of Cake": | Absent | ||
13. "The Stan Who Came to Dinner": | Absent | 26. "Empty Nests": | Absent |
Trivia[]
- Like Estelle Getty, Nancy Walker was about the same age as Bea Arthur at the time of filming and was heavily made up to look older.
[]
V - E - H The Golden Girls characters
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Main Cast | Blanche Devereaux • Dorothy Zbornak • Rose Nylund • Sophia Petrillo |
Recurring Cast | Miles Webber • Salvadore Petrillo • Stanley Zbornak |
Family members | Alma Lindstrom • Angelo Grisanti, Jr. • Angela Petrillo • Angela Vecchio • Aurora Devereaux • Bridget Nylund • Brother Martin • Charmaine Hollingsworth • Charles Nylund, Sr. • Clayton Hollingsworth • Curtis Hollingsworth • Don Angelo Grisanti, Sr. • Elizabeth Hollingsworth • Gloria Harker • Gunter Lindstrom • Holly Lindstrom • David Blackmore • Jamie Devereaux • Janet Blackmore • Jim Harker • Kate Griffiths • Lucas Hollingsworth • Lucy Warren • Michael Zbornak • Phillip Petrillo • Rebecca Devereaux • Theodore Hollingsworth • Virginia Warren |
References[]
- ↑ Citation needed.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 12, "The Sisters". Lloyd, Christopher (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (January 3rd, 1987)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 19, “Long Day's Journey Into Marinara”. Fanaro, Barry and Nathan, Mort (writers) & Hughes, Terry (director) (February 21st, 1987)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 12, "The Sisters". Lloyd, Christopher (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (January 3rd, 1987)
- ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 12, "The Sisters". Lloyd, Christopher (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (January 3rd, 1987)