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The Golden Girls article
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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. |
Michael Zbornak is a recurring character in the 1985 NBC sitcom The Golden Girls. He is the son of Dorothy and Stanley Zbornak, the younger brother of Kate Griffiths, and the grandson of Sophia and Salvadore Petrillo, as well as Yolanda Zbornak.
Michael appeared in three episodes of The Golden Girls. He was portrayed by Scott Jacoby.
Personality and Traits[]
Michael is shown to very laid back and rebellious because how he refused to wear a tie when his boss ordered everybody else too. Dorothy mention Michael being a little “flighty” because he tends to travel around the world to “find himself”. However, this may be because Dorothy somewhat spoiled Michael and didn't seem too strict with him.
Like his father Stanley, Michael is very flaky and tends to run to Dorothy whenever he has a problem. This was highlighted in "All That Jazz", wherein Michael moved in with Dorothy after Lorraine kicked him out and mooched off of her for two weeks. After Dorothy kicked him out, he moved in with Stanley and did the exact same thing.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Michael was born to Dorothy and Stanley Zbornak in Brooklyn, New York, some time after their daughter Kate was born. Michael had always been musically inclined, as Sophia said that some people picked on him because he was not only the most talented, but he was the only white boy in Brooklyn who could scat.[1]
Adulthood[]
In 1983, Stanley had a one-night stand with an airline stewardess and ran away with her to Maui. He sent Dorothy a divorce through the mail, and Dorothy ended up getting Michael, his sister, and the family house in the divorce.[2]
In "Family Affair", Michael drops by unannounced at the same time Rose's daughter Bridget is visiting. Michael has left his job, and his lackadaisical attitude worries Dorothy. Michael and Bridget seem to clash, initially, as Michael's laid-back demeanor conflicts with Bridget's focus on her studies and desire for travel; however, Blanche sends the two out on a date, and they are discovered in bed together by Dorothy, Rose and Sophia.[1]
In the episode My Brother, My Father, Dorothy mentions that Michael has joined the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.[3]
Marriage and Divorce[]
In the time between "Family Affair" and "Mixed Blessings", a woman named Lorraine Wagner began to sing with Michael's band.
In the episode Mixed Blessings, Michael visits announces that he is engaged to Lorraine Wagner, who is black. Dorothy is accepting about Lorraine's race, but when she meets Lorraine and discovers her to be 21 years older than her son, Dorothy is upset. Ironically, Lorraine's family is upset that Lorraine is marrying a white man, but not that he is younger. The episode ends with Lorraine announcing she is pregnant, and Michael and Lorraine marrying.
In the episode All That Jazz, Michael announces that Lorraine has thrown him out of the house, and the relationship is over. Michael stays with the Girls, and Dorothy caters to him, taking care of his laundry, cooking and cleaning up after him, while he seems disinterested in finding work. Blanche tells Dorothy that he needs to take care of himself, and Dorothy suggests to Michael that he should find his own place. He gets upset and moves in with Stan. However, this doesn't last long, and the episode ends with Michael having found a new job, leaving town to take advantage of the opportunity.
Relationships[]
Dorothy Zbornak[]
Michael's mother. In a manner similar to his father, Michael tended to rely on Dorothy for support whenever he leaves a job and has nowhere to stay. Anytime that Dorothy tries to get him to be more responsible, he will become angry and make her feel guilty to the point she continues to support him. However, he does love hus mother.
Stanley Zbornak[]
According to Stanley, they may not have spent much bonding time together. As adults, the two are very much alike in that they are slackers and tend to depend on Dorothy to save them.
Sophia Petrillo[]
To be added.
Lorraine Wagner-Zbornak[]
To be added.
Yolanda Zbornak[]
To be added.
Bridget Nylund[]
To be added.
Rose Nylund[]
Rose was friendly and polite toward Michael when she first met him. Then she became antagonistic towards Michael after he and Bridget slept together and insulted him to his mother after the fact, claiming that he wasn't good enough for Bridget and calling him a loser.[1]But after making up with his mother, she forgives Michael.
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 |
| Cousin Apollonia |
| Cousin Graziella | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances[]
The Golden Girls (1985 - 1992)[]
Season 1
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| 1. "The Engagement": | Absent | 13. "A Little Romance": | Absent | ||
| 2. "Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding": | Absent | 14. "That Was No Lady": | Absent | ||
| 3. "Rose the Prude": | Absent | 15. "In a Bed of Rose's": | Absent | ||
| 4. "Transplant": | Absent | 16."The Truth Will Out": | Absent | ||
| 5. "The Triangle": | Absent | 17. "Nice and Easy": | Absent | ||
| 6. "On Golden Girls": | Absent | 18. "The Operation": | Absent | ||
| 7. "The Competition": | Absent | 19. "Second Motherhood": | Absent | ||
| 8. "Break-In": | Absent | 20. "Adult Education": | Mentioned | ||
| 9. "Blanche and the Younger Man": | Absent | 21. "The Flu": | Absent | ||
| 10. "The Heart Attack": | Absent | 22. "Job Hunting": | Absent | ||
| 11. "The Return of Dorothy's Ex": | Absent | 23. "Blind Ambitions": | Absent | ||
| 12. "The Custody Battle": | Absent | 24. "Big Daddy": | Absent | ||
| 25. "The Way We Met": | 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": | Absent | ||
| 7. "Family Affair": | Debut | 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": | Absent | 25. "A Piece of Cake": | Absent | ||
| 13. "The Stan Who Came to Dinner": | Absent | 26. "Empty Nests": | Absent | ||
Season 3
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| 1. "Old Friends": | Absent | 14. "Blanche's Little Girl": | Absent | ||
| 2. "One for the Money": | Mentioned | 15. "Dorothy's New Friend": | Absent | ||
| 3. "Bringing Up Baby": | Absent | 16."Grab That Dough": | Absent | ||
| 4. "The Housekeeper": | Absent | 17. "My Brother, My Father": | Mentioned | ||
| 5. "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself": | Absent | 18. "Golden Moments, Part 1": | Absent | ||
| 6. "Letter to Gorbachev": | Absent | 19. "Golden Moments, Part 2": | Absent | ||
| 7. "Strange Bedfellows": | Absent | 20. "And Ma Makes Three": | Absent | ||
| 8. "Brotherly Love": | Absent | 21. "Larceny and Old Lace": | Absent | ||
| 9. "A Visit from Little Sven": | Absent | 22. "Rose's Big Adventure": | Absent | ||
| 10. "The Audit": | Absent | 23. "Mixed Blessings": | Appears | ||
| 11. "Three on a Couch": | Absent | 24. "Mister Terrific": | Absent | ||
| 12. "Charlie's Buddy": | Absent | 25. "Mother's Day": | Mentioned | ||
| 13. "The Artist": | Absent | ||||
Season 5
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| 1. "Sick and Tired, Part 1": | Absent | 14. "Mary Has a Little Lamb": | Absent | ||
| 2. "Sick and Tired, Part 2": | Absent | 15. "Triple Play": | Absent | ||
| 3. "The Accurate Conception": | Absent | 16."Clinton Avenue Memoirs": | Absent | ||
| 4. "Rose Fights Back": | Absent | 17. "Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-Tom": | Absent | ||
| 5. "Love Under the Big Top": | Absent | 18. "An Illegitimate Concern": | Absent | ||
| 6. "Dancing in the Dark": | Absent | 19. "72 Hours": | Absent | ||
| 7. "Not Another Monday": | Absent | 20. "Twice In a Lifetime": | Absent | ||
| 8. "That Old Feeling": | Absent | 21. "Sisters and Other Strangers": | Absent | ||
| 9. "Comedy of Errors": | Absent | 22. "Cheaters": | Absent | ||
| 10. "All That Jazz": | Appears | 23. "The Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding Present": | Absent | ||
| 11. "Ebb Tide": | Absent | 24. "All Bets Are Off": | Absent | ||
| 12. "Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas": | Absent | 25/26. "The President's Coming! The President's Coming!, Part 1": | Absent | ||
| 13. "Blind Date": | Absent | 26. "The President's Coming! The President's Coming!, Part 2": | Absent | ||
Trivia[]
- Michael's age is a matter of inconsistency throughout the series. Dorothy states he's twenty-nine in his first appearance in "Family Affair." In "Mixed Blessings", Dorothy states he is twenty-three. If Michael's parents were married for thirty-eight years before they divorced, he should be in his mid-to-late thirties, unless Kate is significantly older than him.
- In “All Bets Are Off” it revealed that he used to play in his school baseball team which Dorothy bet against (by giving their star pitcher detention).
[]
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 7, "Family Affair". Hervey, Winifred (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (November 22nd, 1986)
- ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 1, Episode 20, “Adult Education”. Berg, James and Zimmerman, Stan (writers) & Shea, Jack (director) (February 22nd, 1986)
- ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 3, Episode 17, “My Brother, My Father”. Fanaro, Barry and Nathan, Mort (writers) & Hughes, Terry (director) (February 6th, 1988)