HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Betty White is mourning the loss of her beloved Golden Girls costar Rue McClanahan, who died early Thursday at age 76.
"Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship," the 88-year-old actress said in a statement. "It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that's even possible."
White is now the last living Golden Girl, following the deaths of fellow costars Bea Arthur last year at age 86 and Estelle Getty in 2008 at age 84.
McClanahan, who played man-happy Blanche Devereaux on the popular '80s sitcom, passed away Thursday at 1 a.m. from a massive stroke.
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, whose first big break came as a Golden Girls writer, also expressed his sorrow.
"When I worked on The Golden Girls, my favorite character to write for was Blanche Devereaux," he said in a statement. "In the hands of lesser actresses Blanche's vanity and sexual appetite would have been off-putting. But in Rue's brilliant hands, that character became one of the most beloved in the history of T.V. Rue's kindness, generosity and enormous talent will be sorely missed."
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