You might not have heard of Andrew Gold, but you've definitely heard his work.

The singer-songwriter worked with luminaries like Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkel, Celine Dion, James Taylor and Sir Paul McCartney in the '70s, but he was most famous for the iconic tune 'Thank You For Being a Friend,' which was used as the theme song for 'The Golden Girls' during the sitcom's seven-year run.

Gold died Friday of a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 59. You know what this means -- Betty White will truly outlive us all.

After the jump, sing along with us as we honor Gold's life (and amazing contribution to the TV landscape).

'The Golden Girls' celebrates its 25th anniversary today. The show premiered on Sept. 14, 1985 and during its seven-year run, it won two Emmys and three Golden Globes. Its platinum cast (Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty) was also honored, with each lady earning multiple Emmy nominations and at least one win each.

So, in honor of the 'Golden Girls' birthday, we compiled fun facts and clips from the classic NBC sitcom.

Some of the tidbits so startling, you might want to reach for that extra ginkoba (yes, that is George Clooney!).

A host can make or break an entire episode of 'Saturday Night Live.' In fact, the mere presence of some celebrities like Chevy Chase, Milton Berle and Frank Zappa have turned their slice of Saturday late night into the lowest moments of "Must-Miss TV."

However, things are looking good this season. A preliminary list of hosts includes Oscar nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, former 'SNL'er and '30 Rock' star Tina Fey and 'Golden Girl' actress and new found Internet champion Betty White.

However, some pop culture icons, nay legends, will never get to prove their celebrity power by hosting this comedy powerhouse simply because they never got an invitation, the show wasn't around in their time or they physically couldn't go to the studio. These hosts would have made for the best shows if the laws of time and space went on a week-long coffee break.

Veterans of early TV are scarce these days, most being retired or, well, really retired. But after 61 years in the business, the legendary Betty White is enjoying her third or fourth career resurgence -- and told AOL TV she's thrilled to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sandra Bullock at the SAG Awards on Jan. 23.

After doing radio and summer stock back in the 1940s, White's big break came as the "telephone girl" on a live, local Los Angeles show, 'Hollywood on Television,' hosted by popular DJ Al Jarvis. With all honors to Lucille Ball and 'I Love Lucy,' that gig led to the creation of one of the first female-driven sitcoms, 'Life with Elizabeth.' The TV skies were the limit from there.

This is the weirdest thing you'll see all day. A guy painted the women of The Golden Girls on his face, and in this video he...moves his face around while the show's theme song plays in the background. Talented guy actually, he drew it himself.

You will not forget this anytime soon.

[via Kate Aurthur]

So we come to that time of year when we list all of the TV celebrities that have died over the past year. We hear about these people passing away at various points of the year (sometimes a few the same week), but it's really odd to see them all listed together at once like you'll see after the jump.

It's like 40% of pop culture dies every year.

After being in the closet her entire show business career, Rosie O'Donnell seemed to think she had something to prove after coming out. The Queen of Nice, who wooed daytime audiences by blushing about Tom Cruise, got angry and political. She blindsided Tom Selleck about gun control during his appearance on her show and called herself a "d*ke" at an Ovarian Cancer Research benefit. She looked mean.

Her fans were scared. Her career faltered. 'The View' hired her to stir up controversy, but she stirred too hard.

Two years later, after her two ugly departures from daytime TV, it seems Rosie has gained some kind of peace and is focused on entertaining audiences again. Is it going to last? Why should we care? Here are five reasons we think the Rosie we used to know may finally be back to stay.

(S01E04) So it's bad when a comedy makes you want to cry, right? I mean, it's not their fault, I'm sure that when they animated the scene of the Knob Haven High staff sitting around eating cheese cake, Bea Arthur was still alive. But when they played the Golden Girls music, I couldn't help but think that was a much better show.

The whole Golden Girls thing was just many of the random, awkward 80s parodies they did this episode. I liked the cold open where they were initially assigning themselves parts in 80s teen comedies, and the later Huey Lewis payoff was pretty funny, but I need help.

I'm not sure if I missed it, but I did not get the bagel thing. For the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out; and no matter what the show said, it wasn't funnier on re-watch.

The late Bea Arthur was, among other things, a comedic genius, feminist icon, and beloved American actress of stage and screen. But widely overlooked in the recent coverage of her passing is the fact that she was a active advocate for animal rights. She campaigned against the force-feeding of ducks in the foie gras trade, even accompanying the president of PETA to London, where she demanded that Harrod's discontinue their peddling pâté.

And then there were two.

Golden Girls star Bea Arthur died this morning in Los Angeles. She was 86. This is actually a bit of a shock. Not that 86 is young, but she always seemed healthy and spry, even in the last few years, doing her stage show and guest starring on various TV shows and endless specials.

Actually, it's not every season of every show that Norman Lear produced and/or created. That would probably take two UPS trucks to deliver and a spare bedroom to store. But this sounds like an interesting collection nonetheless.

On June 9, Sony will release The Norman Lear Collection, a 19-disc set that will include the first seasons of the shows that Norman Lear did over the years, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Maude, One Day At A Time, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Good Times. The set will include lots of bonus material, including new interviews with people like Rob Reiner and Jimmie Walker, along with the two unseen pilots for All in the Family, Those Were The Days and And Justice For All (in the original pilot, the Bunkers' last name was actually Justice).

Some say the most important job in the world is that of a teacher. And, really, we've all been placed under the tutelage of someone who was literally paid to provide education. But yet, so often, kids find themselves inspired by - and often in worship of - these individuals, young and old alike, who can play an integral role in shaping one's childhood and, some might argue, the rest of their lives.

Of course, that isn't always the case. Teachers can also be awful monsters whom we never forget for their ability to patronize, degrade, or humiliate us, often leaving one wondering if the man or woman in question took the job merely to torture students. This, naturally, can lead a kid to fantasize about how cool it would be to fall under the instruction of one of the following actors who, despite likely not possessing any type of teaching certification in real life, would probably be a blast to spend 40-or-so minutes on a daily basis.

While ABC, NBC, and CBS have historically remained in a cutthroat battle for viewers, each network has shared one common trait: come the season of network promotional campaigns, all actors must be prepared to look absolutely ridiculous.

After the jump ... Remember this pop cultural gem (video below) that gained traction on the Net not too long ago? The sheer oddity of the clip alone forces us to ask ourselves several questions: do these people all live together? Why is Marla Gibbs dressed like an astronaut? Does Bea Arthur do everybody's shoppingl? CAN'T NELL CARTER JUST SIT DOWN AND REST HER FEET FOR A SECOND? (Seriously, give her a break!)

You mean Bea Arthur wasn't already in the TV Academy Hall of Fame before today? Well, actually, that was Bea's choice. In a very Maude-like way, she had turned them down. "I said, `So sorry, very nice of you, but I can't possibly accept. There are so many talented people in the business,'" Arthur recalled.

However, she's had a chance to think it over and when asked again, she agreed to become a Hall of Famer, just like Lucille Ball, Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby.

As I wrote previously, the TV Academy Hall of Fame will expand to include Bea Arthur, Merv Griffin, Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H), Sherwood Schwartz (Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch), and ABC executives Thomas Murphy and Daniel B. Burke. On December 9 in Beverly Hills, the awards will be presented.

Lifetime is going to honor Estelle Getty, who died yesterday at the age of 84, with a marathon of Golden Girls episodes.

The 10 episode marathon will start at noon this Friday with the pilot episode (the Sophia character looked a lot different in the first few episodes, if I remember correctly). The episodes have been picked because they focus on Sophia.

Fans will get a chance to vote on which episode ends the marathon, the episode they think shows Getty and Sophia the best. MyLifetime.com has narrowed down it down to five episodes: "It's A Miserable Life," "Sisters," "Old Friends," "My Brother, My Father," and "Old Boyfriends." And if you don't know the plots by the episode titles (you'd have to be a Golden Girls fanatic for that), the site gives you a quick synopsis of each one.