'Golden Girls' Writer Remembers Early Axed Gay Housekeeper Character

Do you remember the gay housekeeper in "The Golden Girls"? Most fans of the show might not but writer Stan Zimmerman sure does.

In his new book, "The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore," the screenwriter recounts his expansive career in TV, film and theater and dishes on some of the behind-the-scenes secrets and stories. And in an interview with People, Zimmerman referred to the "Golden Girls" leading ladies Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as "magic in a bottle."

"Those four women were the best of the best and there was just something special about them," he said. "I'm so glad the producers saw that's where the heart of the show was."

This meant that there wasn't room for the initial gay housekeeper, Coco.

"As great as Coco was – and he was very funny, and I love that there was a gay character – it wasn't really needed, and they were smart to let that go," Zimmerman said. "I wish they had dealt with it, or had him back for a special episode...maybe he fell in love, went somewhere. Maybe he opened a B&B in Key West. I don't know. There's so many possibilities."

Ultimately, the decision was made to simply move on without the character with no explanation.

"I remember bringing that up, but they felt, at the time, 'Let it go, move forward,'" he says. "I don't think they realized that we'd be talking about the show 30, 40 years later and picking it apart."

Yet here we are.