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Quentin Tarantino says he owes his career to the “Golden Girls”

Quentin Tarantino at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony at the Hollywood Blvd on December 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA
Quentin Tarantino at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony at the Hollywood Blvd on December 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA Photo: Shutterstock

Director Quentin Tarantino credits the hit sitcom “The Golden Girls” with pushing him to stardom – “sorta, kinda.”

Tarantino had a tiny role as an Elvis impersonator in a two-part series. He told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” that he was not a popular actor but the role was “one of the jobs I did get — and not because I did a wonderful audition, but simply because they sent my picture in and they said, ‘He’s got it’.”

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The 1988 episode expanded to be a two-part event, landing it in a “Best of the Golden Girls” collection.

The episode centered on Sophia’s marriage to Max. Actress Estelle Getty played the role of Sophia, the loud-mouthed matriarch of the clan of elderly women living together in Miami. Tarantino was part of a lineup of Elvis impersonators who serenade the couple.

The director told Fallon he made about $650 for the work, but when the show turned into a two-part episode instead of a one-off, his pay was doubled. After the show made it to the rerun collection, the residual payments kept coming in.

“But by the time the residuals were over three years later, I made like $3,000,” he told Fallon. “And that kept me going during our pre-production time trying to get ‘Reservoir Dogs’ going.”

Tarantino went on to make the hit movies “Pulp Fiction” and the “Kill Bill” series.

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