Michael Zbornak

The Golden Girls article

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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.”

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. Michael met a

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[]

To be added.

Stanley Zbornak[]

To be added.

Sophia Petrillo[]

To be added.

Lorraine Wagner[]

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[]

Mr. Petrillo †

Mrs. Petrillo †

Don Angelo Grisanti, Sr. †

Eleanor †

Uncle Nunzio †

Aunt Teresa †

Aunt Renata

Uncle Bruno †

Uncle Vito

Uncle Gino †

Salvadore Petrillo †

Sophia Petrillo

Regina Grisanti

Angela Vecchio

Carmine Vecchio †

Angelo Grisanti, Jr.

Philomena Grisanti †

Uncle Mario †

Stanley Zbornak

Dorothy Zbornak

Gloria Harker

Mr. Harker

Phillip Petrillo †

Angela Petrillo

Cousin Apollonia

Cousin Graziella

Dennis Griffiths

Kate Griffiths

Michael Zbornak

Lorraine Wagner

Katherine Harker

Jim Harker

Harvey Petrillo

Five sons

Four daughters

										Robby Zbornak

Appearances[]

The Golden Girls (1985 - 1992)[]

Season 1
1. "The Engagement":	Absent	14. "That Was No Lady":	Absent
2. "Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding":	Absent	15. "In a Bed of Rose's":	Absent
3. "Rose the Prude":	Absent	16."The Truth Will Out":	Absent
4. "Transplant":	Absent	17. "Nice and Easy":	Absent
5. "The Triangle":	Absent	18. "The Operation":	Absent
6. "On Golden Girls":	Absent	19. "Second Motherhood":	Absent
7. "The Competition":	Absent	20. "Adult Education":	Mentioned
8. "Break-In":	Absent	21. "The Flu":	Absent
9. "Blanche and the Younger Man":	Absent	22. "Job Hunting":	Absent
10. "The Heart Attack":	Absent	23. "Blind Ambitions":	Absent
11. "The Return of Dorothy's Ex":	Absent	24. "Big Daddy":	Absent
12. "The Custody Battle":	Absent	25. "The Way We Met":	Absent
13. "A Little Romance":	Absent

Season 2
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
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
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).

Site Navigation[]

V - E - H The Golden Girls characters
Main Cast	Blanche Devereaux • Dorothy Zbornak • Rose Nylund • Sophia Petrillo
Recurring Cast	Miles Webber • Salvadore Petrillo • Stanley Zbornak
Family members	Alma Lindstrom • Angelo Grisanti, Jr. • Angela Petrillo • Angela Vecchio • Aurora Devereaux • Bridget Nylund • Brother Martin • Charmaine Hollingsworth • Charles Nylund, Sr. • Clayton Hollingsworth • Curtis Hollingsworth • Don Angelo Grisanti, Sr. • Elizabeth Hollingsworth • Gloria Harker • Gunter Lindstrom • Holly Lindstrom • David Blackmore • Jamie Devereaux • Janet Blackmore • Jim Harker • Kate Griffiths • Lucas Hollingsworth • Lucy Warren • Michael Zbornak • Phillip Petrillo • Rebecca Devereaux • Theodore Hollingsworth • Virginia Warren

References[]