The world became a little less golden today when it was announced that Rue McClanahan, 76, has died. Betty White, the oldest of the group, is now the last living Golden Girl.

To bid a proper good-bye to McClanahan, who was on television for four decades, two TV networks are already planning special marathon events. WeTV will host a Friday night marathon featuring some of Blanche Devereaux’s (Rue’s) best Golden Girls moments. Episodes of McClanahan’s last series, Sordid Lives, will air on Sunday on the Logo Network.

In the wake of the sad news, fans aren’t the only ones who are remembering Rue McClanahan’s contribution to the entertainment industry. Vicki Lawrence, who played McClanahan’s sister on Mama’s Family, said Rue was “an actor’s actor” and a “a consummate professional.”

“It was my good fortune to get to work with her on the first season and a half of Mama’s Family. When she got stolen away…to do Golden Girls, I cried,” Lawrence, who played Mama, stated. Betty White, McClanahan’s Golden co-star, also appeared on the series as Mama’s daughter Ellen.

The former executive producer of The Golden Girls, Paul Junger Witt, also released a statement:

“When a series is on as long as we were, with the same unit of people who have worked together for seven to eight years, you do become a family. A loss becomes very personal. It’s a very sad day. When shows come to an end, that’s a period of mourning. But to lose the ladies that we have — we still have Betty [White], thank God, who’s a treasure. But it’s a real loss. The afterlife of the show has been so extraordinary. Women are still visiting [the Golden Girls] in their living rooms all over the world. Watching the four of those ladies work was certainly the highlight of those years. Every day to get to watch these four consummate performers, there’s nothing like it. She was an intuitively funny person. She was a force of joy for all of us. And we miss her already.”

“I have fond memories of working with Rue [McClanahan] on Broadway in the ’60s, and I am saddened by her passing. My thoughts are with her family and friends,” said Dustin Hoffman, who worked with McClanahan in the Broadway production Jimmy Shine.

Other celebs, those who knew Rue and those who knew her only through her work, have taken to Twitter to sound off as well. The Golden Girls ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992. It has been in syndication since 1987.

Click here to see Entertainment Tonight‘s photo tribute to TV’s sexiest Golden Girl.