'Gilmore Girls' Casting: Sally Struthers Landed The Role of Babette Partly Because of Her Height
Sally Struthers' short stature helped her land her role in 'Gilmore Girls.' The casting team was looking for a petite actor.
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Sally Struthers spent seven years playing Babette Dell on 'Gilmore Girls.' Her height helped her land the part. Ted Rooney's height helped him land his, too.
by Andrea Francese
Published on January 18, 2025
Sally Struthers has spent decades in Hollywood. Her career started in her early 20s when she first appeared in All in the Family. While her career has taken her in many different directions and landed her in plenty of memorable roles, many fans likely remember her as Babette Dell in Gilmore Girls. Sally Struthers recently revealed that she landed the role of Babette, at least partially, because of her height.
Sally Struthers is petite by most standards. While the famed actor stands just over 5â0, her height never really came up during her early Hollywood career. Being short, however, did help her land the role of Babette Dell in 2000. According to Struthers, who recently appeared on Letâs Talk About That!, a podcast hosted by Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti, her agent informed her that the casting team for Gilmore Girls was looking for a short actor to take on a role on the show. She claims her agent said they wouldnât be seeing anyone over 5â0 for the part.
Lorelai Gilmore and Babette Dell in âGilmore Girls: A Year in the Lifeâ | Netflix
Struthers walked into the audition, albeit an inch taller than the team was looking for, and talked about being petite. Twenty minutes later, she said, she landed the role. From there, the team had to cast the role of her husband, Morey Dell. They already knew they were looking for a very tall actor. They found him.
As Sally Struthers tells it, the Gilmore Girls casting team set their sights on someone âvery tallâ to play the role of Babette Dellâs husband before she was cast. Still, when they cast Struthers in the role of Babette, the team didnât have an actor lined up. They made good on the promise, though. Eventually, they cast Ted Rooney to play Morey Dell, the mysterious and laidback jazz musician. He certainly is tall and absolutely towered over Sally Struthers.
Morey and Babette Dell in âGilmore Girls: A Year in the Lifeâ | Saeed Adyani/Netflix
Rooney, who in a perfect example of how small the world is, was the son of one of Struthersâ teachers, is 6â6. Struthers, at a petite 5â1, was nearly a foot and a half shorter than Rooney. Sally Struthers and Ted Rooneyâs height difference offered an interesting juxtaposition. It also made for several cute storylines and one-off comments.