Whatever happened to Coco?

Any true Golden Girls fan will remember Coco, the flamboyantly gay cook. We were introduced to him in the pilot, and then he was never seen or heard from again. Whatever happened to Coco?

Coco: An Okay Petunia

Originally, the plan was for Coco to be a regular character on Golden Girls, however when the series was picked up his character was dropped. Why, you ask? What could be better than a smart mouthed gay cook?

Zulu, Queen of the Dwarf People

That's right baby! Sophia had originally been planned as an occasional guest star, however her character did so well with the test audiences that she became a regular character, and having an Italian cook in the house made Coco's role pretty much obsolete. So the girls lost their flaming flambe-er for a deceitful Sicilian Gecko and t.v. history was made.

Can anyone honestly say they missed Coco?