Charlotte Rae

Charlotte Rae only stayed on good terms with Lisa Whelchel, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields after The Facts of Life (1979) ended. During the series, however, she felt the girls were "politely distant" with her. It took her nearly ten years to learn why: McKeon said the girls saw her as a boss rather than a colleague. In reality, Charlotte was a hired worker like them and had nothing to do with the network and producers' decision to fire six cast members in the first season. Nancy later asked Charlotte to appear as a guest star in the Burning Bed (1995) episode of her show Can't Hurry Love (1995), and she accepted.

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While researching a girls' school and preparing the cast for the TV series The Facts of Life (1979), Rae discovered young Mindy Cohn. Rae was instrumental in getting the young student Cohn cast in the show.

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She composed the theme song for season 1 of The Facts of Life (1979).

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Rae's older son Andy was autistic. Since his infancy she knew something was wrong and kept taking him to doctors, who told her there was nothing to worry about. Finally, a doctor who diagnosed mental disability in childhood told her that her son was autistic. She thought he said "artistic" and was relieved. She later wrote down the word "autistic" and explained to Andy his condition and that if he did not improve by the age of six he would have to be hospitalized. She was devastated. But she and her husband helped Andy as much as they could, and when he grew up he had a girlfriend, Rhonda, who faced difficulties like his but was more functional than he was. Her mother Edna was warm, affectionate and wise, and she and Charlotte quickly became friends. When it came time to name Mrs. Garrett on The Facts of Life (1979), she insisted to the writers that the character be named Edna because she wanted her character to have the same qualities. When she told the real Edna about this, she was very proud and honored. Andy died in 1999, before both of his parents.

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She left The Facts of Life (1979) at the start of the eighth season because she felt her character was repeating itself. After she tried to reduce her role, the producers and NBC opposed her decision to leave, so Cloris Leachman was brought in to replace her and stayed with the series until it was cancelled in 1988.

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She enjoyed playing golf, dancing, eating, collecting photo albums, spending time with her family, listening to opera, working with disabled people (especially her son), singing and sewing.

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Before becoming a successful actress, Rae worked in radio and television in Chicago. After a radio man told her that her surname would not be sufficient, she dropped Lubotsky as her professional surname. Her father was briefly a little angry about it but accepted her decision.

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She played the same character (Edna Garrett) in three different series: Diff'rent Strokes (1978), The Facts of Life (1979) and Hello, Larry (1979).

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She created the character Natalie Green for future The Facts of Life (1979) star Mindy Cohn; the name comes from one of Charlotte's best friends in high school.

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She worked on The Facts of Life (1979) with George Clooney, Helen Hunt and Molly Ringwald before they went on to successful film careers.

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Her ex-husband John Strauss served as the music composer on Car 54, Where Are You? (1961), in which she co-starred.

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In 2011 she celebrated her 85th birthday with the rest of the The Facts of Life (1979) cast at the TV Land Awards. That day, her former co-stars Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields each gave speeches in honor of her birthday.

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She attended the 100th birthday of her friend, the famous actor Norman Lloyd, on November 9, 2014 in Los Angeles.

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She missed a large number of episodes of The Facts of Life (1979) in the middle of the sixth and seventh seasons due to serious health problems.

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When the actor/comedian died in 1982, she attended the funeral of her lifelong friend and former classmate Paul Lynde. Rae had also appeared as a guest star alongside Lynde on both of their programs: The Paul Lynde Show (1972) and The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965).

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On The Facts of Life (1979) she named the character Andy Moffett (played by Mackenzie Astin) after her real-life autistic son Andy.

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Her pancreatic cancer diagnosis was made early because she was screened. She was the only person in her family to be diagnosed with this almost always fatal disease and to be successfully treated with surgery and chemotherapy. After her older sister Beverly died of the disease, she was asked to return to Milwaukee to share her family's story on a local awareness program. Following her own diagnosis, she joined the Pan Can Action Network and Aurora Healthcare to encourage people to learn about pancreatic cancer risk factors and especially the importance of detailed testing for those with a family history of pancreatic cancer.

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Rae took the role of Edna Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes (1978) because Norman Lear had been a friend of hers for years. This led her to star in The Facts of Life (1979) a year later, and she stayed with the series from 1979 to 1986. She was 53 years old when The Facts of Life (1979) began.

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She appeared in "Pippin" at the New Jersey Paper Mill Playhouse.

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In the 1970s, Charlotte Rae was a spokesperson for Mr. Muscle oven cleaner and Charmin toilet paper.

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Her popularity on Diff'rent Strokes (1978) led her to make the spin-off The Facts of Life (1979), in which she played the lead character Edna Garrett.

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On February 21, 2011, she attended the 90th birthday party of her longtime friend Carol Channing.

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She met Norman Lear during an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).

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She knew Jeffrey Hunter from his work in local theater when he was young.

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She met Shirley Jones during an episode of The Partridge Family (1970). The two began a friendship that lasted a lifetime.

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After a radio man told her that her surname would not be sufficient, she dropped Lubotsky as her professional surname. Her father was briefly a little angry about it but accepted her decision.

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After Vanguard Records went bankrupt, she looked into the company's recording rights and in the 1970s bought the Rae album back for $5,000.

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On April 27, 2017, only 5 days after her 91st birthday, Rae was diagnosed with bone cancer, and she died on August 5, 2018, at the age of 92, a week before the death of singer Aretha Franklin. She was survived by her son, three grandchildren and her younger sister Mimi, who lives in Dallas.

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She was inspired by Gloria Steinem.

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She was a longtime friend of the late Charles Nelson Reilly. Both appeared as guest stars in the 2-part episode of The Love Boat (1977).

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She was nominated twice for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1966 for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for "Pickwick" (based on Charles Dickens's work) and in 1969 for Best Actress (Dramatic) for "Morning, Noon, and Night".

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Before becoming a successful actress, she worked alongside singers she did not know at nearly every nightclub in New York City.

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In 1955, she released her only album, "Songs I Taught My Mother," which was reissued in 2006.

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Rae was cremated. Her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Point Dume State Beach.

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She created the character "Beverly Ann Stickle" for future The Facts of Life (1979) co-star Cloris Leachman, naming her after Rae's sister, an opera singer. Rae and Leachman (who was only 8 days younger than her) attended Northwestern University at the same time.

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She created the role of Mammy Yokum in the Broadway musical "Lil' Abner".

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In 2009, she was diagnosed with a cyst on her pancreas. By the time she was operated on in 2010, the cyst had grown. She later underwent chemotherapy.

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Rae contributed every year to the Saban Clinic in Los Angeles, where she had been discovered by Bernie and Mimi West. The clinic opened in 1967 as the Los Angeles Free Clinic. In 2008, Cheryl and Haim Saban donated 10 million dollars and the clinic was renamed.

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She attended the James Stewart Centennial Award at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by Robert Wagner. Attendees included Shirley Jones, Ann Rutherford, Cora Sue Collins and Stewart's daughter Kelly Stewart. [12 June 2008].

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Every summer while she was at university, she also worked in summer stock.

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At the age of 16, she worked as an apprentice at the Port Players, a professional theater company that came to Milwaukee for the summer, alongside many well-known actors.

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As a young girl, she acted at the Wauwatosa Children's Theater and performed on radio.

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At one point she wanted to be a dramatic actress, but she eventually became a comedian through her stand-up comedy routines.

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After a long stage career, she moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1974 to become an actress.

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She attended the 40th Anniversary Reunion of The Waltons (1972).

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She traveled back and forth from New York to Los Angeles every Friday to tape Car 54, Where Are You? (1961).

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Rae's character Edna Garrett on The Facts of Life (1979) was born on a farm in Wisconsin, like Rae. Garrett was also a Democrat, like Rae.

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She was a fan of both series: Law & Order (1990) and Masterpiece (1971).

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In 1987, she was the spokesperson for a public service message for Helen Keller International.

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She was the narrator and singer for the children's book series Wally Kola. The music for the book, written by Toni Mazzola, Mimi's long-time music partner, was composed by her sister Mimi Guten.

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Before appearing in Diff'rent Strokes (1978) and The Facts of Life (1979), she guest-starred and starred in several of Norman Lear's programs.

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Marilyn Maye sang her a birthday song on her 87th birthday.

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She was a university classmate and a long-time friend of Sheldon Harnick.

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John La Touche was said to be a fan of hers. Before Rae sang, she wrote opera songs together with her ex-husband John Strauss.

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Rae met her future husband John Strauss while recording an album titled 'Songs I Taught My Mother.' At the time, Strauss served as music director on the project, managed the group, and worked on the recording and the arrangement of the music.

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Before the role went to Pat Carroll, she was initially considered to voice Ursula in the Disney film The Little Mermaid.

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After marrying film music composer John Leonard Strauss, Charlotte Rae bought a house at 201-15 119th Avenue in St Albans, Queens, New York.

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Before becoming a successful actress, Charlotte Rae worked in radio and television in Chicago.

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Charlotte Rae attended James Stewart's centennial tribute at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by Robert Wagner. Among those present were Ann Rutherford, Shirley Jones, Cora Sue Collins and Stewart's daughter Kelly Stewart.

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Charlotte Rae is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

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