In Memory of Actress Charlotte Rae (From TV's 'The Facts of Life'): Six Years After Her Tragic Death

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It's been six years since actress/comedian Charlotte Rae died at 92 in Los Angeles. A beloved presence on the stage and screen, Rae was best known as the guiding force and dear housemother on TV's groundbreaking sitcom, The Facts of Life (NBC, 1979 to 1988). This is her story.

A Closer Look

Charlotte Rae Lubotsky was born on April 22, 1926, in Milwaukee, where she commenced her career in radio and at the Wauwatosa Children’s Theatre.

She attended Northwestern University, where she roomed with Cloris Leachman, who would later replace her on The Facts of Life, and befriended Paul Lynde, who found fame on stage and film with Bye Bye Birdie, and on TV's Bewitched and Hollywood Squares.

In the early 1960s, Rae began performing standup comedy in the New York cabaret circuit. She also starred in TV shows like Car 54, Where Are You?, made other small and big screen appearances, and worked extensively on Broadway, in Shakespeare in the Park, and in summer stock.

By the 1970s, she was seen on children's shows such as Sesame Street and had a recurring role for more mature audiences in the trailblazing series, Hot L Baltimore.

Then Came Mrs. Garrett

In 1978, Charlotte Rae was then cast as wealthy-family housekeeper Mrs. Edna Garrett to characters played by Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato on the TV sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes. The Tony and Emmy nominated actress proved so popular, she was given her own spin-off series, The Facts of Life.

In the new series, Mrs. Garrett was now a housemother, dietitian, and compassionate guide at the Eastland School for teenage girls. In the process, Rae shared her true-to-life personal challenges with the writers for the show to help ground the series in reality.

But Then She Left

After years of playing the same role, Charlotte Rae left The Facts of Life. In a two-part episode that opened the show's 8th season, Mrs. Garrett reconnected with Bruce Gaines (Robert Mandan), an old love from her days with the Peace Corps. They wed and went to Africa to continue their humanitarian endeavors.

At that point, the Oscar and Emmy-winning Cloris Leachman was cast as Mrs. Garrett’s sister, Beverly Anne Stickle.

In an interview from 1986 with The Orlando Sentinel, via Newspapers.com, Rae explained her exit from The Facts of Life as such:

“Sometimes it’s just time to move on. The show is wonderfully popular and the public loves all the characters, but I just felt I had done all that I could do with Mrs. Garrett. It’s just like Jean Stapleton deciding to leave the role of Edith Bunker when she did. I felt I had investigated every nook and cranny, and for my own stimulation as an actress, it was important for me to move on.”

After Life

Following her departure from The Facts of Life, Charlotte Rae made guest appearances on television programs such as ER, Pretty Little Liars, Sisters, and The King of Queens. She also was seen and heard on the big screen in feature films like Don’t Mess with the Zohan and Tom and Jerry: The Movie.

Rae's swan song was her vocal performance of Nanny in the animated small screen venture 101 Dalmations: The Series.

From 1951 to 1976, Rae in real life was married to composer John Strauss, and they had two sons: Andy and Larry, the latter with whom she penned her memoir The Facts of My Life.