Monday, August 06, 2018

Charlotte Rae Passed Away!

Charlotte Rae passed away.
Overnight, I heard that actress Charlotte Rae passed away. If you're a fan of the 1970-80s shows Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life, you will remember her as Mrs. Garrett.

The actress passed away at the age of 92. She was diagnosis with cancer.

Her former cast share their condolences.





Born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky on April 22, 1926, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was an actress, comedian, musician and producer. Her parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Esther (née Ottenstein) and Meyer Lubotsky, a retail tire business owner.

She began acting at an early age.

During her time at Northwestern University, she met actress Cloris Leachman. Leachman would end up finishing up The Facts of Life in its final seasons.

Northwestern she met several then unknown stars and producers, including Agnes Nixon, Charlton Heston, Paul Lynde, Gerald Freedman, Claude Akins and songwriter Sheldon Harnick. In a 2016 interview with Milwaukee Talks, she said about her decision in appearing in only dramatic television: "When I started out, I wanted to be a serious actor, I never thought I'd get into comedy."

She went on to become known as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the housekeeper for the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. During it's first four seasons, she was a mentor to the Drummond family (Phillip, Kimberly, Willis and Arnold) The characters were played by the late Conrad Bain, Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. Todd Bridges is the only surviving member of the show.

In the fourth season of Diff'rent Strokes, Rae would eventually land the role as headmaster of the Eastland School in the spin-off, The Facts of Life.

She would star in the show during the seven seasons. She along with Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie), Mindy Cohn (Natalie) and Nancy McKeon (Jo) would become a fixture of NBC.

Rae also played in Car 54, Where Are You?

She passed away peacefully at her home in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. She leaves behind two sons. Her husband is John Strauss who she married in 1951. She would divorce him after he came out as bisexual.

Her sons Larry and Andrew confirm the news to the junk food media.

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails