Charlotte Rae
(born April 22, 1926) is an American character actress, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes
and The Facts of Life
(in which she starred from 1978 to 1986). She received a Best Actress Emmy Nomination in a Comedy in 1982. She also appeared in two Facts of Life
television movies: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
in 1982 and The Facts of Life Reunion
in 2001. She also provided the voice of Nanny in the cartoon 101 Dalmatians: The Series
.
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CHARLOTTE RAE TICKETS
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Biography
She was born
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky
in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to
Russian
Jewish immigrants Esther (
née Ottenstein), who was a childhood friend of
Golda Meir, and Meyer Lubotsky, a retail tire business owner.
[1] [2] She had two sisters (Miriam, a pianist, writer, and composer, and Beverly, a opera singer), and graduated from
Shorewood High School in
1944.
[3] Her family lived in Milwaukee, during Charlotte's first 10 years of her life. In an 2002 interview, Charlotte said she was interested in acting as a little girl. She did a lot of radio work and was with the Wauwatosa Children's Theatre. At 16, she was an apprentice with the Port Players, a professional theater company that came for the summer to Milwaukee, with several established actors like Morton DaCosta, who was the director of the Music Man on Broadway. When Charlotte was 10, her family moved to
Shorewood, Wisconsin, where she was raised. She also said that she had great teachers in high school that had a beautiful campus. Rae attended but did not complete her studies at
Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois.
When a radio personality told her last name wouldn't do, she dropped her last name
Lubotsky
and changed it to
Rae
, her middle name, becoming
Charlotte Rae
.
From there, she moved to
New York City in
1948, where she performed a lot of stage and theater. She lived there until
1974.
Personal life
She was married to composer John Strauss on November 4, 1951, with whom she had two sons, and was divorced in 1976. She has three grandchildren. One of her sons is autistic.
In
1998, Rae's oldest sister, Beverly, an opera singer, died of pancreatic cancer.
Popular stage actress and singer
A stage actress since the 1950s, she appeared in
Three Wishes for Jamie
,
The Threepenny Opera
with
Bea Arthur,
Li'l Abner
, and
Pickwick
. In 1955 she released her first (and only) solo album,
Songs I Taught My Mother
, which featured "silly, sinful, and satirical" songs by (among others)
Sheldon Harnick,
Vernon Duke,
John La Touche,
Cole Porter,
Rodgers & Hart, and
Marc Blitzstein (who wrote the song "Modest Maid" especially for Rae). The album was issued on CD in 2006 by
PS Classics. Also in the 1950s, Rae made several acclaimed appearances on the
Ed Sullivan Show.
She appeared in
Ben Bagley's
revue The Littlest Revue
(and on its cast album) in
1956, appearing alongside the likes of
Joel Grey and
Tammy Grimes and singing songs by
Sheldon Harnick ("The Shape of Things"),
Vernon Duke ("Summer is a-Comin' In"), and
Charles Strouse &
Lee Adams ("Spring Doth Let Her Colours Fly," a parody of
opera singer Helen Traubel's
Las Vegas night club act), among others. Rae also later appeared on Bagley's studio recording
Rodgers & Hart Revisited
with
Dorothy Loudon,
Cy Young, and
Arthur Siegel, singing "Everybody Loves You (When You're Asleep)" and in several other duets and ensembles.
Popular character actress
Since
1954, Rae became a top-notched
character actress making her debut on an episode of
Look Up and Live
. This part led to other role such as:
The United States Steel Hour
,
Armstrong Circle Theatre
,
Kraft Television Theatre
,
NBC Television Opera Theatre
,
The Philco Television Playhouse
,
The DuPont Show of the Week
,
The Phil Silvers Show
,
Way Out
,
The Defenders
,
Temperatures Rising
,
The Love Boat
,
The Partridge Family
,
Love, American Style
,
McMillan & Wife
,
Barney Miller
,
227
,
Murder, She Wrote
,
St. Elsewhere
,
Diagnosis Murder
, among many others. She also guest-starred in Norman Lear's,
All in the Family
and
Good Times
.
TV roles
Her first significant success was in the sitcom
Car 54, Where Are You?
(1961–1963) as Sylvia Schnauser, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauser (played by
Al Lewis). She was nominated for an
Emmy Award for her supporting role in the 1975 drama
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
. In January, 1975, Rae was a cast member in the
ABC television comedy
Hot l Baltimore, where she played the Mrs. Bellotti, the mother of Moose, who was her adult son who lived at the hotel. Moose was an eccentric Vietnam vet who was never actually seen on the show - Mrs. Bellotti would visit Moose and then laugh about all the odd situations that Moose would get into with the others living at the hotel - Moose's mother was a bit odd herself. Rae appeared in early seasons of
Sesame Street
as Molly the Mail Lady. In 1964, she appeared in a commercial for Oil Heat. In the commercial, she was taking a shower, while telling people how wonderful Oil Heat was. At the end of the commercial, the announcer asked her if she knew she was on television, and she responded in her usual "trying to be sexy" voice, "Yes, I know!", then giggling softly afterward.
Diff'rent Strokes
& The Facts of Life
Beginning in
1978,
Fred Silverman, future producer and former head of
CBS,
ABC and
NBC, insisted that
Norman Lear would produced
Diff'rent Strokes
, because both networks (with the exception of NBC), whose sitcoms were winning in the ratings. At the same time, Silverman knew NBC must have a good comedy, hence, Lear hired Rae immediately for the role of housemother
Edna Garrett, because she was one of Norman's favorite women. After Rae got the call, she co-starred in
Diff'rent Strokes
, opposite
Conrad Bain, and appeared in all 24 episodes of the first season. Her character proved to be so popular that producers decided to do an episode which will spin-off. On an episode called
The Girls School
, this episode was about the girls who attend a private school,
Eastland, the same school where Kimberly [played by the late
Dana Plato goes to school. After the last episode of
Strokes
, Rae went to the heads of
NBC in July
1979, with a potential offer for a brand new sitcom that would
spin-off. Hence,
The Facts of Life
, was born. The program focused on a housemother, residing with three young ladies, in a prestigious private school. Charlotte took the risk of starring in a
successful TV series. During its first season, it wasn't an immediate hit, and was also on the brink of facing cancellation, as well. However, thanks to good ratings and a new timeslot, the show became a ratings winner between
1980 and
1986, making it one of the longest-running
NBC sitcoms ever. In addition, her show focused on a lot of issues that were dealt with for most of the
1980s, such as:
weight loss,
depression,
AIDS,
drugs,
alcohol,
autism,
celebral palsy,
dating,
marriage, among many other topics.
Despite all the fame Charlotte gained on
TV, and 1 health problem she faced, she was almost ready to leave the show. During the series' 6th season, her contract allowed her to miss a few episodes, before the following season, she missed most of the episodes, before leaving the show (for good) at the beginning of the
1986-
1987 season, where her character got remarried and joins the
Peace Corps, hence her old college friend
Cloris Leachman took over the role of Mrs. Garrett sister, Beverly Ann Stickle, for the last 2 years on-air, before cancellation in 1988, after 200 episodes. The producers were displeased with her decision, hence, she returned to the
stage.
Also starring on
Facts
, were a lot of unfamiliar actresses/actors who were only on the first season before they were all fired,
Felice Schachter as Nancy Olson,
Julie Piekarski as Sue Ann Weaver, Julie Ann Haddock as Cindy Webster,
Molly Ringwald as Molly Parker, and
John Lawlor as Steven Bradley. In addition, the show cast more unfamiliar actresses who also appeared on the spin-off show,
Diff'rent Strokes
, consisting of former Mouseketeer
Lisa Whelchel as rich spoiled-brat,
Blair Warner and
Kim Fields as resident gossip, Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey. Rae approached a 13-year-old unknown star
Mindy Cohn at
Westlake School in
Los Angeles, California, who suggested to her to take the role of smart
Natalie Green. At the auditions, Rae liked Mindy's acting so much that she would play the role. During the second season,
Nancy McKeon played Jo, a young woman who was a "tomboy". All of Rae's co-stars had feuded and delivered gossip on-camera as well as off-camera, but had a lot of fun and became friends, otherwise, esp. Cohn. During the seventh season of the show, two new stars
George Clooney and
Mackenzie Astin joined the cast.
As Rae went over to
Westlake and interviewed several young actresses for the role of Natalie, Cohn said if there was ever a chance that she would get the part, after she was encouraged by her: "I was just one of the random kids that was picked to go talk to the people, and we had lunch and we chatted." After the meeting, Mindy also said about the heads of
NBC who would ask her to play the role Charlotte Rae had once created for her, "The next day, the head master called me into his office and said, 'These people want to write a part for you in the show they're doing.' And I'm like, 'Whatever,' you know? As long as I'm not in trouble, terrific." Of Rae's absence from the show, Mindy found out what the writers would do for her mentor's future was, "Instead of going to Mrs. Garrett [played by Charlotte Rae], as a confidante, we go to each other. They wrote it that way. There wasn't really a need for an adult when you've got four adult girls living under the same roof, unless that adult role changed, and it didn't." She also said when Charlotte finally left the show was, "It wasn't like, 'Oh, my God!' It was sort of lie 'We get it! We get it! We love you!" The last thing Cohn said of Leachman's character not playing "second-fiddle" to Rae's character in anyway was, "Cloris's character was never the confidante, was never the housemother. She was just kind of, you know, the ringleader of the circus, which I think was brillant on the writers' part --- to not make her, all of a sudden, this authority figure. She just was taking over the store and was going to, you know, rule to roost for a while until Mrs. Garrett got back." After cancellation, Rae & Cohn, are still close friends with the other cast. Beverly Ann's death in 1998, drew Rae & Cohn, closer, as Cohn was so grief-stricken to hear of a star's sister's death from
lung cancer. Charlotte created the character of Beverly Ann for Leachman to play on
The Facts of Life
. In 2001, Cohn, Rae, amongst other cast members were reunited in a TV Movie,
The Facts of Life Reunion
. In 2006, Cohn, Fields & Whelchel (except Rae) were all invited to guest star on
Today
. The following year, in 2007, the entire cast (which included Rae & Cohn themselves) were invited to attend the
TV Land Awards, where the show, along the actresses were nominated for both awards,
Most Beautiful Braces
(Kim Fields) and
The "When Bad Teens Go Good" Award
(Nancy McKeon), but both didn't win. However, several of the cast sang the theme song, including Charlotte herself (who sang the show's first theme song, when it debuted).
This whole page makes no sense.
Other roles
In 1979, she played the Lady in Pink in the musical movie
Hair
. Other appearances on screen have included roles in
The Worst Witch
television movie and on the series
Sisters
,
101 Dalmatians: The Series
,
The King of Queens
, and
ER
In 1993, she was the voice of Aunt Prestine Figg in
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
. She also appeared in
The Vagina Monologues
in
New York. In 2000, she starred as Berthe in the
Paper Mill Playhouse production of
Pippin
. In 2007, she appeared in a cabaret show at the Plush Room in San Francisco for several performances. In the 2008 movie
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
, Rae has a role as an older woman who has a fling with Adam Sandler's character. On February 18, 2009 she appeared in a small role as Mrs. Ford on the "I Heart Mom" episode of Life.
Health problem
In 1982, she went to the hospital for the doctors to place a pacemaker in her heart.
Honors
On
June 12,
2008, Rae attended the James Stewart Centennial Tribute at the
Samuel Goldwyn Theater in
Beverly Hills, California, which was hosted by
Robert Wagner. Among the attendees were
Ann Rutherford,
Shirley Jones, Cora Sue Collins, and James's daughter, Kelly Stewart.
Carroll Baker was supposed to attend the tribute, however, in case she did show up was nowhere to be found in the Academy's photos.
Quotes
Charlotte: "You can take wonderfully talented actors, wonderfully talented writers and producers, and, uh, do a wonderful show!... but if it doesn't hit with the public in two minutes, it's bye-bye" (Source: Silveropossum.homestead.com/CharlotteRae)
Charlotte: "Because of the power of television, I was visible to everybody all over the world. But there are many things in the theater that are more fulfilling and that I look forward to doing more. But really, I love it all: theater, film, television." (Source: Silveropossum.homestead.com/CharlotteRae)
Charlotte on her feud with
Joan Collins: "
Joan Collins is a bitch, there's no doubt about it, everyone says she's an extremely difficult person. I know that Joan Collins is a bitch!" (Source: TheInsider.com)
Charlotte on her professional friendship with
Norman Lear: "So open. So up front. Not a big shot. Not afraid to take a risk, make a mistake." (Source: TVGuide.com)
Charlotte who said in 1979 about her small, awkward, plump stature: "How did I fit? I didn't. I felt inferior. I had this tremendous need to perform. I wanted to be acceptable to my peers. To feel equal. I had an older sister, Beverly, who seemed to be very secure. I had a younger sister, Mimi, who was cute! I thought if I could just be a big star, I'd feel like somebody too." (Source: TVGuide.com)
Charlotte on theater: "I became drunk with power. I was burning to get to New York. But my parents begged me to stay. I needed to graduate, they said. I did soap opera on radio in Chicago. When I told the director my name was Lubotsky, he said, 'But you can't use that.' My father was very hurt. 'But why?', he wanted to know." (Source: TVGuide.com)
Charlotte on
Teresa Brewer: "
Teresa Brewer and I stood on the bar and sang 'Can't Help Lovin' That Man' and 'Cockeyed Optimist. Sometimes a drunk would give me 50 cents. My father came in once and nearly died. With tears in his eyes, he told me the cigarette girl had tried to hustle him." (Source: TVGuide.com)
Charlotte on having an on-screen romance with
Adam Sandler: "On a table from one to 10, I rate him 'not bad'". (Source: TVGuide.com)
Charlotte: "I can't even go to Barbados without people wanting to hug me and 'Oh, Mrs. Garrett!', you know, it
The Facts of Life
really had an impact on their lives." (Source: USIMDB.com)
References
- Charlotte Rae Biography (1926-)
- j. - Rae of sunshine: TV icon brings cabaret act to town
- Auer, James. "Actress returning here for class reunion", ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', September 21, 1994. Accessed September 17, 2007.