Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American comedic actress and singer whose career spanned 66 years.
Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and its spin-off, The Facts of Life (in which she had the starring role from 1979 to 1986). She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy in 1982. She also appeared in two Facts of Life television films: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris in 1982 and The Facts of Life Reunion in 2001. She voiced the character of "Nanny" in 101 Dalmatians: The Series and Aunt Pristine Figg in Tom and Jerry: The Movie. She also appeared as Gammy Hart in Girl Meets World.
In 2015, she returned to film in the feature film Ricki and the Flash, with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Rick Springfield. In November 2015, Rae released her autobiography, The Facts of My Life, which was co-written with her son, Larry Strauss.
Early life
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky was born on April 22, 1926, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her parents, Esther (née Ottenstein) and Meyer Lubotsky, were Russian Jewish immigrants. Mr. Lubotsky was a retail tire business owner. Rae's mother, Esther Lubotsky, had been childhood friends with Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. Rae was the second of three sisters, in between Beverly and Miriam (called "Mimi").
Rae attended Northwestern University, although she did not complete her studies. While there, she met friend Cloris Leachman. Many years later, Leachman succeeded Rae on The Facts of Life for the show's last two seasons. At 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." When a radio personality told her that her last name would not do, she dropped it, to her father's chagrin. and The United States Steel Hour. This led to roles on other similar variety shows such as Armstrong Circle Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, NBC Television Opera Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The DuPont Show of the Week, and The Phil Silvers Show.
Her first significant success was on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–1963), in which she played Sylvia Schnauzer, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauzer (played by Al Lewis). Knowing that Rae was one of Lear's favorite actresses (in addition to Hot l Baltimore, she also appeared in a 1974 episode of All in the Family) he hired her immediately for the role of housekeeper Edna Garrett, and she co-starred with Conrad Bain in all 24 episodes of the first season. In "The Girls' School" episode, Mrs. Garrett is asked to help out at Kimberly Drummond's (actress Dana Plato) private school for girls called East Lake (later changed to Eastland). At the end of the episode, Mrs. Garrett decides to return to her housekeeping job at the Drummond residence. From 1997-98, she voiced the character of "Nanny" in 101 Dalmatians: The Series. In 2000, she starred as Berthe in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Pippin.
In 2001, Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn, and Kim Fields were reunited in a TV movie, The Facts of Life Reunion. In 2007, the entire cast was invited to attend the TV Land Awards where several members of the cast, including Rae, sang the show's theme song.
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 had 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 in the Life episode "I Heart Mom". In 2015, she was in the feature film Ricki and the Flash, with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Rick Springfield.
On April 19, 2011, the entire cast was reunited again to attend the TV Land Awards, where the show was nominated and won the award for Pop Culture Icon. The same day, Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields (who played Jo and Tootie, respectively) gave a speech in honor of her 85th birthday. The cast did likewise on ABC's Good Morning America, where at the end of the segment, reporter Cynthia McFadden wished Rae a happy birthday, and the cast sang the show's theme song.
Singing
In 1955, she released her first (and only) solo album, Songs I Taught My Mother, which featured "silly, sinful, and satirical" songs by Sheldon Harnick, Vernon Duke, John La Touche, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart and Marc Blitzstein, among others.
She appeared in Ben Bagley's revue The Littlest Revue (and on its cast album) in 1956, appearing alongside Joel Grey and Tammy Grimes, among others, and singing songs by Sheldon Harnick ("The Shape of Things"), Vernon Duke ("Summer is a-Comin' In"), and Charles Strouse and Lee Adams ("Spring Doth Let Her Colours Fly"), a parody of opera singer Helen Traubel's Las Vegas night club act, among others.
Rae later recorded Rodgers & Hart Revisited with Dorothy Loudon, Cy Young, and Arthur Siegel, singing "Everybody Loves You (When You Sleep)" and in several other duets and ensembles for Bagley's studio. Rae received two Tony Award nominations during her Broadway career. The first was in 1966 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in Pickwick; the second came in 1969 for Best Actress in a Play for Morning, Noon and Night.
Theater
A stage actress since the 1950s, she appeared on Broadway in Three Wishes for Jamie (1952), The Threepenny Opera (1954), Li'l Abner (1956) and Pickwick (1965), among others. She appeared in The Vagina Monologues Off-Broadway in 1999.
Personal life
thumb|Rae in 2012.
Rae married composer John Strauss on November 4, 1951. Strauss died in 2011 at age 90 following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Rae had two sons with Strauss: Lawrence, a high school teacher, and his older brother Andrew (1955–1999). Andy was autistic and suffered from epilepsy.
Rae died at her home in Los Angeles, California, on August 5, 2018. She was 92 years old.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1969
| Hello Down There
| Myrtle Ruth
|
|-
| 1997
| Nowhere
| Madame Maude Rae
|
|-
| 1958
| DuPont Show of the Month
| Myrtle May
|
|-
| 1975
| rowspan="2"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special
| Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
|-
| 1982
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| The Facts of Life
|
|-
| 1966
| rowspan="2"| Tony Awards
| Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Musical
| Pickwick
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1969
| Best Leading Actress in a Play
| Morning, Noon and Night
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2011
| TV Land Awards
| Pop Culture Award
| The Facts of Life
|
| align="center"|
|}
References
External links
- Rae Rae's album at PS Classics
- Rae Rae recording as Berthe in Pippin