Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American actress and singer. On screen, Rae was best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and its spin-off, The Facts of Life. She was born to Russian Jewish immigrants Esther (née Ottenstein), who was a childhood friend of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, and Meyer Lubotsky, a retail tire business owner. She was one of three sisters, along with Miriam and the late Beverly (December 21, 1921 – June 2, 1998). She graduated from Shorewood High School in 1944. For the first ten years or so of her life, Rae's family lived in Milwaukee, then moved to Shorewood, Wisconsin. She did 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 such as Morton DaCosta, who would eventually direct The Music Man on Broadway. Rae attended Northwestern University, although she did not complete her studies, where she met Cloris Leachman, who many years later succeeded Rae on The Facts of Life for the show's last two seasons. At Northwestern she met several unknown stars and producers, including Agnes Nixon, Charlton Heston, Paul Lynde, Gerald Freedman, Claude Akins and songwriter Sheldon Harnick. When a radio personality told her that her last name wouldn't do, she dropped it, to her father's chagrin. She moved to New York City in 1948, where she performed in the theater and nightclubs. During her early years in New York, she worked at the Village Vanguard (alongside up-and-coming talents such as singer Richard Dyer-Bennet) and at the posh Blue Angel, home to budding talents Barbra Streisand, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. She moved to Los Angeles in 1974.
94 acting credits
Acting · 94
ER
1994
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Diagnosis: Murder
1993
The Love Boat
1977
Pretty Little Liars
2010
Love, American Style
1969
The King of Queens
1998
Great Performances
1971
Strong Medicine
2000
St. Elsewhere
1982
Barney Miller
1975
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
The Facts of Life
1979
The Defenders
1961
All in the Family
1971
Intimate Portrait
1993
Life
2007
101 Dalmatians Series
1997
227
1985
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
The Bob Hope Show
1950
Girl Meets World
2014
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957
Good Times
1974
McMillan & Wife
1971
The Partridge Family
1970
The Wonderful World of Disney
1997
Family
1976
The United States Steel Hour
1953
The Secret World of Alex Mack
1994
Temperatures Rising
1972
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
2008
Flying High
1978
Can't Hurry Love
1995
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
1993
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Hello, Larry
1979
The Paul Lynde Show
1972
WonderWorks
1984
Play of the Week
1959
Appointment with Adventure
1955
The Great Debate
2009
The Brothers Flub
1999
Thunder in Paradise
1994
Hair
1979
All's Fair
1976
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
Nowhere
1997
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
The DuPont Show of the Week
1961
Night of 100 Stars
1982
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
1994
Hot l Baltimore
1975
Szysznyk
1977
Rabbit Test
1978
Bananas
1971
The Worst Witch
1986
Way Out
1961
Ricki and the Flash
2015
The Hot Rock
1972
Christmas Cottage
2008
The Rich Little Show
1976
The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!
2000
101 Dalmatians Christmas
1998
The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal
1979
The Journey of the Fifth Horse
1966
Hello Down There
1969
Thunder in Paradise
1993
A Different Approach
1978
Another Woman's Husband
2000
Sisters
1991
Beane's of Boston
1979
Beane's of Boston
1979
Jenny
1970
She's The Best Thing in It
2015
The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
1968
Sidewinder 1
1977
The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
1982
The World of Sholom Aleichem
1959
Our Town
1977
Pinocchio
1968
The Facts of Life Reunion
2001
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
1975
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
1985
Noah's Ark
1986
Baby Talk
1991
Save the Dog!
1988
Words by Heart
1985
In Fashion
1974
The Huffless, Puffless, Dragon
1964
"Waiting for Godot" Intercut with “Krazy Kat”
1958
Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa
2000
Love Sick Love
2012