Biography
Born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1926, Charlotte Rae performed in plays in high school and attended Northwestern University. Although she didn't complete her studies she became friends with a number of future stars including Cloris Leachman, Charlton Heston and Paul Lynde. In 1948, she moved to New York City, where she performed in theater and nightclubs. She was convinced to drop her last name and became Charlotte Rae. Rae appeared on Broadway in "Three Wishes for Jamie" in 1952, and "The Threepenny Opera" in 1954, the same year she made her debut onscreen on the shows "Look Up and Live" (CBS, 1954-59) and "The United States Steel Hour" (ABC, 1945-1949; NBC, 1949-1953) and continued working consistently for the next six decades. Although she first intended to be a dramatic actress, Rae found her niche in comedy and her first substantial part came in a recurring role as Sylvia Schnauzer, wife of Officer Leo Schnauzer on the hit comedy "Car 54, Where Are You?" (NBC, 1961-63). After that show ended in 1963, Rae continued working on screen and on stage and was nominated for Tony Awards in 1966 (Best Featured Actress in "Pickwick") and 1969 (Best Actress in "Morning, Noon and Night"). In 1971, Rae was a recurring character on "Sesame Street" (NET, 1969-1970; PBS, 1970-2016; HBO, 2016-) and in 1974, collaborated for the first time with Norman Lear, appearing in guest roles on "Good Times" (CBS, 1974-79) and "All in the Family" (CBS, 1971-79). Rae was a series regular on "Hot l Baltimore" (ABC, 1975), a short-lived show, also Executive Produced by Lear. In 1978, Rae began playing the role that would define her career. On the first four seasons of the iconic sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC, 1978-1985; ABC 1985-86), her character Edna Garrett provided back-up and support and comic relief for the Drummond family. After the second season of the show, Rae performed double duty, playing Edna on "Diff'rent Strokes," and on the successful spin off "The Facts of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988). In 1982, she was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for "The Facts of Life." Rae had a pacemaker implanted in 1982, and, after she left "The Facts of Life" in 1986, continued to work at a slower pace, often lending her voice to children's animated series such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (USA, 1994-96), but still making appearances on live action shows like "Sisters" (NBC, 1991-96), and "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009). Her final onscreen performance came in the film "Ricky and the Flash" (2015), starring Meryl Streep. Rae passed away in 2018 at the age of 92.
