
Charlotte Rae
Department: Acting
Biography
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.
Known For

Hair
1979

You Don't Mess with the Zohan
2008

Rabbit Test
1978

The Worst Witch
1986

Beane's of Boston
1979

Our Town
1977

Christmas Cottage
2008

Hello Down There
1969

Words by Heart
1985

Tom and Jerry: The Movie
1992

Love Sick Love
2012

Thunder in Paradise
1993

The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
1968

A Different Approach
1978

Nowhere
1997

The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!
2000

The Facts of Life Reunion
2001

Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
1975

In Fashion
1974

Jenny
1970

Bananas
1971

She's The Best Thing in It
2015

The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
1982

Ricki and the Flash
2015

The Hot Rock
1972

Save the Dog!
1988

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal
1979

Night of 100 Stars II
1985

Sidewinder 1
1977

Noah's Ark
1986

The Journey of the Fifth Horse
1966

Another Woman's Husband
2000

The Huffless, Puffless, Dragon
1964

Pinocchio
1968

The World of Sholom Aleichem
1959

Night of 100 Stars
1982

101 Dalmatians Christmas
1998

Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa
2000

"Waiting for Godot" Intercut with “Krazy Kat”
1958

The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
1985

St. Elsewhere
1982

Murder, She Wrote
1984

Good Times
1974

Thunder in Paradise
1994

The Facts of Life
1979

The Love Boat
1977

Love, American Style
1969

All in the Family
1971

227
1985

101 Dalmatianere
1997

E! True Hollywood Story
1996

Barney Miller
1975

Life
2007

Diagnosis: Murder
1993

All's Fair
1976

The King of Queens
1998

The Secret World of Alex Mack
1994

Strong Medicine
2000

Sisters
1991

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951

ER
1994

Play of the Week
1959

Hot l Baltimore
1975

McMillan & Wife
1971

Intimate Portrait
1993

Temperatures Rising
1972

Baby Talk
1991

The Defenders
1961

The United States Steel Hour
1953

Family
1976

The Paul Lynde Show
1972

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948

Szysznyk
1977

The DuPont Show of the Week
1961

Way Out
1961

Can't Hurry Love
1995

The Wonderful World of Disney
1997

Flying High
1978

The Great Debate
2009

The Rich Little Show
1976

Appointment with Adventure
1955

Pretty Little Liars
2010

The Bob Hope Show
1950

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948

101 Dalmatianere
1997

Girl Meets World
2014

The Love Boat
1977

Diff'rent Strokes
1978

The Brothers Flub
1999

The Itsy Bitsy Spider
1994

Hello, Larry
1979

Great Performances
1971

Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957

Beane's of Boston
1979

WonderWorks
1984

The Partridge Family
1970