Charlotte Rae
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Rae is a prolific American
character actress
of stage, comedienne, 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 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 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
.
n Jewish immigrants Esther (née
Ottenstein), who was a childhood friend of Golda Meir
, and Meyer Lubotsky, a retail tire business owner. She had two sisters (Miriam, a pianist, writer, and composer, and Beverly, an opera singer), and graduated from Shorewood High School
in 1944. At the same high school where Charlotte attended, she had a best friend simply called "Natalie," (whom she created the character for future co-star, Mindy Cohn
, to play on The Facts of Life). For the first ten years of her life, Rae's family lived in Milwaukee, after which they moved to Shorewood, Wisconsin
, not that far from where she was born. In a 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 such as Morton DaCosta
, who was the director of The Music Man
on Broadway
. She said that she had great teachers at her high school, which also had a beautiful campus. Rae attended but did not complete her studies at Northwestern University
in Evanston, Illinois
, where she met Cloris Leachman
, who would not just become best friends for life, but roommates, who in turn replaced Rae on The Facts of Life, for the last 2 seasons. At the same college, she also met several unknown stars and producers such as: Agnes Nixon
, Charlton Heston
, Paul Lynde
, and songwriter, Sheldon Harnick
. Rae sang to honour Harnick at a benefit, years after her days in college. Each summer, while attending college, she also appeared its annual student theatrical extravaganza, the Waa-Mu Show. She also did some stock before she became an actress.
When a radio personality told her that her last name wouldn't do, she dropped it, becoming simply Charlotte Rae. 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-Bennett) and at the posh Blue Angel, home to budding talents Barbra Streisand
, Mike Nichols
and Elaine May
. She moved to Los Angeles
in 1974.
, 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.
Rae received 2 Tony Award nominations during her Broadway career. The first in 1966 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 'Pickwick' (losing to Bea Arthur from 'Mame'). The second came in 1969 for Best Actress in a play for 'Morning, Noon and Night' (losing to Julie Harris in 'Forty Carats').
, Armstrong Circle Theatre
, Kraft Television Theatre
, NBC Television Opera Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse
, The Colgate Comedy Hour
(where she first became friends with a unknown producer Norman Lear
), 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 on Norman Lear's All in the Family
and Good Times
.
(1961–1963), in which she played 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 became a cast member on the ABC
television comedy Hot l Baltimore
, wherein she played Mrs. Bellotti, whose dysfunctional adult son Moose, who was never actually seen, lived at the hotel. Mrs. Bellotti, who was a bit odd herself, would visit Moose and then laugh about all the odd situations that Moose would get into with the others living at the hotel. Rae also appeared in early seasons of Sesame Street
as Molly the Mail Lady. In 1960, she appeared in a commercial for the National Oil Fuel Institute in which, while taking a shower, she explained how wonderful oil heat
was. At the end of the commercial, the announcer asked her if she knew she was on television, to which she responded, in her usual "trying to be sexy" voice, "Yes, I know!" and then giggled softly afterward.
, future producer and former head of CBS
, ABC
, and NBC
, insisted that Norman Lear
produce Diff'rent Strokes
. Knowing that Rae was one of Lear's favorite actresses, 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. Her character proved to be so popular that producers decided to do an episode that could lead to a spinoff. That episode (called "The Girls School") was about girls attending Eastland, the school attended by Kimberly (played by the late Dana Plato
). In July 1979, Rae proposed the idea for the new spinoff to the heads of NBC. They greenlighted the show, and thus The Facts of Life
was born. The program, which focused on a housemother residing with four young ladies in a prestigious private school, dealt with many of the major issues facing teenage girls in the 1980s, including weight loss
, depression
, AIDS
, drug
s, alcohol
, autism
, cerebral palsy
, dating, and marriage
. The show wasn't an immediate hit, but thanks to a new time slot the show became a ratings winner between 1980 and 1986. Midway throughout both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, she missed several episodes, all because she was planning on leaving the show, while at the same time, the storylines focused more on the girls, in lieu of Mrs. Garrett. At the beginning of the eighth season, Rae left the show despite all the fame she had gained, owing to a health problem. (She later returned to the stage
, displeasing the show's producers.) At the beginning of the 1986-1987 season, her character was written out as having gotten remarried and joined the Peace Corps
. Cloris Leachman
was then brought in as Mrs. Garrett's sister, Beverly Ann Stickle, for the show's last two years. In 1988, after 209 episodes, The Facts of Life was canceled.
Also starring on Facts were a lot of unfamiliar actresses/actors who were only on the first season before being fired, including 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 spinoff 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 Mindy Cohn
at Westlake School
in Los Angeles
, California
and suggested that she take the role of smart Natalie Green. The second season introduced another unfamiliar star, Nancy McKeon
as the tomboy Jo, who stayed on for the entire run. During the show's seventh season, two new stars, George Clooney
and Mackenzie Astin
, joined the cast. During the show's first season, the entire cast didn't get along with Rae, by the time the second season was renewed after 5 actors were fired, when Nancy was brought in as the only replacement girl, the entire cast actually had a lot of fun, esp. Cohn.
During the show's eight season run, while Rae was playing her role for 7 of 9 seasons, she was nominated only once for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1982, but didn't win.
Mindy Cohn who said about being hired to playing Natalie, after Charlotte talked her into it was, "The next day, I get a call from the Headmasters’ office and saying, ‘These people want to talk to you,’ and Charlotte said, ‘I’m falling madly in love with you, I want to create a role for you on the show. We’re going to call you [Natalie], and do you want to do this?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know! I mean 8th grade lady, what do I know? Is this going to mess up with my tennis team schedule, you know?’" The last thing Cohn responded as to why Charlotte Rae really wanting to leave the show was, "One of the reasons she left was because this show is really started to focused on the girls, the pull of the show started to be different of her, she sorta felt like ‘I’m done!’" Rae and Cohn are currently close friends with the other cast. Beverly Ann's (Charlotte's real-life sister, who named Cloris Leachman's character on The Facts of Life, after her) death in 1998, drew the relationship closer between Rae, Cohn, and other cast members. This was years before John's (Charlotte's real-life ex-husband) death in 2011, which also drew the relationship closer, a second time. In 2001, Cohn, Rae, and other cast members 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. On April 19, 2011, the entire cast (esp. Cohn) were reunited - a second time, to attend the TV Land Awards
, where the show was nominated and won the award for Pop Culture Icon. That same day, both Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields (who played Jo & Tootie, respectively) also 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 Charlotte a very Happy 85th Birthday. In honor of her birthday, the entire cast sang the show's theme song.
. 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 1987, Charlotte was a judge together with Isabel Sanford during the Miss Universe 1987 Pageant held in Singapore.
In 1993, she was the voice of Aunt Pristine 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.
On January 31, 2011 she starred as the woman who made mysterious beaded bracelets on "Pretty Little Liars
" episode 1.15.
.
on November 4, 1951, had two sons, and divorced in 1976. She has three grandchildren. One of her sons is autistic. In 2011, ex-husband, John Strauss, died after a long battle of Parkinson's Disease
.
In 1982, Rae went to the hospital for the doctors to place a pacemaker in her heart.
In 2009, due to the fact pancreatic cancer occurred frequently in her family, Rae was screen and diagnosed for the disease, even though she showed no symptoms. Her mother, uncle, and in 1998, her older sister Beverly, who was an opera singer, all died of the same disease. Rae's cancer was detected early and is now cancer-free, as of 2011.
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 Stewart's daughter, Kelly Stewart. Carroll Baker
was also supposed to have attended the tribute, but if she did, she is nowhere to be found in the Academy's photos.
Rae received 2 Tony Award nominations during her Broadway career. The first 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'. She also received two Emmy Nominations for her work on TV. The first in 1975 for Best Supporting Actress in a TV movie for he performance in 'The Queen of the Stardust Ballroom'. She also received a nomination for her work on The Facts of Life, Best Actress in a Comedy Series, in 1982.
On April 19, 2011, Rae and some of the Facts of Life cast (Mindy Cohn
, Lisa Whelchel
and Kim Fields
) had won the TV Land Award where The Facts of Life was nominated for Pop Culture Icon, this was done before the entire cast threw Rae an 85th Birthday Party.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
character actress
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
of stage, comedienne, 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
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
and The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (TV series)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
(in which she starred from 1979 to 1986). She received a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy in 1982
34th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 34th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 19, 1982. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC. It was hosted by John Forsythe and Marlo Thomas.-Outstanding Comedy Series:*Barney Miller**Love, Sidney**M*A*S*H**Taxi...
. 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
The Facts of Life Reunion
The Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 made-for-television movie based on the 1979-1988 sitcom The Facts of Life reuniting original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields thirteen years later...
in 2001. She also provided the voice of Nanny in the cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
101 Dalmatians: The Series
101 Dalmatians: The Series
101 Dalmatians: The Series is a animated television series produced by the Walt Disney Company based on the classic 1961 Disney animated feature of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake.-Premise:...
.
Early life
She was born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish immigrants Esther (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Ottenstein), who was a childhood friend of Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
, and Meyer Lubotsky, a retail tire business owner. She had two sisters (Miriam, a pianist, writer, and composer, and Beverly, an opera singer), and graduated from Shorewood High School
Shorewood High School (Wisconsin)
Shorewood High School is a comprehensive public high school located in the village of Shorewood, Wisconsin, as part of the Shorewood School District....
in 1944. At the same high school where Charlotte attended, she had a best friend simply called "Natalie," (whom she created the character for future co-star, Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
, to play on The Facts of Life). For the first ten years of her life, Rae's family lived in Milwaukee, after which they moved to Shorewood, Wisconsin
Shorewood, Wisconsin
Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 13,763 at the 2000 census. Howell Raines of The New York Times said in 1979 that "[t]his maplestudded town on Lake Michigan dotes on its reputation as Milwaukee's most liberal suburb."-Geography:Shorewood is...
, not that far from where she was born. In a 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 such as Morton DaCosta
Morton DaCosta
Morton DaCosta was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.-Career:Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1942...
, who was the director of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. She said that she had great teachers at her high school, which also had a beautiful campus. Rae attended but did not complete her studies at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, where she met Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
, who would not just become best friends for life, but roommates, who in turn replaced Rae on The Facts of Life, for the last 2 seasons. At the same college, she also met several unknown stars and producers such as: Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Paul Lynde
Paul Lynde
Paul Edward Lynde was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry MacAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie...
, and songwriter, Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
. Rae sang to honour Harnick at a benefit, years after her days in college. Each summer, while attending college, she also appeared its annual student theatrical extravaganza, the Waa-Mu Show. She also did some stock before she became an actress.
When a radio personality told her that her last name wouldn't do, she dropped it, becoming simply Charlotte Rae. She moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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-Bennett) and at the posh Blue Angel, home to budding talents Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
and Elaine May
Elaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
. She moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1974.
Popular stage actress and singer
A stage actress since the 1950s, she appeared in Three Wishes for JamieThree Wishes for Jamie
Three Wishes for Jamie is a musical with a book by Charles O'Neal and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Ralph Blane.Based on O'Neal's 1949 novel The Three Wishes of Jamie McRuin, the fantasy focuses on the title character, a young Irishman who, when offered three wishes by the Queen of the...
, The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
with Bea Arthur, Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner (musical)
Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies but is also a pointed satire taking on any number of topics, ranging...
, and Pickwick
Pickwick (musical)
Pickwick is a musical with a book by Wolf Mankowitz, music by Cyril Ornadel, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Based on The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, it is set in and around London and Rochester in 1828....
. 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
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
, John La Touche, Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Rodgers & Hart, and Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
(who wrote the song "Modest Maid" especially for Rae). The album was issued on CD in 2006 by PS Classics
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...
. Also in the 1950s, Rae made several acclaimed appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
.
She appeared in Ben Bagley
Ben Bagley
Ben Bagley was an American musical theatre and record producer.-Career:Born in Burlington, Vermont, Bagley moved to New York City during the early 1950s, and in 1955, at age 22, he produced his first hit, Shoestring Revue, starring Beatrice Arthur and Chita Rivera , and with songs by Charles...
's revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
The Littlest Revue (and on its cast album) in 1956
1956 in art
-Events:*Le mystère Picasso, a French documentary film, shows Pablo Picasso in the act of creating paintings for the camera ....
, appearing alongside the likes of Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
and Tammy Grimes
Tammy Grimes
-Early life:Grimes was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eola Willard , a naturalist and spiritualist, and Nicholas Luther Grimes, an innkeeper, country-club manager, and farmer. She attended high school at the then-all girls school, Beaver Country Day School, in Chestnut Hill,...
and singing songs by Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
("The Shape of Things"), Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
("Summer is a-Comin' In"), and Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.-Life and career:Strouse was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ira and Ethel Strouse...
& Lee Adams
Lee Adams
Lee Richard Adams is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Adams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University and a Master's from Columbia University.Adams won Tony Awards in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie...
("Spring Doth Let Her Colours Fly," a parody of opera singer Helen Traubel
Helen Traubel
Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
's Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
night club act), among others. Rae also later appeared on Bagley's studio recording Rodgers & Hart Revisited with Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
, Cy Young
Cy Young
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...
, and Arthur Siegel
Arthur Siegel
Arthur Siegel was an American songwriter.Born on December 31, 1923 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, he grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey...
, singing "Everybody Loves You (When You're Asleep)" and in several other duets and ensembles.
Rae received 2 Tony Award nominations during her Broadway career. The first in 1966 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 'Pickwick' (losing to Bea Arthur from 'Mame'). The second came in 1969 for Best Actress in a play for 'Morning, Noon and Night' (losing to Julie Harris in 'Forty Carats').
Popular character actress
In 1954, Rae on her way to becoming a top-notch character actress, made her TV debut on an episode of Look Up and Live. This led to roles on other shows such as The United States Steel HourThe United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
, Armstrong Circle Theatre
Armstrong Circle Theatre
Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour.-Synopsis:...
, Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
, NBC Television Opera Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse, a live television anthology series sponsored by Philco, was telecast from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the NBC series was seen on Sundays from 9:00pm to 10:00pm...
, The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
(where she first became friends with a unknown producer Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
), The DuPont Show of the Week, The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
, Way Out, The Defenders, Temperatures Rising
Temperatures Rising
Temperatures Rising is an American television situation comedy that ran from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974 on the ABC network.The network had a good deal of faith in the low-rated series, which went through three cast changes, two different formats, and two time slots during its...
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
, Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, McMillan & Wife, Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
, 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
, Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
, among many others. She also guest-starred on Norman Lear's All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
and Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
.
TV roles
Her first significant success was on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
(1961–1963), in which she played Sylvia Schnauser, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauser (played by Al Lewis). She was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for her supporting role in the 1975 drama Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom is an American television movie directed by Sam O'Steen and produced by Roger Gimbel. It was broadcast by CBS on February 13, 1975...
. In January 1975, Rae became a cast member on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television comedy Hot l Baltimore
Hot l Baltimore
Hot l Baltimore was a short-lived 1975 television situation comedy series adapted from the hit off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson.-Premise and run:...
, wherein she played Mrs. Bellotti, whose dysfunctional adult son Moose, who was never actually seen, lived at the hotel. Mrs. Bellotti, who was a bit odd herself, would visit Moose and then laugh about all the odd situations that Moose would get into with the others living at the hotel. Rae also appeared in early seasons of Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
as Molly the Mail Lady. In 1960, she appeared in a commercial for the National Oil Fuel Institute in which, while taking a shower, she explained how wonderful oil heat
Heating oil
Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
was. At the end of the commercial, the announcer asked her if she knew she was on television, to which she responded, in her usual "trying to be sexy" voice, "Yes, I know!" and then giggled softly afterward.
Diff'rent Strokes & The Facts of Life
In 1978, NBC was losing to both CBS and ABC in sitcom ratings, and Fred SilvermanFred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
, future producer and former head of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, insisted that Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
produce Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
. Knowing that Rae was one of Lear's favorite actresses, he hired her immediately for the role of housekeeper Edna Garrett, and she co-starred with Conrad Bain
Conrad Bain
Conrad Stafford Bain is a Canadian-American actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and as Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude.-Personal life:...
in all 24 episodes of the first season. Her character proved to be so popular that producers decided to do an episode that could lead to a spinoff. That episode (called "The Girls School") was about girls attending Eastland, the school attended by Kimberly (played by the late Dana Plato
Dana Plato
Dana Michelle Plato was an American actress notable for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.Plato appeared in over 100 television commercials as a young girl...
). In July 1979, Rae proposed the idea for the new spinoff to the heads of NBC. They greenlighted the show, and thus The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (TV series)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
was born. The program, which focused on a housemother residing with four young ladies in a prestigious private school, dealt with many of the major issues facing teenage girls in the 1980s, including weight loss
Weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
s, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, dating, and marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
. The show wasn't an immediate hit, but thanks to a new time slot the show became a ratings winner between 1980 and 1986. Midway throughout both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, she missed several episodes, all because she was planning on leaving the show, while at the same time, the storylines focused more on the girls, in lieu of Mrs. Garrett. At the beginning of the eighth season, Rae left the show despite all the fame she had gained, owing to a health problem. (She later returned to the stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, displeasing the show's producers.) At the beginning of the 1986-1987 season, her character was written out as having gotten remarried and joined the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
was then brought in as Mrs. Garrett's sister, Beverly Ann Stickle, for the show's last two years. In 1988, after 209 episodes, The Facts of Life was canceled.
Also starring on Facts were a lot of unfamiliar actresses/actors who were only on the first season before being fired, including Felice Schachter
Felice Schachter
Felice Schachter is an American actress who is known for her role as Nancy on the sitcom The Facts of Life for its first season, appearing sporadically afterward.-Early life and career:...
as Nancy Olson, Julie Piekarski
Julie Piekarski
Julie Anne Piekarski is best known for her role on the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life....
as Sue Ann Weaver, Julie Ann Haddock as Cindy Webster, Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
as Molly Parker, and John Lawlor
John Lawlor
John Lawlor is an American actor. His best known roles are Supervisor Leonard Marsh on the television series Phyllis from 1976–1977, and later of Headmaster Steven Bradley on the television series The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1980....
as Steven Bradley. In addition, the show cast more unfamiliar actresses who also appeared on the spinoff show, Diff'rent Strokes, consisting of former Mouseketeer Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, ventriloquist, and writer best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner.-Life and career:...
as rich spoiled brat Blair Warner and Kim Fields
Kim Fields
Kim Victoria Fields is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single...
as resident gossip Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey. Rae approached a 13-year-old unknown Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
at Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and suggested that she take the role of smart Natalie Green. The second season introduced another unfamiliar star, Nancy McKeon
Nancy McKeon
Nancy Justine McKeon is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life.-Early life & career:...
as the tomboy Jo, who stayed on for the entire run. During the show's seventh season, two new stars, George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
and Mackenzie Astin
Mackenzie Astin
-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
, joined the cast. During the show's first season, the entire cast didn't get along with Rae, by the time the second season was renewed after 5 actors were fired, when Nancy was brought in as the only replacement girl, the entire cast actually had a lot of fun, esp. Cohn.
During the show's eight season run, while Rae was playing her role for 7 of 9 seasons, she was nominated only once for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1982, but didn't win.
Mindy Cohn who said about being hired to playing Natalie, after Charlotte talked her into it was, "The next day, I get a call from the Headmasters’ office and saying, ‘These people want to talk to you,’ and Charlotte said, ‘I’m falling madly in love with you, I want to create a role for you on the show. We’re going to call you [Natalie], and do you want to do this?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know! I mean 8th grade lady, what do I know? Is this going to mess up with my tennis team schedule, you know?’" The last thing Cohn responded as to why Charlotte Rae really wanting to leave the show was, "One of the reasons she left was because this show is really started to focused on the girls, the pull of the show started to be different of her, she sorta felt like ‘I’m done!’" Rae and Cohn are currently close friends with the other cast. Beverly Ann's (Charlotte's real-life sister, who named Cloris Leachman's character on The Facts of Life, after her) death in 1998, drew the relationship closer between Rae, Cohn, and other cast members. This was years before John's (Charlotte's real-life ex-husband) death in 2011, which also drew the relationship closer, a second time. In 2001, Cohn, Rae, and other cast members were reunited in a TV Movie, The Facts of Life Reunion
The Facts of Life Reunion
The Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 made-for-television movie based on the 1979-1988 sitcom The Facts of Life reuniting original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields thirteen years later...
. In 2007, the entire cast was invited to attend the TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards
The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
where several members of the cast, including Rae, sang the show's theme song. On April 19, 2011, the entire cast (esp. Cohn) were reunited - a second time, to attend the TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards
The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
, where the show was nominated and won the award for Pop Culture Icon. That same day, both Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields (who played Jo & Tootie, respectively) also gave a speech in honor of her 85th Birthday. The cast did likewise on ABC's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, where at the end of the segment, reporter, Cynthia McFadden
Cynthia McFadden
Cynthia McFadden is an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who currently co-anchors Nightline and Primetime.-Education:...
wished Charlotte a very Happy 85th Birthday. In honor of her birthday, the entire cast sang the show's theme song.
Other roles
In 1979, she played the Lady in Pink in the musical movie HairHair (film)
Hair is a 1979 American film adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name about a Vietnam war draftee who meets and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to the army induction center...
. Other appearances on screen have included roles in The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch (TV movie)
The Worst Witch premiered in 1986 on Central Independent Television and HBO. It is based on the children's book by Jill Murphy.-Plot:The film follows the plot of the 1974 book from the series, portraying the incidents of when Mildred turns herself invisible and transforms Ethel into a pig, Miss...
television movie and on the series Sisters
Sisters (TV series)
Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
, 101 Dalmatians: The Series
101 Dalmatians: The Series
101 Dalmatians: The Series is a animated television series produced by the Walt Disney Company based on the classic 1961 Disney animated feature of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake.-Premise:...
, The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
, and ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
In 1987, Charlotte was a judge together with Isabel Sanford during the Miss Universe 1987 Pageant held in Singapore.
In 1993, she was the voice of Aunt Pristine Figg in Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Tom and Jerry: The Movie is a 1992 American animated musical film directed by Phil Roman, and produced by Film Roman and Turner Pictures. It is a film adaptation of the Tom and Jerry series of theatrical shorts....
. She also appeared in The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 2000, she starred as Berthe in the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
production of Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
. In 2007, she appeared in a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
show at the Plush Room in San Francisco for several performances. In the 2008 movie You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
, Rae has a role as an older woman who has a fling with Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's character. On February 18, 2009 she appeared in a small role as Mrs. Ford on the "I Heart Mom" episode of Life.
On January 31, 2011 she starred as the woman who made mysterious beaded bracelets on "Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars is a series of more than 10 young adult novels by Sara Shepard, from 1981–present, which have been made into a television show . The series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader,...
" episode 1.15.
Hobbies
Her hobbies also included: golfing, dancing, dining, taking spending time with her family, taking care of people (especially her son) with disabilities and sewing. She also did a lot of singing, esp. to the theme song on the 1st season of The Facts of LifeThe Facts of Life (TV series)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
.
Personal life
She married composer John StraussJohn Strauss
John Leonard Strauss was an American television and film composer and music editor. Strauss co-wrote the theme song for the NBC television series, Car 54, Where Are You?, with Nat Hiken. He also won a Grammy Award for his work as the producer of the soundtrack for the 1984 film, Amadeus...
on November 4, 1951, had two sons, and divorced in 1976. She has three grandchildren. One of her sons is autistic. In 2011, ex-husband, John Strauss, died after a long battle of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
In 1982, Rae went to the hospital for the doctors to place a pacemaker in her heart.
In 2009, due to the fact pancreatic cancer occurred frequently in her family, Rae was screen and diagnosed for the disease, even though she showed no symptoms. Her mother, uncle, and in 1998, her older sister Beverly, who was an opera singer, all died of the same disease. Rae's cancer was detected early and is now cancer-free, as of 2011.
Honors
On June 12, 2008, Rae attended the James StewartJames Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
Centennial Tribute at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
Samuel Goldwyn Theater
The Samuel Goldwyn Theatre is a movie theater in Beverly Hills, California named after Samuel Goldwyn.Currently, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences uses the theater in January to announce the nominations for their Academy Awards....
in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, which was hosted by Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
. Among the attendees were Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
, Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
, Cora Sue Collins, and Stewart's daughter, Kelly Stewart. Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
was also supposed to have attended the tribute, but if she did, she is nowhere to be found in the Academy's photos.
Rae received 2 Tony Award nominations during her Broadway career. The first 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'. She also received two Emmy Nominations for her work on TV. The first in 1975 for Best Supporting Actress in a TV movie for he performance in 'The Queen of the Stardust Ballroom'. She also received a nomination for her work on The Facts of Life, Best Actress in a Comedy Series, in 1982.
On April 19, 2011, Rae and some of the Facts of Life cast (Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
, Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, ventriloquist, and writer best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner.-Life and career:...
and Kim Fields
Kim Fields
Kim Victoria Fields is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single...
) had won the TV Land Award where The Facts of Life was nominated for Pop Culture Icon, this was done before the entire cast threw Rae an 85th Birthday Party.
Filmography
- 19??: Look Up and Live (1 episode)
- 1954: The United States Steel HourThe United States Steel HourThe United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
.... Ramona (1 episode, 1954) - 1954: Armstrong Circle TheatreArmstrong Circle TheatreArmstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1954) - 1955: Kraft Television TheatreKraft Television TheatreKraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
(1 episode, 1955) - 1955: NBC Television Opera TheatreNBC Opera TheatreThe NBC Opera Theatre was an American opera company operated by the National Broadcasting Company from 1949 to 1964. The company was established specifically for the purpose of filming both established and new operas for television...
.... Mariella (1 episode, 1955) - 1955: Appointment with AdventureAppointment with AdventureAppointment with Adventure is a half-hour adventure/dramatic anthology television series broadcast live on CBS from 1955-1956. The program has no host. It aired at 10 p.m...
(1 episode, 1955) - 1955: The Phil Silvers ShowThe Phil Silvers ShowThe Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
.... Flossie / ... (2 episodes, 1955–1958)*1955: The Philco Television PlayhouseThe Philco Television PlayhouseThe Philco Television Playhouse, a live television anthology series sponsored by Philco, was telecast from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the NBC series was seen on Sundays from 9:00pm to 10:00pm...
(1 episode, 1955) - 1958: DuPont Show of the MonthDuPont Show of the MonthDuPont Show of the Month, an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series, aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour anthology drama series hosted by June Allyson, The DuPont Show with June Allyson .During the Golden Age of Television, DuPont...
(1 episode, 1958) - 1959: Play of the WeekPlay of the WeekPlay of the Week is an American anthology series of televised stage plays which aired in NTA Film Network syndication from October 12, 1959 to May 1, 1961...
The World of Sholom Aleichem (TV) (1 episode, 1959) - 1961: Way Out .... Hazel Atterbury (1 episode, 1961)
- 1961: From These RootsFrom These RootsFrom These Roots is an American soap opera which ran from June 30, 1958 to December 29, 1961. It was created and written by Frank Provo and John Pickard . The show was seen on NBC, and was the first successful soap opera vehicle for Ann Flood who later became well known for, and spend the better...
TV series .... Hilda Furman (1961) - 1961: Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
.... Sylvia Schnauser / ... (8 episodes, 1961–1963) - 1963: The DuPont Show of the Week .... Mona Brinkman (1 episode, 1963)
- 1964: The Defenders .... Mrs. Abeles (1 episode, 1964)
- 1966: The Journey of the Fifth Horse (TV) .... Terentievna
- 1966: New York Television Theatre (2 episodes, 1966–1968)
- 1968: Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
Pinocchio - 1969: Hello Down ThereHello Down ThereHello Down There is a 1969 musical comedy film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Arnold and Ricou Browning and produced by George Sherman and Ivan Tors from a screenplay by John McGreevey and Frank Telford. It starred Tony Randall and Janet Leigh...
.... Myrtle Ruth - 1970: JennyJenny (film)Jenny is a 1970 film starring Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda, released by ABC Pictures. The film was rated "M" for "Mature Audiences." Singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson provided Jenny 's theme song, "Waiting"....
.... Bella Star - 1971: BananasBananas (film)Bananas is a 1971 comedy film written by Mickey Rose and Woody Allen, directed by Allen, and starring himself and Louise Lasser. Parts of the plot were based on the book Don Quixote, U.S.A. by Richard P. Powell. It was filmed on location in New York City, Lima , and various locations in Puerto...
.... Mrs. Mellish - 1971: NET PlayhouseNET PlayhouseNET Playhouse is an American dramatic television series produced by National Educational Television . NET subsequently merged with WNDT Newark, New Jersey to form WNET and was superseded by the Public Broadcasting Service .- Episode list :...
.... (segment "Foul!") (1 episode, 1971) - 1972: The Hot RockThe Hot Rock (film)The Hot Rock is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E...
.... Ma Murch - 1972: Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
.... Molly / ... (8 episodes, 1971–1972) - 1972: Temperatures RisingTemperatures RisingTemperatures Rising is an American television situation comedy that ran from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974 on the ABC network.The network had a good deal of faith in the low-rated series, which went through three cast changes, two different formats, and two time slots during its...
.... Mrs. Moscowitz (1 episode, 1972) - 1972: The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
.... Dr. Beecher (1 episode, 1972) - 1972: McMillan & Wife .... Mrs. Drake (1 episode, 1972)
- 1972: Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
.... (segment "Love and the Clinic") (1 episode, 1972) - 1972: The Paul Lynde ShowThe Paul Lynde ShowThe Paul Lynde Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC. The series stars Paul Lynde and aired from September 13, 1972 to September 8, 1973.-Setting:...
.... Aunt Charlotte (2 episodes, 1972) - 1974: In Fashion (TV) .... Madame Aigreville
- 1974: All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
.... Miss Lillian Henderson (1 episode, 1974) - 1974: Good TimesGood TimesGood Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
.... Ms. Rogers (1 episode, 1974) - 1975: Queen of the Stardust BallroomQueen of the Stardust BallroomQueen of the Stardust Ballroom is an American television movie directed by Sam O'Steen and produced by Roger Gimbel. It was broadcast by CBS on February 13, 1975...
(TV) .... Helen - 1975: Hot l BaltimoreHot l BaltimoreHot l Baltimore was a short-lived 1975 television situation comedy series adapted from the hit off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson.-Premise and run:...
.... Mrs. Bellotti (13 episodes, 1975) - 1975: PhyllisPhyllis (TV series)Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...
.... Shirley (1 episode, 1975) - 1976: Barney MillerBarney MillerBarney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
.... Mrs. Rebecca Sobel (1 episode, 1976) - 1976: The Rich Little ShowRich LittleRichard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has long been known throughout the world as a top impersonator of famous people, resulting in his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices"....
TV series (unknown episodes) - 1976: All's FairAll's FairAll's Fair is an American television situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The show co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer...
.... Madge (1 episode, 1976) - 1977: Our Town (TV) .... Mrs. Soames
- 1977: Sidewinder 1 .... Mrs. Holt
- 1978: SzysznykSzysznykSzysznyk is an American television series. It was originally broadcast during 1977 and 1978 on CBS. The series stars Ned Beatty as Nick Szysznyk. It consists of only ten episodes.-Plot:...
.... Mrs. Dinsmore (1 episode, 1978) - 1978: Rabbit TestRabbit Test (film)Rabbit Test is a 1978 comedy motion picture about the world's first pregnant man, directed by Joan Rivers and starring Billy Crystal.Its title is derived from the rabbit test previously used to determine pregnancy.-Plot:...
.... Cousin Claire - 1978: FamilyFamily (TV series)Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
.... Nurse Rondo (1 episode, 1978) - 1978: The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1 episode, 1978)
- 1978: Diff'rent StrokesDiff'rent StrokesDiff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
.... Edna Garrett (41 episodes, 1978–1984) - 1979: Beane's of BostonBeane's of BostonBeane's of Boston was a pilot episode for a proposed American adaption of the British sitcom Are You Being Served?. Though written by the original writers of the British series and starring John Hillerman, who would go on to fame in Magnum, P.I., the series was not picked up.-Trivia:John Hillerman...
(TV) .... Mrs. Slocombe - 1979: Flying High .... Woman (1 episode, 1979)
- 1979: HairHair (film)Hair is a 1979 American film adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name about a Vietnam war draftee who meets and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to the army induction center...
.... Lady in Pink - 1979: The Triangle Factory Fire ScandalThe Triangle Factory Fire ScandalThe Triangle Factory Fire Scandal is a 1979 film about the March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 garment workers died and which spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union....
(TV) .... Bessie - 1979: The Facts of LifeThe Facts of Life (TV series)The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
.... Edna Garrett (145 episodes, 1979–1986) - 1982: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris (TV) .... Edna Garrett
- 1982: The Love BoatThe Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
.... Ellen van Bowe / ... (4 episodes, 1982–1985) - 1985: WonderWorksWonderWorksWonderWorks was a project jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and PBS that made short, made for TV movies out of acclaimed children's books...
: Words by Heart (TV) .... Mary Tom Chism - 1986: Noah's Ark (V) (voice) .... Noah's Wife
- 1986: The Worst WitchThe Worst Witch (TV movie)The Worst Witch premiered in 1986 on Central Independent Television and HBO. It is based on the children's book by Jill Murphy.-Plot:The film follows the plot of the 1974 book from the series, portraying the incidents of when Mildred turns herself invisible and transforms Ethel into a pig, Miss...
(TV) .... Miss Cackle/Agatha - 1987: St. ElsewhereSt. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
.... Proud Mary (1 episode, 1987) - 1987: Murder, She WroteMurder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
.... Nettie Harper (1 episode, 1987) - 1988: Save the Dog! (TV)
- 1989: 227227 (TV series)227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
.... Millie McMillan (1 episode, 1989) - 1991: Baby Talk .... Aunt Beverly (1 episode, 1991)
- 1992: Tom and Jerry: The MovieTom and Jerry: The MovieTom and Jerry: The Movie is a 1992 American animated musical film directed by Phil Roman, and produced by Film Roman and Turner Pictures. It is a film adaptation of the Tom and Jerry series of theatrical shorts....
(voice) .... Aunt Pristine Figg - 1993: Thunder in ParadiseThunder in ParadiseThunder in Paradise was a one-hour action-adventure TV series from the creators of Baywatch, which starred Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a straight-to-video feature film in September 1993, then ran for one season in 1994, before...
(V) .... Lola Miller - 1994: Itsy Bitsy SpiderItsy Bitsy Spider (TV Series)The Itsy Bitsy Spider was an animated series based on the short film of the same name. It was broadcast on the USA Network's USA Cartoon Express. The title character's voice was done by Frank Welker.-External links:* at TV.com**...
TV series .... Adrian - 1994: Thunder in ParadiseThunder in ParadiseThunder in Paradise was a one-hour action-adventure TV series from the creators of Baywatch, which starred Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a straight-to-video feature film in September 1993, then ran for one season in 1994, before...
.... Lola (1 episode, 1994) - 1995: Mickey: Reelin' Through the Years (TV)
- 1995: Mickey: Reelin' Through the Years (TV)
- 1994: SistersSisters (TV series)Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
.... Mrs. Gump (3 episodes, 1994–1995) - 1995: Can't Hurry LoveCan't Hurry LoveCan't Hurry Love is a US sitcom that ran for less than five months between September 1995 and February 1996.The show starred Nancy McKeon as a 20-something placement coordinator at a New York City personnel agency. McKeon plays Annie O'Donnell, a single career woman living in New York City and...
.... Helen (1 episode, 1995) - 1996: The Secret World of Alex MackThe Secret World of Alex MackThe Secret World of Alex Mack is an American television series that ran on Nickelodeon from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, replacing Clarissa Explains It All on the SNICK line-up. It also aired on YTV in Canada and NHK in Japan, and was a popular staple in the children's weekday line-up for...
.... Dave's Mother (1 episode, 1996) - 1997: NowhereNowhere (film)Nowhere is a 1997 film by director and screenwriter Gregg Araki. It stars James Duval and Rachel True as Dark and Mel, a bisexual teen couple who are both sexually promiscuous....
.... Fortune Teller - 1997: 101 Dalmatians: The Series101 Dalmatians: The Series101 Dalmatians: The Series is a animated television series produced by the Walt Disney Company based on the classic 1961 Disney animated feature of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake.-Premise:...
.... Nanny (43 episodes, 1997–1998) - 1999: Crime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex KellyCrime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex KellyCrime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex Kelly is based on the life of Alex Kelly. It was released on March 16, 1999.-Plot:...
(TV) - 2000: Another Woman's Husband (TV) .... Stella
- 2000: Diagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
.... Estelle (1 episode, 2000) - 2000: The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas! (V) (voice) .... Mrs. Caruthers
- 2001: The Facts of Life ReunionThe Facts of Life ReunionThe Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 made-for-television movie based on the 1979-1988 sitcom The Facts of Life reuniting original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields thirteen years later...
(TV) .... Mrs. Edna Garrett - 2004: Strong MedicineStrong MedicineStrong Medicine is a medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict. The television series aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The series was created and produced in part by comedienne and...
.... Maude (1 episode, 2004) - 2005: The King of QueensThe King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
.... Betty (1 episode, 2005) - 2008: You Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
.... Mrs. Greenhouse - 2008: Thomas Kinkade's Home for ChristmasThomas Kinkade's Home for ChristmasThomas Kinkade's Home for Christmas, also known as The Christmas Cottage, is a Michael Campus film released on November 11, 2008 on DVD...
(V) .... Vesta - 2008: ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.... Roxanne Gaines (4 episodes, 2008) - 2009: Life .... Mary Ford (1 episode, 2009)
- 2011: Pretty Little LiarsPretty Little Liars (TV series)Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery-thriller teen drama television series created by Marlene King. Based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard, the show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family...
.... Bead shop woman (1 episode, 2010)