Charlotte Rae

Charlotte Rae Lubotsky was born on April 22, 1926, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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 is 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 Description above from the Wikipedia article Olivia Ruiz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Cast

Hair

(Lady in Pink)

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

(Mrs. Greenhouse)

Rabbit Test

(Cousin Claire)

The Worst Witch

(Miss Cackle)

Beane's of Boston

(Mae Slocombe)

Our Town

(Mrs. Soames)

Christmas Cottage

(Vesta)

Hello Down There

(Myrtle Ruth)

Words by Heart

(Mary Tom Chism)

Tom and Jerry: The Movie

(Aunt Figg (voice))

Love Sick Love

(Edna)

Thunder in Paradise

(Lola Miller)

The Love Song of Barney Kempinski

(Woman in Window)

A Different Approach

Nowhere

(Fortune Teller)

The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!

(Mrs. Caruthers (voice))

The Facts of Life Reunion

(Mrs. Edna Garrett)

Queen of the Stardust Ballroom

(Helen)

In Fashion

(Madame Aigreville)

Jenny

(Bella Star)

Bananas

(Mrs. Ruth Mellish)

She's The Best Thing in It

(Self)

The Facts of Life Goes to Paris

(Edna Garrett)

Ricki and the Flash

(Oma)

The Hot Rock

(Ma Murch)

Save the Dog!

The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal

(Bessie)

Night of 100 Stars II

(Self)

Sidewinder 1

(Mrs. Holt)

Noah's Ark

(Noah's Wife / Additional Voices (voice))

The Journey of the Fifth Horse

(Terentievna)

Another Woman's Husband

(Stella)

The Huffless, Puffless, Dragon

Pinocchio

(Rosa Whale)

The World of Sholom Aleichem

(The Angel Rochele)

Night of 100 Stars

(Self)

St. Elsewhere

Murder, She Wrote

(Nettie Harper)

Good Times

Thunder in Paradise

The Facts of Life

(Edna Garrett)

The Love Boat

Love, American Style

All in the Family

(Lillian Henderson)

227

101 Dalmatians: The Series

E! True Hollywood Story

Barney Miller

(Mrs. Rebecca Sobel)

Life

(Mary Ford)

Diagnosis: Murder

(Estelle)

All's Fair

The King of Queens

(Betty)

The Secret World of Alex Mack

Strong Medicine

(Maude)

Sisters

Hallmark Hall of Fame

ER

(Roxanne Gaines)

Play of the Week

Hot l Baltimore

McMillan and Wife

Intimate Portrait

(Self)

Temperatures Rising

(Mrs. Moscowitz)

Baby Talk

The Defenders

(Mrs. Abeles)

The United States Steel Hour

Family

The Paul Lynde Show

(Charlotte)

The Philco Television Playhouse

Szysznyk

The DuPont Show of the Week

(Mona Brinkman)

Way Out

Can't Hurry Love

The Wonderful World of Disney

Flying High

The Great Debate

The Rich Little Show

Appointment with Adventure

Pretty Little Liars

(Bead boutique owner)

The Bob Hope Show

(Self)

The Ed Sullivan Show

(Self)

101 Dalmatians: The Series

(Nanny (voice))

Girl Meets World

(Gammy Hart)

The Love Boat

(Ellen van Bowe)

Diff'rent Strokes

(Edna Garrett)

The Brothers Flub

(Tarara Boomdeeyay (voice))

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

(Adrienne)

Hello, Larry

(Edna Garrett)

Great Performances

(Madame Aigreville)