According to EW, reps for the Emmy nominated star confirmed she'd passed away Sunday, Aug. 5 in her L.A. -area home. Even while appearing on The Facts of Life, she also appeared on The Love Boat, playing three different roles in four episodes between 1982 and 1985. The actress had previously been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I'd like to choose life.
During her first cancer battle, the actress went through gruelling chemotherapy and lost all her hair, but ended up beating the cancer. There she was cast in the short-lived Norman Lear sitcom "Hot L Baltimore" and a similarly unsuccessful variety show hosted by Rich Little before scoring "Diff'rent Strokes", on which Mrs. Garrett was the family's housekeeper. "I'm grateful for the life I've already had".
Charlotte Rae originated the character of Mrs. Garrett in 1978 during the first season of NBC's comedy "Diff'rent Strokes", then took Mrs. Garrett with her for the spinoff "The Facts of Life", which premiered the following season. She played the same character heading up at an all-girls boarding school. Rae left the show in 1986 for health reasons, and though Cloris Leachman stepped in as Mrs. Garrett's sister, the show was canceled two years later. "The Phil Silvers Show", "ER", and "Girl Meets World". She racked up over 90 credits across six decades, making her final appearance in the 2015 Meryl Streep movie Ricki and the Flash.
Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald tweeted: "She was so sweet, funny, wise, lovely, and brilliant". They were very attached to Mrs. Garrett.
She married composer John Strauss in 1951, and the couple had two sons, Larry and Andrew. "Rest In Peace Sweet Charlotte Rae".
According to Entertainment Tonight, Rae is survived by her sister, Miriam Guten, and her son, Larry.
In an interview with HuffPost in 2016, Rae said she never got exhausted of hearing people yell "Mrs. Garrett!" whenever they saw her.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed the actor's were pushing a series return to the small screen through their respective production companies: Appian Way and Ocean Films.
