# We won’t be learning the Facts of Life any longer: Charlotte Rae is dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [August 6, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155 "2018-08-06T03:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/1 "2018-08-06T03:57:52Z")
> **[Charlotte Rae, Mrs. Garrett on Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes, Dies at...](https://people.com/tv/charlotte-rae-obituary/)** > > Charlotte Rae, best known as wise and lovable house mother Mrs. Garrett on The Facts of Life, died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles, her reps confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. She was 92. Mrs. Garrett of Different Strokes and Facts of Life is dead. In my opinion, she was by far the highlight of both shows. Different Strokes and Facts of Life both loved to hit us over the head with the very special episodes, Rae often provided some comic relief during those. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/2 "2018-08-06T05:28:13Z")
“Whut’chu talkin’ about, Willis?” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/3 "2018-08-06T05:54:07Z")
This makes me sad because it makes me realize how far behind me my own youth is. It’s like, I don’t want the cultural pillars of my childhood to be 92 years old and dead. But alas… ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/4 "2018-08-06T06:02:43Z")
Very sad. Mrs. G was always so cheerful. RIP, Charlotte. But I’ll confess that I only watched Facts of Life for Nancy McKeon. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/5 "2018-08-06T07:04:09Z")
I just saw Todd Bridges Twitter post paying tribute to the rest of the cast. Made me feel old. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/6 "2018-08-06T08:06:34Z")
Weirdly, my first thought is of her brief, wordless role in _Hair_ as the gleeful middle-aged woman who danced with Berger when the hippies crashed the society party. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/7 "2018-08-06T14:43:58Z")
I liked her since I saw her on stage at Ford’s Theater. No, Lincoln wasn’t there. It was a production Ken Ludwig’s “[Leading Ladies](https://www.fords.org/performances/past-productions/leading-ladies/cast-artistic-team/).” She and John Astin were the big names, thought they had small roles. It was the last show of the run, and everyone on stage was having a great time. I do remember how short she was: everyone towered over her. Sorry to hear she’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/8 "2018-08-06T15:14:08Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > Very sad. Mrs. G was always so cheerful. RIP, Charlotte. > > But I’ll confess that I only watched Facts of Life for Nancy McKeon. I started out hot for Blair, but quickly shifted my affections to Jo. :o RIP, Mrs G. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/9 "2018-08-06T16:51:15Z")
Goodbye to Sylvia Schnauser, beloved wife of Leo Schnauser (Al “Grandpa” Lewis) from _Car 54, Where Are You?_ Among surviving cast members, she had the 2nd most number of appearances on that show after [Hank Garrett](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308056/)\* (Officer Ed Nicholson). Now that’s a long career. - That image of him on his IMDb page from _3 Days of the Condor_: still creepy after all these years. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/10 "2018-08-06T17:45:10Z")
I never saw those shows but I found a [really old clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCJuGEl-er4) on youtube sometime ago and thought she was a cut-up. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/11 "2018-08-06T18:28:05Z")
Don’t be so sure… before she passed, a reboot was in the works… > **[The Facts of Life Reboot From Jessica Biel and Leonardo DiCaprio Might Be a...](https://www.eonline.com/news/957489/the-facts-of-life-reboot-from-jessica-biel-and-leonardo-dicaprio-might-be-a-thing)** > > Ready for another TV reboot? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-won-t-be-learning-the-facts-of-life-any-longer-charlotte-rae-is-dead/819155/12 "2018-08-06T19:45:05Z")
Probably the role I’ll remember her most by is “The Twitch” - a one-off on _The Phil Silvers Show_; as a punishment for gambling, Sgt. Bilko has to find a way to get a crowd to watch someone give a lecture on the life of Beethoven, but it’s made much easier when he discovers that she is notorious for tugging on her girdle and he starts taking bets on how many times she’ll do it.