LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Actress Charlotte Rae, known as the matriarch of the sitcom “The Facts of Life” and as the housekeeper on “Diff'rent Strokes,” died this weekend at her Los Angeles home of cancer. She was 92.
Rae died Sunday. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010 and underwent successful treatment but revealed in 2017 that she was battling bone cancer.
Co-stars from “The Facts of Life” and “Diff'rent Strokes” expressed sadness on social media.
Todd Bridges Tweeted: “Different Strokes would not have been the same without you #CharlotteRae. You were loved by everyone on our show and you were loved by everyone on the facts of life will miss you. "My heart is full of Pain." Rest in peace my friend.”
Kim Fields from “Facts of Life” noted: “You all already know my heart is heavy yet.... sorry, no words at the moment just love and tears... and yeah, smiles.”
And Mindy Cohn from “Facts of Life” said on Twitter: “It's with a heavy heart and tears (but a smile as i think of her lil' bod and hear her voice) that I now move through the world without this incredible force of a woman being it. “
Rae was born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 22, 1926. She was raised on a farm, according to IMDb. She started in theatre in the 1950s and was nominated for Tony awards in 1966 for her role in the musical “Pickwick” and in 1969 for the play “Morning, Noon and Night.” She was nominated twice for prime time Emmys.
Rae reportedly stood 5 feet tall, was married from 1951 to 1976 to John Strauss and had two sons -- Larry and Andrew Strauss.
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