Here’s Why Charlotte Rae Walked Away From ‘The Facts of Life’

For seven seasons, Charlotte Rae was the heart and soul of The Facts of Life. But after years of guiding and nurturing Tootie, Blair, Jo, and Natalie, Charlotte truly felt like she had to leave. The actress had health concerns, but she also simply felt like her part on the series was complete, and wanted to exit the show while it still made sense.

How Charlotte Rae landed The Facts of Life

Everett Collection

Charlotte began her TV career in the ’50s, and though she found a steady gig in the ’60s as Mrs. Schnauzer on Car 54, Where Are You?, she largely stuck to guest star roles until 1978, when she had her breakthrough as Edna Garrett on the first season of Diff’rent Strokes. Garrett, who was 53 when she took on the role, was a popular character during the show’s initial seasons, and when she proposed expanding an episode about Kimberly’s boarding school into a spinoff show, producers listened, and The Facts of Life was born.

Rae had a stipulation written into her contract that if the show failed, she could return to Diff’rent Strokes, but she didn’t need to worry; after a difficult start with its first season in 1979, The Facts of Life climbed the Nielsen charts. Though it never broke the top 20, it was consistently ranked among the most popular TV shows with American teenagers.

But over the course of the show’s run, Rae felt she explored every single facet of her character, and her role had become a bit less prominent as seasons went on and the girls matured. The show went on for nine seasons — that’s a lot of time to be stuck in high school!

With all that said, Charlotte’s departure had nothing to do with her relationship with each of the young actresses who co-starred with her on the show. She was incredibly proud of each one of them as she watched them blossom from young girls into mature and very capable young women. Charlotte knew that they could carry the show without her.

Why Charlotte Rae left The Facts of Life

Embassy Pictures / Courtesy: Everett Collection

In 2018, Closer magazine reported Charlotte as having said, “When it was getting towards the seventh year, I felt I couldn’t go on for two more years, which is what they asked everyone to do. It didn’t feel right to me, because I knew the focus was going to be even more on the kids and the kids don’t need that much guidance anymore.”

Health concerns were another reason why Charlotte felt like she had to leave. I don’t think she wanted to make a big deal about it way back then, but she had received a pacemaker during her time on the show. That experience had made her realize just how important it was to prioritize her well-being. So, despite being offered millions to stay, Charlotte remained firm in her decision to leave, and exited at the end of the seventh season.

Like I said earlier, she didn’t feel like she had much of a choice. She knew that her health, her happiness, and personal fulfillment were all far more important than any sort of financial gain that might be achieved by sticking around.

Enter: Cloris Leachman. The legendary actress was cast as Beverly Ann Stickle, Mrs. Garrett’s sister. Cloris, best known for playing Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her own spinoff, was eager to return to television and embraced the role…and the significant salary that came with it.

Did The Facts of Life continue without Charlotte Rae?

So, The Facts of Life continued on for a couple more seasons, proving that Charlotte was right: it could thrive without her. While the show’s ratings had dipped a bit, NBC actually wanted to renew the show for a 10th season. However, when the network brass learned that Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon didn’t want to return to play Natalie and Jo, they, I believe, made the correct decision to end the series.

After leaving The Facts of Life, Charlotte continued to find work. In the years following her departure, she made guest appearances on numerous TV shows like Murder, She Wrote, St. Elsewhere, and Sisters. Whatever role she took, she did so with an eye towards prioritizing balance in her life. She didn’t want Hollywood to control her anymore. She loved to travel, and she made certain to allocate time each year for that as well.

Charlotte also discovered that doing voice work on animated TV shows like The Itsy Bitsy Spider and 101 Dalmatians: The Series was far less taxing than being on set and in front of a camera. Now, with all that said, she still found time to play Mrs. Garrett again in the 2001 The Facts of Life Reunion movie. During those latter years, I also remember seeing her on The King of Queens and ER.

Sadly, Charlotte continued to have health issues. When her original pacemaker finally gave out after 30 years of service, it was left in place on the left side of her chest, and a new, smaller one was placed on the right side. That device functioned well until her passing in 2018. Charlotte was 92 years old when she died.

Based on the reactions to her death from her co-stars, I think it’s fair to say that Charlotte had positively influenced all of their lives.

People magazine reported that Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair, said: “Thank you, Charlotte, for 40 years of friendship and love. You will be missed.”

In that same article, Kim Fields, who played Tootie, said: “Sorry, no words at the moment. Just love and tears. And yeah, smiles.”

And, Mindy Cohn, who played Natalie, said: “She was my champion, a teacher, and a proud example of tenacity and perseverance. I love you, Charlotte, and I will continue to make you proud.”

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