Charlotte Rae, who starred as Mrs. Garrett on ‘The Facts of Life,’ dies at 92
Actress Charlotte Rae, who won acclaim playing the housemother Edna Garrett on the sitcom “The Facts of Life,” has died. She was 92.
Rae, who was nominated for Emmy and Tony awards, died Aug. 5 at her home in Los Angeles. She was diagnosed last year with bone cancer; she had survived pancreatic cancer.
Rae first appeared as Mrs. Garrett in a recurring role as a housekeeper on the popular sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” and then for seven years on its spinoff, “The Facts of Life,” beginning in 1979. Her Emmy nomination was for the show.
Her career also featured appearances on more than 50 television shows.
Rae worked in theater before her TV career took off, garnering two Tony nominations — in 1966 as best featured actress in a musical in “Pickwick,” and in 1969 for best actress in a play for “Morning, Noon and Night.”
Her last role in a feature film was alongside Meryl Streep in the 2015 movie “Rikki and the Flash.” She also appeared in films such as Woody Allen’s “Bananas” in 1971, “Hair” in 1979 and the Adam Sandler comedy “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” in 2008.
Rae was born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky in Milwaukee, Wis., to Russian-Jewish immigrants. Her mother, Esther, was a childhood friend of the future Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, also a Milwaukee native. Rae reportedly dropped her Jewish-sounding surname on the advice of an unnamed radio personality.
She released her autobiography, “The Facts of My Life,” in 2015, co-written by her son Larry Strauss.
Rae was married for 25 years to composer John Strauss, but divorced in 1976 when he came out as bisexual. Her son Andrew, who was diagnosed with autism, died in his mid-40s of a heart attack in 1999.
She is survived by her son, Larry; three grandchildren; and a sister, Miriam Guten.
—JTA News and Features
Moshe Mizrahi, only Israeli director of Oscar-winning film, dies at 86
JERUSALEM — Israeli filmmaker Moshe Mizrahi, the only Israeli director of an Academy Award-winning film, was buried in Tel Aviv.
Mizrahi died Friday in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv He was 86.
He directed the 1977 Oscar winner “Madame Rosa,” which was filmed in France and starred Simone Signoret. The film, which won for best foreign language film on behalf of France, is the story of a former prostitute in Paris who survived Auschwitz.
Mizrahi was nominated for Oscars for two other films he directed in the 1970s, “I Love You Rosa” and “The House on Chelouche Street.”
The Egypt native immigrated to prestate Israel in 1946 and studied film in France in the 1950s. He worked for most of his career in France before returning to Israel, where he later taught film studies at Tel Aviv University.
In 2001, Mizrahi was awarded a lifetime achievement prize from the Israeli Academy of Film and Television.
—JTA News and Features
Mignon Conn
Mignon Conn, of Silver Spring, died July 31. She was the beloved wife of the late Leonard Conn; devoted mother of Steven Conn and Jeffrey (Kathleen) Conn; cherished grandmother of Sarah and Emily Conn. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
Anita Weinstein
Anita Weinstein, of Bethesda, died Aug. 4. She was the loving wife of 45 years of the late Louis R. Weinstein; devoted mother of Mark (Michele) Weinstein and Susan (Jay) Magenheim; cherished grandmother of Courtney (Raph) Posner, Adam (Riana) Studner, Jason (Shayne) Weinstein, Ryan (Cydney) Studner and Samantha Magenheim; and great-grandmother of Chase, Felix, Henry and Jade. Contributions may be made to JSSA Hospice. Arrangements by Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
