CHARLOTTE RAE from "Diff'rent Strokes" and its spin-off "The Facts of Life" passed away yesterday. She was 92.
She played Edna Garrett (a.k.a. Mrs. G) on both shows. She got an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy in 1982. She also did two "Facts of Life" TV movies. Her last acting role was in the 2015 movie "Ricki and the Flash".
There's no word on a cause of death yet . . . but she was diagnosed with bone cancer last year.
So it was either that . . . or LEONARDO DICAPRIO and JESSICA BIEL killed her. (???)
Because coincidentally, just TWO DAYS before Charlotte kicked the bucket, a "Facts of Life" reboot was announced that Leo and Jessica . . . of all people . . . are developing.
Of course, they aren't actually going to be on the show . . . they're just executive producers.
All we know is that it'll be a modern take on the story, which was about a housemother and her students. There's no indication that any of the former stars would be back.
The original ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1979 to 1988. There were 209 episodes . . . more than "The Office", "Seinfeld", "How I Met Your Mother", and "According to Jim", which felt like it was on FOREVER.
It also offered George Clooney one of his early acting roles.
(By the way, if you missed it, Jimmy Kimmel did a funny bit last week about bringing "Dr. Quinn" back as "Dr. Quinn Medicinal Marijuana Woman".)