why did mrs garrett leave different strokes

The show follows the Drummonds' former housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett . The reason for this, in part, was that it was in Rae's contract that she be allowed to return to Diff'rent Strokes should The Facts of Life be canceled. During the series' sixth season, Plato became pregnant and her character was written out of the series (though she would go on to make guest appearances for the final two seasons). 01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release) Since the end of the show, shes appeared in a few acting projects but has primarily focused on her singing career. Dana Plato was a child actress on the television show Diffrent Strokes. Its just like Jean Stapleton deciding to leave the role of Edith Bunker when she did. She was written out to start The Facts of Life. In the fall of 1985, when the series moved to ABC for the seventh season, Arnold, Dudley and Lisa entered high school, where they gained a new friend in Charlie (Jason Hervey). The series made stars of Coleman, Bridges, and Plato and became known for the "very special episodes", in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, alcoholism, hitchhiking, kidnapping, and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored. (Kimberly did not become a regular character in that series, although the two shows had a number of crossovers.). A sticky-sweet network sitcom the whole family could enjoy, "Diff'rent Strokes" was a smash hit for NBC (before a late-run move to ABC) for almost a decade, airing from 1978 to 1986. She returned to television as a series regular on all five seasons of the FOX sitcom Living Single. The pilot episode of "Diff'rent Strokes" featured a small, core cast of five actors: Conrad Bain as rich dad Philip Drummond), Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as his adopted sons Arnold and Willis Jackson, Charlotte Rae as housekeeper Edna Garrett, and Dana Plato as Kimberly Drummond, Philip's biological daughter. Was she really even committed to the show? She was arrested the following year for forging prescriptions for Valium. In August 1985, according to UPI, Carter officially left the show in advance of its eighth (and ultimately final) season. They live in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Plato), and their housemaid. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Since completing high school, Astin has kept very busy acting in both TV and movies. In a case of life imitating art, Todd Bridges dated his Diffrent Strokes girlfriend Janet Jackson and also admitted in his autobiography to having a couple flings with Dana Plato. Since there was a new fresh-faced kid in the house with Sam, Arnold now had his own little sidekick and was happy to be a "big brother" for a change. . Bain had recently finished a six-year run co-starring as Dr. Arthur Harmon on the hugely successful Maude. The success of the spin-off led to several Strokes/Facts crossovers in the ensuing years. Enter Different Strokes. Producers immediately decided child actor Todd Bridges should play the older brother; he had appeared in a number of commercials and guest roles. She cut her teeth on the stage, performing in Broadway plays like The Threepenny Opera and Lil Abner, later picking up two Tony nominations in 1966 (for best featured actress in a musical in Pickwick) and 1969 (best actress in a play in Morning, Noon and Night). Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. I admire Mindy (Cohn) very much but I havent seen her in years. Antenna TV's One-of-a-Kind, One Day at a Time Mother's Day Marathon; And Just Like That Gets S2 Premiere Date When that series ended in 1997, she guest-starred on several other series like Cupid, The Drew Carey Show, and The Division (alongside McKeon). After the series ended Bridges developed an addiction to cocaine. Charlotte Rae, the former Mrs. Garrett, keeps busy with stage work, cruise ship performances, lecturing, and occasional TV and movie roles. Rae died Sunday at her Los Angeles home, according to The New York Times. It began as a spin-off from the very popular Diffrent Strokes sitcom and transplanted the Drummunds housekeeper Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) to the fictional all-girls Eastland School. Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the third season on DVD on July 17, 2012. 04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD) Towards the end of the seventh season, Rae began to contemplate leaving the series. My own fun that I have in my own life with whatever Im doingtheyre catching that in my character.. According to Jet, Coleman wound up with a per episode salary of $70,000, making him NBC's highest paid sitcom star at the age of 13. It's a sentence fragment of an aphorism that means, essentially, "to each his own" or "whatever floats your boat," and in its usage here, as the name of a show about a single, white man who adopts two Black children, that families comes in a variety of forms. The show began airing in 1979; Garrett stuck with it until the eighth season, eventually bowing out due to health problems. Why did Mrs. Garrett leave diff'rent strokes? Producer Al Burton had spotted Dana Plato as part of a cheerleading team auditioning on The Gong Show and felt she had a spark about her, and recommended her for the role of Drummond's daughter Kimberly. Leachman was on The Facts of Life for two seasons, though. As a result, from the later first season and on into the second season, Plato became a regular character. Bridges, Plato and Catlett were all absent from the episode, and several cast members later voiced their disappointment that they had not realized it would be the final episode, and would have liked to have been present to mark the end of the series onscreen more adequately. Rae delved into her struggles with Andy, as well as her marriage and struggles with alcohol addiction, in her 2015 memoir, The Facts of My Life, which was co-written with Larry. In the two part season 8 premiere, Mrs. Garrett reunited with Bruce Gaines (Robert Mandan), an old flame from her time in the Peace Corps. [42] They subsequently re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on July 15, 2014. She changed her last name to Austin and has issued five albums. Appearing on a semi-regular basis, she effectively filled the same function as Adelaide as the older female character in many stories, and is present in many third and fourth season episodes. According to the Washington Post, producers of "Diff'rent Strokes," which frequently aired "very special episodes" about social issues, had a story about juvenile drug abuse in the works and sent a letter to the First Lady asking her to tape a short public service announcement urging kids to stay away from drugs, which they could tag onto the episode. in the television series, but by an uncredited voice actor who voiced the car for various Universal Studios promotions.). Privacy Policy. Mr. Drummond's dotty sister Sophia (Dody Goodman) was regularly seen in the fourth season, playing matchmaker for her brother in hopes of getting him to remarry. I thought Id like to go back and do the stage, and travel, and enjoy myself, and do other things, which I did, she said in 2017. Ive had a wonderful one already Ive had a great life, but I have so many wonderful things happening. Bridges' more high-profile role was as Monk, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, conspiracy theorist, and nephew of Chris's boss Doc on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Cloris Leachman, almost 82, had a very impressive film and television career prior to joining Facts as Beverly Anne in 1986. 130 Ending or Cancelled TV Shows for the 2022-23 Season, CBS 2022-23 TV Season Ratings (updated 4/30/2023), Viewer Votes Ranking for the 2022-23 Network TV Shows, The CW 2022-23 TV Season Ratings (updated 4/30/2023), Cancelled or Renewed? 02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series (Although Hasselhoff, in his costume as Michael Knight appears, the voice of K.I.T.T. Nobody ever knew. [36] Season 4 was released on November 20, 2012. Where can I stream different strokes live? I cant tell them apart.. Search Sitcoms Online: