April 20, 1981
The final episode of Soap aired on ABC.
Although Susan Harris had
planned for five seasons of Soap, the program was abruptly canceled
by ABC after its fourth season. Therefore the final one-hour episode, which
originally aired on April 20, 1981, did not serve as a series finale and instead ended with
several unresolved cliffhangers. These involve a suicidal Chester preparing to
kill Danny and Annie (his son and wife) after catching them in bed together, an
irreversibly hypnotized Jodie believing himself to be a 90-year-old Jewish man,
Burt preparing to walk into an ambush orchestrated by his
political enemies, and Jessica about to be executed by a Communist firing squad. Vlasic Foods pulled their
sponsorship of the program shortly after this episode aired and ABC announced
that the program was not picked up for its planned fifth season. The official
reason given by the network was its declining ratings. However, according to
the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Soap "ended under
suspicion that resistance from ad agencies may have caused ABC to cancel [it]
at that point" because its still controversial content was negatively
affecting its relationship with sponsors. A 1983 episode of Benson mentions Jessica's disappearance, noting the Tate family is seeking
to have her declared legally dead. In the episode, Jessica appears as an
apparition that only Benson can see or hear and reveals to him that she is not
dead, but in a coma somewhere in South America. No other incidents from the
final episode of Soap are mentioned.
April 22, 1926
Charlotte Rae is born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky.
The of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six
decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett
in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The
Facts of Life (in which she
starred from 1979 to 1986). She received a Primetime Emmy
Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy in 1982. She also appeared in two Facts of Life
television movies: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris in 1982 and The Facts
of Life Reunion in 2001. She
voiced the character of "Nanny" in 101
Dalmatians: The Series.
Her first significant success was on the sitcom Car 54, Where
Are You? (1961–1963), in which
she played Sylvia Schnauzer, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauzer (played by Al Lewis). She was nominated for an Emmy Award
for her supporting role in the 1975 drama Queen
of the Stardust Ballroom. In
January 1975, Rae became a cast member on the ABC television comedy Hot L Baltimore, wherein she played Mrs. Bellotti, whose dysfunctional adult son
Moose, who was never actually seen, lived at the "hot l" (the hotel
was so bad the "E" on the sign never worked). Mrs. Bellotti, who was
a bit odd herself, would visit Moose and then laugh about all the odd
situations that Moose would get into with the others living at the hotel. Rae
also appeared in early seasons of Sesame Street as Molly the Mail Lady.
Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life
In 1978, NBC was losing to both CBS and ABC in sitcom
ratings, and Fred Silverman, future producer and former head of CBS, ABC, and NBC, insisted that Norman Lear
produce Diff'rent Strokes. Knowing that Rae was one of Lear's favorite
actresses, he hired her immediately for the role of housekeeper Edna
Garrett, and she co-starred with Conrad Bain
in all 24 episodes of the first season. Her character proved to be so popular
that producers decided to do an episode that could lead to a spinoff. That
episode (called "The Girls School") was about girls attending a
fictional school called Eastland. In July 1979, Rae proposed the idea for the
spinoff. NBC approved the show, to be called The
Facts of Life, which would
portray a housemother in a prestigious private school and dealt with such
issues facing teenagers as weight issues, depression, drugs, alcohol, and
dating.
After working as a character actress/comedienne in
supporting roles or in guest shots on television series and specials, The Facts
Of Life gave Rae not only her best-known role but it finally made her a
television star. The role of Edna Garrett was the unifying center of attention
of the program as well as a warm, motherly figure for the girls. Rae's role was
very similar to that of Kate Bradley on the 1960's CBS-TV
series Petticoat Junction, which also gave radio and television actress Bea Benaderet late stardom.
The Facts of Life had marginal ratings at first but
after a major restructuring and time change, the show became a ratings winner
between 1980 and 1986. Midway throughout both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons,
she missed several episodes because she was planning on leaving the show, and
the story lines focused more on the other characters. At the beginning of the
eighth season, Rae left the show and Cloris Leachman
was then brought in as Mrs. Garrett's sister, Beverly
Ann Stickle, for the show's last two
years, until the show was canceled in 1988.
In 2001, Rae, Lisa Whelchel,
Mindy Cohn,
and Kim Fields
were reunited in a TV movie, The Facts
of Life Reunion. In 2007, the
entire cast was invited to attend the TV Land Awards
where several members of the cast, including Rae, sang the show's theme song.
On April 19, 2011, the entire cast was reunited again to attend the TV Land
Awards, where the show was nominated and won the award for Pop Culture Icon.
The same day, Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields (who played Jo & Tootie,
respectively) also gave a speech in honor of her 85th birthday. The cast did
likewise on ABC's Good Morning
America, where at the end of the
segment, reporter, Cynthia McFadden wished Rae a happy birthday, and the cast sang the show's theme song.
April 22, 1976
Barbara
Walters signs $5 million contract.
Barbara Walters signs a record-breaking five-year, $5 million contract with
ABC. The contract made her the first news anchorwoman in network history and
the highest paid TV journalist to date.
April 24, 1936
A group of
firemen responding to an alarm in Camden, New Jersey, is televised.
It was the first time an unplanned event was
broadcast on television, anticipating the development of live TV news coverage.
Fortunately, the event would not inspire anyone to create reality programming.
April 20, 1981
The final episode of Soap aired on ABC.
April 22, 1926
Charlotte Rae is born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky.
The of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six
decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett
in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The
Facts of Life (in which she
starred from 1979 to 1986). She received a Primetime Emmy
Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy in 1982. She also appeared in two Facts of Life
television movies: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris in 1982 and The Facts
of Life Reunion in 2001. She
voiced the character of "Nanny" in 101
Dalmatians: The Series.
Her first significant success was on the sitcom Car 54, Where
Are You? (1961–1963), in which
she played Sylvia Schnauzer, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauzer (played by Al Lewis). She was nominated for an Emmy Award
for her supporting role in the 1975 drama Queen
of the Stardust Ballroom. In
January 1975, Rae became a cast member on the ABC television comedy Hot L Baltimore, wherein she played Mrs. Bellotti, whose dysfunctional adult son
Moose, who was never actually seen, lived at the "hot l" (the hotel
was so bad the "E" on the sign never worked). Mrs. Bellotti, who was
a bit odd herself, would visit Moose and then laugh about all the odd
situations that Moose would get into with the others living at the hotel. Rae
also appeared in early seasons of Sesame Street as Molly the Mail Lady.
Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life
In 1978, NBC was losing to both CBS and ABC in sitcom
ratings, and Fred Silverman, future producer and former head of CBS, ABC, and NBC, insisted that Norman Lear
produce Diff'rent Strokes. Knowing that Rae was one of Lear's favorite
actresses, he hired her immediately for the role of housekeeper Edna
Garrett, and she co-starred with Conrad Bain
in all 24 episodes of the first season. Her character proved to be so popular
that producers decided to do an episode that could lead to a spinoff. That
episode (called "The Girls School") was about girls attending a
fictional school called Eastland. In July 1979, Rae proposed the idea for the
spinoff. NBC approved the show, to be called The
Facts of Life, which would
portray a housemother in a prestigious private school and dealt with such
issues facing teenagers as weight issues, depression, drugs, alcohol, and
dating.
After working as a character actress/comedienne in
supporting roles or in guest shots on television series and specials, The Facts
Of Life gave Rae not only her best-known role but it finally made her a
television star. The role of Edna Garrett was the unifying center of attention
of the program as well as a warm, motherly figure for the girls. Rae's role was
very similar to that of Kate Bradley on the 1960's CBS-TV
series Petticoat Junction, which also gave radio and television actress Bea Benaderet late stardom.
The Facts of Life had marginal ratings at first but
after a major restructuring and time change, the show became a ratings winner
between 1980 and 1986. Midway throughout both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons,
she missed several episodes because she was planning on leaving the show, and
the story lines focused more on the other characters. At the beginning of the
eighth season, Rae left the show and Cloris Leachman
was then brought in as Mrs. Garrett's sister, Beverly
Ann Stickle, for the show's last two
years, until the show was canceled in 1988.
In 2001, Rae, Lisa Whelchel,
Mindy Cohn,
and Kim Fields
were reunited in a TV movie, The Facts
of Life Reunion. In 2007, the
entire cast was invited to attend the TV Land Awards
where several members of the cast, including Rae, sang the show's theme song.
On April 19, 2011, the entire cast was reunited again to attend the TV Land
Awards, where the show was nominated and won the award for Pop Culture Icon.
The same day, Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields (who played Jo & Tootie,
respectively) also gave a speech in honor of her 85th birthday. The cast did
likewise on ABC's Good Morning
America, where at the end of the
segment, reporter, Cynthia McFadden wished Rae a happy birthday, and the cast sang the show's theme song.
April 22, 1976
Barbara Walters signs $5 million contract.
Barbara Walters signs a record-breaking five-year, $5 million contract with
ABC. The contract made her the first news anchorwoman in network history and
the highest paid TV journalist to date.
April 24, 1936
A group of firemen responding to an alarm in Camden, New Jersey, is televised.
It was the first time an unplanned event was broadcast on television, anticipating the development of live TV news coverage. Fortunately, the event would not inspire anyone to create reality programming.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
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