I thought it was a pretty crappy thing for Mrs. Garrett to dump Mr. Drummond, Arnold, Willis and Kimberly. In the episode "Rough Housing" she lied to Mr. Drummond and told him she would be back. She lied as she never did come back. She was mean to string along that family who loved and adored her. Evidently, they cared more about her than she ever cared for them. She just up and dumped them and never looked back.

I thought it was a pretty crappy thing for Mrs. Garrett to dump Mr. Drummond, Arnold, Willis and Kimberly. In the episode "Rough Housing" she lied to Mr. Drummond and told him she would be back. She lied as she never did come back.


But she did come back, as she continued to do both shows for another half a season.

She was mean to string along that family who loved and adored her. Evidently, they cared more about her than she ever cared for them. She just up and dumped them and never looked back.

Well, maybe if Mr. Drummond had paid her as much as she made at Eastland, she would have stayed. But clearly, it was more beneficial for her to work at Eastland. You go where the money is, right?

Mrs. Garrett wasn't mean or uncaring to the Drummonds, their housekeepers came and went with two more in Adelaide and Pearl. But we wouldn't have had a good Facts of Life show if the producers of both kept her on Strokes instead. She was the adult star needed there on Facts, the other two adults from the first season didn't do much for the show (especially the other woman) and were dropped, but Charlotte Rae stayed most of the series. Remember Kimberly was a student at Eastland, even though there is bad continuity there not being mentioned on FOL Mrs. Garrett would still have seen her a lot. But Dana Plato was needed more on Diff'rent Strokes to interact with her father and brothers, Kimberly was definitely part of both universes though.

Obviously a job as a housemother at a prestigious prep school would pay a lot more than being a housekeeper. Also, they had that scene in case if Facts of Life failed as a TV show. They promised Charlotte Rae she could return to Different Strokes if FOL failed.

Mrs. Garrett wasn't mean or uncaring to the Drummonds, their housekeepers came and went with two more in Adelaide and Pearl. But we wouldn't have had a good Facts of Life show if the producers of both kept her on Strokes instead. She was the adult star needed there on Facts, the other two adults from the first season didn't do much for the show (especially the other woman) and were dropped, but Charlotte Rae stayed most of the series. Remember Kimberly was a student at Eastland, even though there is bad continuity there not being mentioned on FOL Mrs. Garrett would still have seen her a lot. But Dana Plato was needed more on Diff'rent Strokes to interact with her father and brothers, Kimberly was definitely part of both universes though.

It was explained in Different Strokes that Kimberly was a day student at Eastland (then Eastlake), thus she didn't live on campus full time.

It was explained in Different Strokes that Kimberly was a day student at Eastland (then Eastlake), thus she didn't live on campus full time.

But sometimes Mr. Drummond says "My daughter Kimberly's away at school", indicating she lives there. It's inconsistent; sometimes she's treated like a commuter to Eastland, sometimes like a boarder at Eastland. :confused:

Per IMDB, Charlotte appeared in eight episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" as a regular cast member after the first four FOL episodes aired, with her last show being "The Rivals" in December 1979. She later returned as a guest at Mr. Drummond's wedding in early 1984.

Well i'm glad MRS G left 'Different strokes': FOL would never have been the same without her, and to be honest it was clear she was going to be the surrogate mother to the Eastland girls after watching the 'pilot episode' lol!