Charlotte Rae and the relationship with her co-stars

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

In her autobiography, CR talks about the relationship with her co-stars on both DS and FOL. She said she had a warm and friendly relationship with the kids on Strokes and with Conrad Bain, she said John Lawlor was her best friend on the set during season 1 and she said that the core 4 were politely distant with her because they thought she was a boss on the show. She said that when she was working on the show(s) but did things changed after?

She never mentioned or talk about John Lawlor, the Lost Girls, Conrad Bain and the kids on DS and they never talked about her.
The relationship with the 4 became stronger, she said she was more in touch with Lisa and Nancy than Mindy or Kim.

Do you have other theories?

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

In her autobiography, CR talks about the relationship with her co-stars on both DS and FOL. She said she had a warm and friendly relationship with the kids on Strokes and with Conrad Bain, she said John Lawlor was her best friend on the set during season 1 and she said that the core 4 were politely distant with her because they thought she was a boss on the show. She said that when she was working on the show(s) but did things changed after?

She never mentioned or talk about John Lawlor, the Lost Girls, Conrad Bain and the kids on DS and they never talked about her.
The relationship with the 4 became stronger, she said she was more in touch with Lisa and Nancy than Mindy or Kim.

Do you have other theories?

Trying to understand this. In one paragraph you said she Charlotte had good relationship with Conrad Bain and John Lawlor and then the next paragraph you are saying the opposite. Can you clarify what you are saying more clearly?

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Trying to understand this. In one paragraph you said she Charlotte had good relationship with Conrad Bain and John Lawlor and then the next paragraph you are saying the opposite. Can you clarify what you are saying more clearly?

I said Charlotte had a good relationship with JL and CB the period she was working with them. But AFTER the show, she never mentioned or talked about them and viceversa. Probably they weren't friends anymore AFTER (NOT DURING) the show

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

I said Charlotte had a good relationship with JL and CB the period she was working with them. But AFTER the show, she never mentioned or talked about them and viceversa. Probably they weren't friends anymore AFTER (NOT DURING) the show

Just because she didn't work with them any more doesn't mean that they didn't see one another after they existed from the show. Charlotte Rae still was in contact with Julie Pie and there are plenty of photos to prove it many years after the show ended. Not sure about the other girls. Perhaps Sunday's documentary will shed more light.

Here is a more recent photo of Charlotte, Kim, and Julie Pie when Kim was on Dancing with the Stars.

['80sSitcoms]

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[valentina warner]

I don't believe CHARLOTTE RAE

[valentina warner]

Oops i pressed the button accidentally!

I meant, i don't believe CHARLOTTE RAE had a distant relationship with the core of 4: there was simply so much chemistry on the set with the 5 of them, and you cannot fake that!
I have heard of stars not having chemistry off set, and you can normally notice that there isn't that much either on set.
The proof is, that LISA WHELCHEL and NANCY MCKEON said they were friends with her for almost 40 years and there are photos to prove it!
And yes, i believe she was closer to the two of them than she ever was with KIM FIELDS and MINDY COHN....

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

I meant, i don't believe CHARLOTTE RAE had a distant relationship with the core of 4:

Well, she did. She talks about it in her book.

Originally Posted by valentina warner

there was simply so much chemistry on the set with the 5 of them, and you cannot fake that!

Yes you can. Vivian Vance and William Frawley HATED each other on "I Love Lucy". But they come off as thos lovable Mertzes with a long marriage. Some movie star who portrayed couples couldn't stand each other off screen, but made it work on screen.

Originally Posted by valentina warner

I have heard of stars not having chemistry off set, and you can normally notice that there isn't that much either on set.

Yeah, sometimes they can't get past it; but some actors can.

Originally Posted by valentina warner

The proof is, that LISA WHELCHEL and NANCY MCKEON said they were friends with her for almost 40 years and there are photos to prove it!

Again, Charlotte talks about the "polite distance" the girls kept her at in her book.

Originally Posted by valentina warner

And yes, i believe she was closer to the two of them than she ever was with KIM FIELDS and MINDY COHN....

She was still close with Kim and Mindy; just look at their social media posts after Charlotte's passing.

[valentina warner]

And besides, you cannot work for so many years with someone, and so closely too not to have a relationship: you're meant to bond somehow!
And if CHARLOTTE RAE was bossy towards the core of 4, it's because she was older and had more acting experience. She was probably trying to teach them and give them acting advice.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

And besides, you cannot work for so many years with someone, and so closely too not to have a relationship: you're meant to bond somehow!

That would be lovely if that would happen everywhere. Then everyone would love their co-workers.

Originally Posted by valentina warner

And if CHARLOTTE RAE was bossy towards the core of 4, it's because she was older and had more acting experience. She was probably trying to teach them and give them acting advice.

No no, she wasn't "bossy". When he said "boss" he meant they thought she was part of management. Someone who had power over them (perhaps disciplinary, they may have wondered) and over the show.

[valentina warner]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

That would be lovely if that would happen everywhere. Then everyone would love their co-workers.



No no, she wasn't "bossy". When he said "boss" he meant they thought she was part of management. Someone who had power over them (perhaps disciplinary, they may have wondered) and over the show.

Well i still cannot believe what you're telling me about CHARLOTTE RAE: she had so much chemistry on the set with LISA WHELCHEL as BLAIR and NANCY MCKEON as JO to fake it!
And if that were the case: why would she have kept in touch with them for 40 years?
And why would she have chemistry with the DIFFERENT STROKES kids if she only had a season with them, whereas she had years with the core of 4???

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

Well i still cannot believe what you're telling me about CHARLOTTE RAE: she had so much chemistry on the set with LISA WHELCHEL as BLAIR and NANCY MCKEON as JO to fake it!
And if that were the case: why would she have kept in touch with them for 40 years?

I'm not saying she faked it. I'm just saying what she and the girls have said. And they kept in touch with each other because it was still a special time for all of them.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

And besides, you cannot work for so many years with someone, and so closely too not to have a relationship: you're meant to bond somehow!
And if CHARLOTTE RAE was bossy towards the core of 4, it's because she was older and had more acting experience. She was probably trying to teach them and give them acting advice.

After the show, Lisa Whelchel disappeared from Hollywood and had little to no contact with her costars for like 10 years.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

In her autobiography, CR talks about the relationship with her co-stars on both DS and FOL. She said she had a warm and friendly relationship with the kids on Strokes and with Conrad Bain, she said John Lawlor was her best friend on the set during season 1 and she said that the core 4 were politely distant with her because they thought she was a boss on the show. She said that when she was working on the show(s) but did things changed after?

She never mentioned or talk about John Lawlor, the Lost Girls, Conrad Bain and the kids on DS and they never talked about her.
The relationship with the 4 became stronger, she said she was more in touch with Lisa and Nancy than Mindy or Kim.

Do you have other theories?

I'm glad to know she was close to John Lawlor. I do feel as though that friendship helped their chemistry on set. I know he took it pretty hard when he was fired from FOL (he calls it "fired" in the E! Hollywood Story), but I also know he was working again on major projects that very same year, so he found work very fast... within months, even.

Charlotte did an interview a few years ago where she specifically mentioned how great the Lost Girls were. She mentioned each of them by name, although she got Julie's name wrong, and I think she called her Julie McWhorter (who played Sassette Smurfling on The Smurfs). Charlotte may have been in touch/kept in touch with Julie Pie; they sat together during Kim's DWTS stint, and posed for photos together, Charlotte back with one of her lost Eastland girls. Julie was (as far as I know) the only Lost Girl to attend Charlotte's public memorial service, although there was a private one, as well. There are several photos of Mindy, Kim, Mac, Julie, Geri, and Aunt Pat at Charlotte's memorial, on this forum.

Geri has stated in her book, and in some documentaries, that she felt alternately accepted and rejected by Charlotte: "First she would accept me, then she would reject me." Charlotte rejected this interpretation, but maybe later she accepted some parts of it, because they did make up, and appeared together for several awards shows. Geri said she felt it was because Geri reminded Charlotte too much of her mentally handicapped son. I think, instead, it was because of the "professional distance" Charlotte put between herself and her girls, as described by the Core Four, and because they thought she was a Big Boss on the show.

I don't know exactly what happened between Charlotte and the DS cast, in later years. I only know from Kim's book that there were troubles on the set as early as when Tootie was still appearing on DS (so during or prior to Season Three on DS/Season Two on FOL). Things apparently got so bad on the show that Dixie Carter only did one season, preferring instead the relative calm of... the Designing Women set.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

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I like how she calls her "Sue Weaver", like that one time on the phone.