TVSquad

If you're a fan of '70s and '80s TV, you've probably been having a bunch of a "wha the?" moments over the last year or so. When this particular little white-haired older lady shows up on a show, she doesn't look familiar, but then you hear the matronly but deep voice, and you realize who you've just seen on your screen.

It's Mrs. Garrett! Only by the time you realize it, she's gone, leaving you to wonder if you were imagining things.

Don't worry; you're not going insane. We've been seeing a lot of Charlotte Rae, who played Edna Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life, on TV lately, mostly playing tiny roles that involve maybe a few lines at the most. In fact, just last night, she played a suspect's mother on an episode of Life.

Most people who have caught the fleeting glimpses of Rae have probably seen her on ER; she plays Roxanne, the kindly old lady who dodders around the emergency room at County, complaining about one ailment or another.

Rae's IMDb listing doesn't show much between 2008, when she was on ER and Adam Sandler's epic You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and a King of Queens episode in 2005. But I swear she's been in more than that lately.

Doesn't matter how small the role is, though; it's good to see that someone who played such an enduring character from our childhood is still working, even though she's well into her eighties now.

Where have you seen Charlotte Rae on TV lately? Let me know in the comments.