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Charlotte Rae's Memoir Discusses Gay Husband

Charlotte Rae's Memoir Discusses Gay Husband

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The Facts of Life star is seeking a publisher for the memoir, which goes into the coming-out of her former husband, John Strauss.

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Charlotte Rae, the actress famed for playing beloved housemother Edna Garrett on The Facts of Life, is seeking a publisher for her, which discusses, among other things, the fact that her former husband, John Strauss, was gay, the New York Post reports.

While Rae is known to be supportive of LGBT people, such as Facts of Life costar Geri Jewell, she reveals in the memoir that Strauss's coming-out shook her up, as such a revelation likely would do to any straight spouse: "John's secret confirmed my feelings of inferiority," Rae writes. "That I was less than a woman. ... That I didn't deserve to be loved and valued."

Rae was married to Strauss, a composer and musical director, for 25 years. They divorced in the mid 1970s, and he died in 2011.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.