Charlotte Rae’s Incredibly Surprising Soap Connection

While the world is mourning the loss of veteran TV actress Charlotte Rae, who passed away at the age of 92 over the weekend, an old clip of the actress in which she shares a scene with a soap star on her hit series The Facts of Life has surfaced.

In this scene, which you can see below, Rae’s character, Edna Garrett, was out to eat with the girls she lived with: Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie, when a handsome man caught their eye.

That handsome man is none other than former Days of Our Lives (DOOL) star, Peter Reckell (ex-Bo), who portrays Alan Cooke on the primetime sitcom. In the scene, he gets to flirt with one of the girls… and shares a moment with Rae as well.

While Reckell has already finished his stint on As the World Turns as Eric when he guested on the hit show, it was a year before he was cast on DAYS in the role that made him a soap legend.

Of course, that’s not the only soap connection to the show. Former DAYS star Gloria Loring (ex-Liz) sang the catchy theme song, while soap vets Marj Dusay and Nicolas Coster played Blair’s parents on the show.

Countless other soap stars played roles on the show, including Scott Bryce (ex-Craig, ATWT), who ended up marrying the character of Jo (Nancy McKeon) during his four-episode stint, while Michael Damian (Danny, The Young and the Restless) was in a three-episode arc, playing a character named Flyman.