RIP: Angela Lansbury

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Angela Lansbury, star of stage and screen died on October 11, 2022.  She was 96.  Angela Lansbury was born in London.  Her father was a politician (who died when Angela was nine) and her mother was an actress.

Angela Lansbury became interested in performing while in high school.  Upon graduation she attended  the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art.  When Germany began bombing England in World War II, her family moved to the United States.  Ms. Lansbury continued her education at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York City.

When her mother got a part in a theater group, the family moved to Canada. That’s where Angela Lansbury got her first professional performing job.  She was just 16 years old when she began performing professionally as a nightclub singer at the Samovar Club in Montreal.  She lied about her age to get the job.  When Angela’s mother decided to try to get into American motion pictures, the family moved to Hollywood.  It was there, through her mother that Angela met John Van Druten who had just completed a script called Gaslight.  Van Druten thought Angela would be perfect as the opportunistic maid.  He helped get Angela the role.  This led to a seven year contract with MGM.  Angela Lansbury was just 17.

Angela Lansbury would go on to have a career that spanned over 70 years.  She would appear on stage, television and feature films.   Her accolades include six Tony Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award. eighteen Primetime Emmy Awards, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences Honorary Award, six Golden Globe Awards, three Academy Awards, and a Grammy Award.

Some of Angela Lansbury’s television appearances include:  Four Star Playhouse; Celebrity Playhouse; Studio 57; Climax; Playhouse 90; The Man from UNCLE; Magnum PI; Newhart; Murder She Wrote (264 episodes); Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest (TV Movie); Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For (TV Movie); Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (TV Movie); Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle (TV Movie); Law & Order: Trial by Jury; Law & and Order: Special Victims Unit.

Feature film appearances include: Gaslight; National Velvet; The Three Musketeers, Samson and Delilah, The Court Jester; The Long Hot Summer; Blue Hawaii; The Manchurian Candidate; The Greatest Story Ever Told; Bedknobs and Broomsticks; Death on the Nile and Mary Poppins Returns,

I first took notice of Angela Lansbury when I saw The Court Jester as a kid.  Another favorite role was when she Lawrence Harvey’s mother in The Manchurian Candidate.  She was just three years older than him!  Angela Lansbury’s talent knew know bounds.  She could sing as well as act in a career that lasted longer than most people live!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Angela Lansburry’s family, friends and fans.

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