Angela Lansbury


Actor
Angela Lansbury

About

Also Known As
Angela Brigid Lansbury
Birth Place
London, England, GB
Born
October 16, 1925

Biography

Film continued to yield steady work for her, though the quality of the parts often varied greatly: "The Dark at the Top of the Stars" (1960), as the alleged town floozy whose friendship with married Robert Preston threatens to destroy his reputation, and "All Fall Down" (1962) as Warren Beatty's mother for John Frankenheimer were highlights, while "Blue Hawaii" (1962), as Elvis Presley...

Photos & Videos

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Publicity Stills
The Three Musketeers (1948) - Movie Poster
Angela Lansbury - Publicity Stills

Family & Companions

Richard Cromwell
Husband
Actor. First husband; married on September 27, 1945; Cromwell moved out in 1946; divorced in August 1946 after Lansbury discovered he was a homosexual.
Peter Pullen Shaw
Husband
Agent, former actor. Introduced by mutual friend actor Hurd Hatfield; married on August 12, 1949; his second marriage; had son David with first wife; underwent heart surgery in June 2000; died Jan. 29, 2003, of congestive heart failure at age 84.

Bibliography

"Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury"
Martin Gottfried, Little, Brown (1999)

Notes

"Those were a couple of golden years for me, really they were, on Broadway. Unbelievable. Because I got to be everything I'd never had the chance to be in movies." --Angela Lansbury

Lansbury was named Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year by the Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatricals in 1968.

Biography

Film continued to yield steady work for her, though the quality of the parts often varied greatly: "The Dark at the Top of the Stars" (1960), as the alleged town floozy whose friendship with married Robert Preston threatens to destroy his reputation, and "All Fall Down" (1962) as Warren Beatty's mother for John Frankenheimer were highlights, while "Blue Hawaii" (1962), as Elvis Presley's mother, and the tabloid biopic "Harlow" (1965), as 1930s platinum blonde star Jean Harlow's mother, was engaging fluff. Lansbury's willingness to play older women, in many cases, she was less than five years older than her on-screen sons, led to her casting as the malevolent mother of brainwashed ex-G.I. Laurence Harvey, who was just three years Lansbury's junior, in Frankenheimer's gripping "The Manchurian Candidate," which earned her a third Oscar nomination.

Lansbury made her Broadway musical debut in 1964 in the short-lived "Anyone Can Whistle," but two years later, she scored her first major musical success with "Mame" (1969) as the eccentric and beloved Auntie Mame. The show ran for 1,500 performances and earned her a Tony for her memorable turn. For the next four years, Lansbury kept away from film and television to concentrate on her stage career, which by 1969, included "Dear World," a musical version of "The Madwoman of Chaillot" which, despite savage reviews from critics and an abbreviated Broadway run, won Lansbury her second Tony.

By 1970, Lansbury, now in her forties, began an audience-pleasing run of film roles that tapped her boundless energy and flair for eccentric comedy. She earned a Golden Globe nomination as a European noblewoman who runs afoul of a scheming butler in the cult comedy "Something For Everyone" and charmed children as a benevolent witch who tries to use magic to aid the Allies in World War II in Disney's "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971). She also began her long association with mysteries with a flamboyant turn as a besotted romance novelist who becomes involved in a murder on board an Egyptian boat cruise in "Death on the Nile" (1979), which brought her a National Board of Review award and a BAFTA nomination. Back on Broadway, she landed a third Tony for her performance as the determined Mama Rose in the revival of "Gypsy" (1974) and as Mrs. Lovett, daffy co-conspirator to a ghoulish plan of revenge in Stephen Sondheim's gory blockbuster "Sweeney Todd" (1979). Lansbury recreated the role for a 1982 PBS broadcast of the production, which brought her a Cable ACE award and an Emmy nomination.

Offscreen, however, Lansbury's personal life had taken on a darker tone. Both of her children with Shaw had become involved with hard drugs, and Deidre became briefly involved with the Manson Family. A fire in 1970 destroyed the Lansbury's home in Malibu, CA which prompted a move to Country Cork, Ireland. In interviews, Lansbury credited the disaster for helping to put her children on a healthier path.

Lansbury returned to features and television with a vengeance in the miniseries-friendly 1980s, starting with a turn as Agatha Christie's elderly sleuth Mrs. Marple in the garish, campy 1980 film version of "The Mirror Crack'd," starring aging Hollywood icons Kim Novak, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor. She was perhaps better served as the domineering aunt of Gloria Vanderbilt in "Little Gloria Happy at Last" (1982), which brought her an Emmy nomination, and "A Talent for Murder" (1983), in which she appeared opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Her vocal talents received a glossy showcase in the 1983 film version of "The Pirates of Penzance," which featured much of the successful Broadway cast but failed to find an audience due to its simultaneous release on cable television and in theaters. Lansbury also portrayed the quintessential Granny in Neil Jordan's "The Company of Wolves" (1984), his suggestive and grown-up take on werewolves and Little Red Riding Hood.

Lansbury's savvy portrayals in the Christie adaptations helped lay the groundwork for "Murder, She Wrote," an endearing television whodunit from producers William Levinson and Richard Link of "Colombo" fame (NBC, 1968-2003), in which she starred (and later executive produced) as Jessica Fletcher, a mystery novelist with an unerring knack for finding herself in the middle of a murder and the ability to solve it without the help of police. Lansbury appeared in all 256 episodes of the series, as well as four television movies (aired between 1997 and 2003), going on to earn a record 12 Emmy nominations for her performance ⿿ one for every season the series was on the air, as well as four Golden Globe Awards.

The series kept her exceptionally busy for the better part of the decade, but she did manage to appear in several television movies, including the Emmy-nominated adaptation of "The Shell Seekers" (1989) and the charming "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris" (1992), all of which played heavily on her inherent charm and popularity with older viewers. In 1992, her vocal abilities endeared her to a generation of children as the voice of Mrs. Potts, the enchanted teapot who narrates Disney's Oscar-nominated "Beauty and the Beast' (1991) as well as sings its enchanting title song. She also lent her voice to the Dowager Empress in 1997's "Anastasia."

After "Murder, She Wrote" left the airwaves, Lansbury busied herself with a score of television projects; she starred in "Mrs. Santa Claus" (1997), a likable TV movie musical with songs by Jerry Herman of "Mame" fame, and starred as Emily Pollifax, amateur spy in "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax" (1999). She also reaped the rewards of a lifetime of solid performances with a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and an American National Medal of the Arts in 1997, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2000, and was bestowed the title of Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

Sadly, the accolades were dimmed by the passing of her husband in 2003. Lansbury handled the tragedy with typical grace, and made occasional screen appearances, most notably in "The Blackwater Lightship" (2004), a moving drama about a family caring for a son with AIDS which earned her another Emmy nomination. This was soon followed by a nod for a two-part turn as the controlling matriarch of a wealthy family on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ) and "Law and Order: Trial By Jury" (NBC, 2005). She also made her first screen appearance in over two decades in Emma Thompson's sweetly funny "Nanny MacPhee" (2005), for which she gamely took a dessert to the face.

In 2007, Lansbury returned to Broadway for "Deuce," Terrence McNally's drama about bickering former doubles tennis partners. The limited run engagement yielded another Tony nomination for Lansbury, but the play broke her unbroken streak when she failed to take home the award that year. Lansbury set things right, however, with her 2009 Broadway turn as Madame Arcati in the revival of Coward's "Blithe Spirit," which won her one more Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. Never content to rest on her laurels, a 2009-2010 performance in Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" earned her yet another Tony nod. Far from ready to retire, the 85-year-old actress returned to cinema screens for an appearance opposite funnyman Jim Carrey in the family comedy "Mr. Popper's Penguins" (2011). "The Court Jester" (1956) to Westerns in "A Lawless Street" (1955) and thrillers with "Kind Lady" (1951). And unlike many major film stars, did not shy from making numerous appearances on live television dramas throughout the 1950s. Live performance was Lansbury's bread and butter, and she soon made a name for herself as a capable dramatic actress on Broadway, starting in 1957 with "Hotel Paradiso" opposite the legendary Bert Lahr. Three years later, she scored her first substantial hit on the Great White Way with "A Taste of Honey" in 1960. She would go on to host, co-host or perform on the Tony Awards 12 times between 1967 and 2007.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2018)
Voice
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)
Herself
Nanny McPhee (2006)
The Blackwater Lightship (2004)
Murder She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle (2003)
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (2001)
Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For (2000)
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (1999)
Mrs Pollifax
Forever Hollywood (1999)
Herself
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (1998)
Frank Capra's American Dream (1997)
Herself
Anastasia (1997)
Voice
Beauty and the Beast: the Enchanted Christmas (1997)
Voice
Murder, She Wrote: South By Southwest (1997)
Mrs. Santa Claus (1996)
Stephen Verona: Self Portrait (1995)
Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris (1992)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Voice
The Love She Sought (1990)
Agatha Mcgee
The Shell Seekers (1989)
Shootdown (1988)
The Spencer Tracy Legacy (1986)
Ingrid (1985)
Herself
The Company of Wolves (1984)
Granny
The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983)
The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Ruth
Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (1982)
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
The Lady Vanishes (1979)
Miss Froy
Death on the Nile (1978)
Salome Otterbourne
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Miss [Eglantine] Price
Something for Everyone (1970)
Countess Herthe von Ornstein
Mister Buddwing (1966)
Gloria
Harlow (1965)
Mama Jean Bello
The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965)
Lady Blystone
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Claudia
Dear Heart (1964)
Phyllis
The World of Henry Orient (1964)
Isabel Boyd
In the Cool of the Day (1963)
Sibyl Logan
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Raymond's mother
All Fall Down (1962)
Annabel Willart
Blue Hawaii (1961)
Sarah Lee Gates
Season of Passion (1961)
Pearl
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960)
Mavis Pruitt
A Breath of Scandal (1960)
Countess Lina Schwatzenfeld
The Reluctant Debutante (1958)
Mabel Claremont
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Minnie Littlejohn
The Court Jester (1956)
Princess Gwendolyn
Please Murder Me (1956)
Myra Leeds
The Purple Mask (1955)
Madame Valentine
A Lawless Street (1955)
Tally Dickinson
A Life at Stake (1955)
Doris Hillman
Remains to Be Seen (1953)
Valeska Chauvel
Mutiny (1952)
Leslie Waldridge
Kind Lady (1951)
Mrs. Edwards
Samson and Delilah (1950)
Semadar
The Red Danube (1949)
Audrey Quail
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)
Susan Bratten
If Winter Comes (1948)
Mabel Sabre
State of the Union (1948)
Kay Thorndyke
The Three Musketeers (1948)
Queen Anne
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947)
Clotilde [de Marelle]
Till the Clouds Roll By (1947)
Guest star
The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
"Dusty" Millard
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Em
National Velvet (1945)
Edwina Brown
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Sibyl Vane
Gaslight (1944)
Nancy [Oliver]

Music (Feature Film)

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Song Performer
Anastasia (1997)
Song Performer
Mrs. Santa Claus (1996)
Song Performer

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)
Other
Forever Hollywood (1999)
Other
Ingrid (1985)
Other

Cast (Special)

The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics (2008)
Narrator
Private Screenings: Angela Lansbury (2006)
(herself)
Intimate Portrait: Bea Arthur (2003)
CBS at 75: A Primetime Celebration (2003)
Elizabeth Taylor: England's Other Elizabeth (2001)
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (2000)
On Cukor (2000)
The 53rd Annual Tony Awards (1999)
Presenter
Hometown Heroes (1998)
Interviewee
Glorious Technicolor (1998)
Narrator
Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act (1998)
Hollywood & Vinyl: Disney's 101 Greatest Musical Moments (1998)
The 52nd Annual Tony Awards (1998)
Presenter
CBS: The First 50 Years (1998)
Voices of Hope... Finding the Cures For Breast and Ovarian Cancer (1997)
The Screen Actors Guild Awards (1997)
The Wizard of Oz: 40 Years on Television (1996)
A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim (1995)
47th Annual Emmy Awards (1995)
Presenter
Sinatra: 80 Years My Way (1995)
Inside The Dream Factory (1995)
Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Bowl (1994)
1994 People's Choice Awards (1994)
Presenter
46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1994)
Presenter
The 104th Tournament of Roses Parade (1993)
Grand Marshal
The 104th Tournament of Roses Parade (1993)
Grand Marshal
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1993)
Performer
45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1993)
Host
The 65th Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1993)
Presenter
Bob Hope: The First Ninety Years (1993)
The American Film Institute Salute to Elizabeth Taylor (1993)
Performer
The 19th Annual People's Choice Awards (1993)
Presenter
The Best of Disney Music: A Legacy in Song (1993)
Host
The Defense Rests: A Tribute to Raymond Burr (1993)
Coming Up Roses (1993)
The 64th Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1992)
Presenter
The 18th Annual People's Choice Awards (1992)
Presenter
The 44th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1992)
Presenter
The Grand Opening of Euro Disney (1992)
Be Our Guest: The Making of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Helen Hayes: First Lady of the American Theatre (1991)
Bob Hope & Friends: Making New Memories (1991)
The Dream Is Alive: The 20th Anniversary Celebration of Walt Disney World (1991)
1991 Emmy Awards (1991)
Performer
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1990)
Performer
42nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Presentation (1990)
Presenter
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz: 50 Years Of Magic (1990)
Narrator
MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon (1990)
Grammy Living Legends (1989)
Performer
CBS Premiere Preview Spectacular (1989)
Host
The 43rd Annual Tony Awards (1989)
Host
The 41st Annual Emmy Awards (1989)
Performer
The 14th Annual People's Choice Awards (1988)
Performer
The 42nd Annual Tony Awards (1988)
Host
The 39th Annual Emmy Awards (1987)
Performer
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1987)
The 41st Annual Tony Awards (1987)
Host
Liberty Weekend (1986)
Clue: Movies, Murder and Mystery (1986)
The 37th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards (1985)
Performer
Circus of the Stars (1980)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)

Music (Special)

The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1993)
Song Performer
The Best of Disney Music: A Legacy in Song (1993)
Song Performer ("Beauty And The Beast" "Zip-Ah-Dee-Do-Dah")
The 64th Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1992)
Song Performer
Bob Hope & Friends: Making New Memories (1991)
Song Performer ("Well, Did You Evah")
The 43rd Annual Tony Awards (1989)
Song Performer

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986)
Lace (1984)
Aunt Hortense Boutin
The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984)
Little Gloria, Happy At Last (1982)
The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)
Narrator
The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)
Voice

Life Events

1942

Worked as a singer at the Samovar Club in Montreal

1943

Signed to contract at MGM after a screen test

1944

Was nominated for an Academy Award for her film debut in "Gaslight" as the slightly malevolent maid Nancy

1945

Had her first leading lady role in film, "The Picture of Dorian Gray"; earned second Academy Award nomination

1946

Portrayed a madam in "The Harvey Girls"; singing voice dubbed

1948

Played a matronly newspaper editor in "State of the Union" (was only 23 years old)

1953

Made her American TV debut in "Revlon Mirror Theater" (CBS)

1957

Made her Broadway debut in "Hotel Paradiso," co-starring Burt Lahr

1960

Had stage success with the Broadway production of "A Taste of Honey"

1960

Received critical attention for her performance in the film "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs"

1962

Received third Academy Award nomination for her role in "The Manchurian Candidate"; played the mother of Laurence Harvey who was only three years her junior

1964

Appeared in her first Broadway musical, "Anyone Can Whistle"; first collaboration with composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim

1966

Cast in the title role of Mame Dennis in the Jerry Herman Broadway musical "Mame"

1968

Re-teamed with Jerry Herman for the musical "Dear World"

1970

Co-starred in the Harold Prince directed "Something for Everyone"

1971

Appeared in the Disney animated-live action feature "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"; her last film for seven years

1972

Made London stage debut in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of "All Over"

1974

Cast in the role of Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of the musical "Gypsy"; lyrics provided by Stephen Sondheim

1978

Played Anna for two weeks in the Broadway revival of "The King and I" opposite Yul Brynner

1978

Returned to features as a dotty novelist in the Agatha Christie adaptation "Death on the Nile"

1979

Triumphed as the Cockney baker Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street: A Musical Thriller"

1980

Portrayed the Agatha Christie sleuth Miss Marple in "The Mirror Crack'd"

1982

Portrayed Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in the NBC miniseries "Little Gloria...Happy at Last"

1982

Had featured role of Ruth in the film version of the New York Shakespeare Production of "The Pirates of Penzance"

1982

Reprised role as Mrs. Lovett in the Showtime adaptation of "Sweeney Todd"

1984

Starred as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher on hit TV series "Murder, She Wrote" (CBS)

1985

Played Granny in Neil Jordan's "The Company of Wolves"

1989

Starred in the ABC "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation of "The Shell Seekers"

1991

Voiced the character of Mrs Potts in Disney's animated "Beauty and the Beast"; sang Oscar-winning title song

1992

Starred in the CBS TV-movie "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris," directed by son Anthony Shaw

1992

Became executive producer of "Murder, She Wrote"

1994

Was named a Commander of the British Empire

1996

Her production company Corymore signed a development deal with Universal

1996

Had title role in the CBS original musical "Mrs. Santa Claus"

1997

Voiced the character of the Dowager Empress in the animated film "Anastasia"

1997

Reprised signature role of Jessica Fletcher in the CBS TV-movie "Murder, She Wrote: South By Southwest"

2000

Again played sleuth Jessica Fletcher in "Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For" (CBS)

2004

Starred in the CBS drama "The Blackwater Lightship"; earned an Emmy nomination for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries

2005

Earned an Emmy nomination for her guest starring role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)

2006

Co-starred with Emma Thompson and Colin Firth in "Nanny McPhee"; also scripted by Thompson

2007

Returned to Broadway to star opposite Marian Seldes as retired women tennis players in "Deuce"; earned a Tony nomination

2009

Was cast as Madame Arkati in the Broadway revival of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit"

2009

Co-starred with Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's "A Little Night Music"; earned a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actress in a Musical

2011

Co-starred opposite Jim Carrey in "Mr. Popper's Penguins"

2012

Starred in Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" on Broadway

2014

Played Daisy, opposite James Earl Jones' Hoke, in a remake of "Driving Miss Daisy"

2017

Played Aunt March on a mini-series adaptation of "Little Women"

2018

Played the balloon lady in Disney's revival sequel "Mary Poppins Returns"

2018

Voiced the Mayor of Whoville in "The Grinch"

Photo Collections

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Publicity Stills
Here are a few Publicity Stills from The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), starring George Sanders and Hurd Hatfield. Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.
The Three Musketeers (1948) - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for The Three Musketeers (1948). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.
Angela Lansbury - Publicity Stills
Here are several stills of Angela Lansbury, taken to help publicize The Three Musketeers (1948). Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.
The Harvey Girls - Lobby Card
Here is a lobby card from MGM's The Harvey Girls (1946), starring Judy Garland, John Hodiak, and Angela Lansbury. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Pressbook
Here is the original campaign book (pressbook) for Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Pressbooks were sent to exhibitors and theater owners to aid them in publicizing the film's run in their theater.
Tenth Avenue Angel - Publicity Still
Here is a publicity still from MGM's Tenth Avenue Angel (1948), starring Margaret O'Brien, Angela Lansbury, and George Murphy. Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Movie Clip

Red Danube, The (1949) -- (Movie Clip) At The Gondola In Ten MInutes Smooth MGM introduction of flashy supporting players, Melville Cooper, Angela Lansbury and Peter Lawford, as British military staffers in post WWII Rome, opening the big budget political-romance The Red Danube, 1949, starring Janet Leigh, Walter Pidgeon and Ethel Barrymore.
Red Danube, The (1949) -- (Movie Clip) We Have Our Lord Just arrived in Vienna where they’ll be sorting Russian refugees, Brits Nicobar (Walter Pidgeon), McPhinister (Peter Lawford) and Quail (Angela Lansbury) meet their hostess, the Mother Superior (Ethel Barrymore), and top-billed Janet Leigh makes her first appearance, in The Red Danube, 1949.
Bedknobs And Broomsticks (1971) -- (Movie Clip) They Won't Be With Me For Long The preoccupied Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) scoots into the village to collect a package and three unwelcome war orphans in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1971.
Bedknobs And Broomsticks (1971) -- (Movie Clip) That Lovely Sooty Air Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) talks Paul (Roy Snart) through the launch sequence as Charlie (Ian Weighall) makes a last minute decision to fly to London in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1971.
Bedknobs And Broomsticks (1971) -- (Movie Clip) I Know It's Not Ladylike Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) takes her broom on its maiden flight, unaware she's being observed by the Rawlins orphans (Ian Weighall, Cindy O'Callaghan and Roy Snart) in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1971.
In The Cool Of The Day (1963) -- (Movie Clip) Lonelier Than Usual Publisher Murray (Peter Finch) returns from New York to London and wife Sibyl (Angela Lansbury, her first scene), who blames him for her facial scar and the death of their son, in In The Cool Of The Day, 1963, from a Susan Ertz novel.
Mister Buddwing (1966) -- (Movie Clip) Go Find Yourself! James Garner (title character) has his first encounter after waking up with amnesia in Manhattan, following up on notes he found in his pockets, meeting the compassionate Gloria (Angela Lansbury), who presumed she was her friend Sam when he called, early in Mister Buddwing, 1966.
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) -- (Movie Clip) What Are Phoenicians? Steve (George Murphy), washing cabs because he's not allowed to drive while on probation, fooling around with pal Flavia (Margaret O'Brien, title character), who thinks he's been away traveling, when her aunt, his sweetheart, arrives with an idea, in Tenth Avenue Angel, 1948.
Hoodlum Saint, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) If I Had You Home in Baltimore, now a Wall Street success, Terry (William Powell) has brought jewelry and hopes to win back ex-flame Kay (Esther Williams), but is thwarted, and returns to New York, where he finds some comfort with a friend, singer Dusty (Angela Lansbury), in MGM’s The Hoodlum Saint, 1946.
Private Affairs Of Bel Ami, The (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Fate Perhaps Had A Hand Efficient piece by director Albert Lewin, Duroy (George Sanders), in a suit paid for by his host, meets Clotilde (Angela Lansbury), his host’s wife (Ann Dvorak) and guests (David Bond, Frances Dee, Warren William, Hugo Haas, Katherine Emery, Susan Douglas and Albert Basserman), early in The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami, 1947.
Private Affairs Of Bel Ami, The (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Clever Enough To Be Beautiful His motives questionable, newly-employed as a novice journalist, Parisian Duroy (George Sanders) has become interested in young widow Clotilde (Angela Lansbury), with an original song by Jack Lawrence and Irving Drutman, and sly conversation in a carriage, in writer-director Albert Lewin’s The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami, 1947.
Picture of Dorian Gray, The (1945) -- (Movie Clip) This Curious Cat Secretly degenerate Dorian (Hurd Hatfield) explains about the cat and would-be protege Sybil (Angela Lansbury) makes a choice that will disappoint him, in writer-director Albert Lewin's The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1945, from the Oscar Wilde story.

Trailer

Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) - (Original Trailer) A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill in the original The Manchurian Candidate (1962) starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury, from the novel by Richard Condon.
Blue Hawaii - (Original Trailer) A playboy (Elvis Presley) returns from the Army to the shores of Blue Hawaii (1961). Co-starring Angela Lansbury.
Season of Passion - (Original Trailer) Ernest Borgnine and John Mills are sugar cane workers in Australia enjoying their Season of Passion (1961).
Death on the Nile - (Original Trailer) Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) investigates the murder of an heiress during an Egyptian tour in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (1978).
Dear Heart - (Original Trailer) Glenn Ford must decide between his fiancee and a woman he meets at a convention in Dear Heart (1964).
Greatest Story Ever Told, The - (Original Trailer) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) is an epic re-telling of the life of Christ, directed by George Stevens and starring Max Von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Claude Rains and many more
Kind Lady - (Original Trailer) A con artist (Maurice Evens) and his criminal cohorts hold an old lady (Ethel Barrymore) hostage in her own home in KInd Lady, 1951, directed by John Sturges.
Three Musketeers, The (1948) -- (Re-issue Trailer) Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, and Janet Leigh star in The Three Musketeers (1948), a lavish adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic swashbuckler.
If Winter Comes - (Original Trailer) Scandal results when a well-meaning man (Walter Pidgeon) takes in a pregnant girl (Janet Leigh) in If Winter Comes (1947).
All Fall Down - (Original Trailer) A young drifter's romance with an older woman is threatened by his possessive mother in All Fall Down (1962) starring Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint.
In The Cool Of The Day - (Original Trailer) The efforts of a man (Peter Finch) to save his friend's marriage lead to infidelity In The Cool Of The Day (1963).
Picture of Dorian Gray, The - (Original Trailer) A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) starring Hurd Hatfield.

Family

George Lansbury
Grandfather
Politician. Leader of the Labour Party.
Elizabeth Jane Lansbury
Grandmother
Had twelve children with her husband; died in 1933.
Willie McIldowie
Grandfather
Solicitor, director of Belfast Opera.
Elizabeth McIldowie
Grandmother
Edgar Isaac Lansbury
Father
Lumber merchant. Married Moyna Macgill in 1924; died of stomach cancer in 1934 at age 48.
Moyna Macgill
Mother
Actor. Born on December 10, 1895; formerly married to writer-director Reginald Denham; married Edgar Lansbury in 1924; died of throat cancer c. 1971.
Edgar Lansbury
Brother
Producer, director. Born on January 12, 1930 in London; produced London and Broadway revival of musical, "Gypsy" starring Angela; twin brother of Bruce Lansbury; father of actor David Lansbury.
Bruce Lansbury
Brother
Executive, producer. Born in January 12, 1930 in London; twin of Edgar.
David Shaw
Step-Son
Director.
Anthony Peter Shaw
Son
Born in 1952; in the 1960s and early 70s, had serious addiction to heroin.
Deirdre Angela Shaw
Daughter
Born in 1953; in the 1960s was briefly involved with the Manson family; also suffered from substance abuse; underwent liver transplant in November 1998.
David Lansbury
Nephew
Actor. Son of Edgar Lansbury; married to Ally Sheedy.

Companions

Richard Cromwell
Husband
Actor. First husband; married on September 27, 1945; Cromwell moved out in 1946; divorced in August 1946 after Lansbury discovered he was a homosexual.
Peter Pullen Shaw
Husband
Agent, former actor. Introduced by mutual friend actor Hurd Hatfield; married on August 12, 1949; his second marriage; had son David with first wife; underwent heart surgery in June 2000; died Jan. 29, 2003, of congestive heart failure at age 84.

Bibliography

"Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury"
Martin Gottfried, Little, Brown (1999)

Notes

"Those were a couple of golden years for me, really they were, on Broadway. Unbelievable. Because I got to be everything I'd never had the chance to be in movies." --Angela Lansbury

Lansbury was named Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year by the Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatricals in 1968.

She was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1982.

Lansbury has been nominated for 16 Emmy Awards without a win.

She was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 1997, Lansbury was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton.

She underwent hip replacement surgery in 1998.

Lansbury was announced as the star of a new musical, "The Visit", set to premiere on Broadway in 2001. Because of family considerations, however, she was forced to withdraw. The producers reportedly were seeking a replacement for Lansbury (for whom the project was written by Terrence McNally and John Kander & Fred Ebb).