The Bookish Life of Angela Lansbury

Dame Angela Lansbury died connected October 10 astatine property 96, and I americium successful mourning. One of the ways that I header with losing an icon similar this is by looking backmost astatine their beingness — and with a 75-year career, Lansbury near america a batch to revisit.

Born October 16, 1925, successful London, England, Lansbury moved to New York successful 1940 to flight the Blitz. She studied acting for 2 years earlier moving to Hollywood. Her archetypal 3 roles were Gaslight (adapted from the play by Patrick Hamilton), National Velvet (adapted from the caller by Enid Bagnold), and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde). She rounded retired the 1940s with roles successful The Harvey Girls (Samuel Hopkins Adams), If Winter Comes (A.S.M. Hutchinson), The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (Guy de Maupassant), The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas), The Red Danube (Vespers successful Vienna by Bruce Marshall). She besides performed successful the vigor adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Of Human Bondage.

In the 1950s, Lansbury had her archetypal tv quality connected Robert Montgomery Presents, successful an adaptation of The Citadel by A.J. Cronin. She performed successful immoderate touring plays and had 3 children, withdrawing from her Hollywood workplace contract. One of her movie roles arsenic an autarkic histrion was successful The Long Hot Summer, based connected William Faulkner’s novella Spotted Horses, his abbreviated communicative “Barn Burning,” and his caller The Hamlet.

Following her 1962 roles successful All Fall Down (James Leo Herlihy) and The Manchurian Candidate (adapted from the caller by Richard Condon), she made the determination to Broadway. From past on, she worked connected signifier and screen, some ample and small. Her Broadway breakout relation was the pb successful Mame, based connected the caller Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis, which had been adapted arsenic archetypal a play and past a musical. On screen, she appeared successful The World of Henry Orient (Nora Johnson, who co-wrote the screenplay with her begetter Nunnaly Johnson).

In 1970, she moved her household to County Cork, Ireland, pursuing her son’s cause conflict and apparent interactions betwixt her girl and Charles Manson (I judge this was besides recounted successful the publication Manson: The Life & Times of Charles Manson). In 1971, she starred successful Bedknobs and Broomsticks (The Magic Bedknob and Bonfires and Broomsticks by Mary Norton). In 1978, she returned to the surface for Death connected the Nile (Agatha Christie), and successful 1979, she was successful the remake of Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White). On signifier successful that decade, she starred successful Gypsy (based connected the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee), Hamlet, The King and I (Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon), and arsenic Mrs. Lovett successful Sweeney Todd (based connected penny dreadful The String of Pearls), a relation written partially for her by Stephen Sondheim.

In 1980, she appeared connected surface arsenic Miss Marple successful The Mirror Crack’d (The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie). In 1982, she appeared (or rather, was heard) successful The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle), and successful 1984 she was the grandma successful the movie based connected Angela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves” from her postulation The Bloody Chamber.

Murder, She Wrote ran from 1984 to 1996 connected CBS television. Rather than being based connected a book, the enigma bid created an writer whose tiny municipality of Cabot Cove, Maine, was perfectly wracked with murders, each of which Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher ably solved. The bid was truthful palmy that it spawned a board game, 4 TV movies, 2 video games, a Funko Pop, and a publication series. Actually, 2 publication series: successful the 1980s, Avon released 4 novels based connected episodes of the amusement — 3 by James Anderson and 1 by David Deutsch — and since 1989 determination person been 55 novels “by” Jessica Fletcher and a co-writer (the immense bulk by the precocious writer Donald Bain; presently Terrie Farley Moran), with a 56th owed retired successful 2023. There person besides been 3 Murder, They Wrote abbreviated communicative anthologies “presented by” Jessica Fletcher.

But wait, there’s more!

In 1991, she played 1 of her astir celebrated roles of each time: Mrs. Potts successful Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, based connected the fairytale. Her show of the rubric opus earned some an Oscar and a Grammy, among different awards and accolades. The pursuing twelvemonth she starred successful Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris (Paul Gallico), directed by her son. In 1997, she played the Dowager Empress successful Anastasia, which is not based connected a publication but feels mighty bookish.

Following her husband’s decease successful 2003, she “retired,” which is to accidental she slowed down moderately. Her consequent movie appearances included successful Nanny McPhee (Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand) successful 2005, Little Women successful 2017 (the miniseries is severely underrated successful my opinion), and successful a cameo successful Mary Poppins Returns successful 2018. She besides appeared connected signifier successful Terrence McNally’s Deuce, Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, A Little Night Music, and Driving Miss Daisy. Her last signifier quality was successful a one-night show of The Important of Being Earnest successful 2019.

Named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Lansbury was known arsenic “First Lady of Musical Theatre,” won BAFTA, Academy, and SAG Lifetime Achievement Awards, and was considered a gay icon. She was nominated for 3 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress, but did not triumph immoderate of them. She won a Golden Globe for Murder, She Wrote and a Grammy for Beauty and the Beast. Despite 18 Emmy nominations, she did not EGOT, but is 1 of the fewer performers to person been nominated for each 4 awards.

We volition each beryllium capable to spot her 1 past clip successful a cameo relation successful Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and of people her galore different bookish roles volition ever beryllium determination for america to revisit (and privation we’d seen her connected Broadway oregon the West End).