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Born:October 16th 1925, London England
British character actress, long in the United States. The daughter of an actress and the granddaughter of a high-ranking politician, Lansbury studied acting from her youth, departing for the United States as the Second World War began. She was contracted by MGM while still a teenager and nominated for an Academy Award for her first film, Gaslight (1944). Two pictures later, she was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress, this time for Picture of Dorian Gray, The (1945). Now established as a supporting player of quality, she began a long career, often as "the other woman" in major productions and as the leading lady in lesser films. Her features, while not at all old-appearing, gave her an air of maturity that allowed her to pass as much older than she actually was, and she began playing mother roles, often to players of her own age, while yet in her thirties. She concentrated more and more on stage work, achieving notable success in a number of Broadway plays and musicals, winning four Tony Awards in sixteen years. Although active in television since the early 1950s, she obtained her greatest fame in the 1980s by starring in the light mystery program "Murder, She Wrote" (1984). As Jessica Fletcher, she became known and loved by millions for well over a decade. She also became known for the odd fact of almost annual Emmy Award nominations for the role without ever winning for it. An institution in American theatre and television, she is also an inspiration for the graciousness of her personality, which is often exploited and always admired.

Trivia

Daughter of actress Moyna MacGill, who appeared with her in Picture of Dorian Gray, The (1945).

Granddaughter of George Lansbury, British Labour Party leader in 1930s.

Mother of 'Anthony Pullen Shaw' and stepmother of David Shaw (I). Sister of Edgar Lansbury (I) and Bruce Lansbury

Wearing just conventional makeup (i.e. not studio made-up to look "old"), she was most chilling and unforgettable (and convincing!) as the manipulating mother of '' in Manchurian Candidate, The (1962), while in real life being scarcely three years Harvey's elder!

Angela, her mother Moyna MacGill and her twin younger brothers were in the last boatload of family members evacuated from London to America during the WWII blitz.

In a recent authorized biography about Angela Lansbury "Balancing Act" states that her first husband - Richard Cromwell was gay. She did not know this fact until after their separation.

She was awarded an honorary C.B.E. from the British Government through Queen Elizabeth II. Miss Lansbury's son was a follower of Charlie Manson's gang. After the Sharon Tate murders, Miss Lansbury thought it best to get him out of the country. She took him to Ireland to help him with his drug problems.

Aunt of David Lansbury, who is married to Ally Sheedy

Angela Lansbury was the 2000 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors.

Now holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a single win.

As of 2003, she is the only actress to go undefeated in a Tony competition, having won all 4 for which she was nominated.

Has won 4 Tonys for Lead Actress in a Musical: 1966, Mame; 1969, Dear World; 1975, Gypsy; 1979, Sweeney Todd.

Angela has one half-sister, Isolde, from her mother´s first marriage to Reginald Denham. Isolde was married to actor Peter Ustinov, with whom she had one daughter, Tamara.

Filmography

• Last Unicorn, The (2004) (pre-production) .... Mommy FortunaLast Unicorn, The (2004) (pre-production) .... Mommy Fortuna
• Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle (2003) (TV) .... Jessica B. Fletcher
• Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (2001) (TV) .... Jessica Fletcher and Sarah McCullough
• Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For (2000) (TV) .... Jessica Fletcher
• Fantasia/2000 (1999) .... Hostess (segment "Firebird Suite - 1919 Version")
• Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, The (1999) (TV) .... Mrs. Emily Pollifax
• Anastasia (1997) (voice) .... Dowager Empress Marie
• Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) (V) (voice) .... Mrs. Potts
... aka Beauty and the Beast 2 (1997) (V) (USA: promotional title)
• Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest (1997) (TV) .... Jessica Fletcher
• Mrs. Santa Claus (1996) (TV) .... Mrs. Santa Claus
• Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Be Our Guest (1994) (V) (voice) .... Mrs. Potts (archive footage)
• Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris (1992) (TV) .... Mrs. Ada Harris
• Beauty and the Beast (1991) (voice) .... Mrs. Potts
... aka Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition (2002) (USA: longer version)
• Love She Sought, The (1990) (TV) .... Agatha McGee ... aka Green Journey, A (1990) (TV)
• Shell Seekers, The (1989) (TV) .... Penelope Keeling
• Shootdown (1988) (TV) .... Nan Moore
• Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986) (TV) .... Marchesa Allabrandi
• Murder of Sherlock Holmes, The (1984) (TV) .... Jessica Fletcher
• "Murder, She Wrote" (1984) TV Series .... Jessica Beatrice 'J.B' McGill Fletcher
• Company of Wolves, The (1984) .... Granny
• First Olympics: Athens 1896, The (1984) (TV) .... Alice Garrett ... aka First Modern Olympics, The (1984) (TV)
• Lace (1984) (TV) .... Aunt Hortense Boutin
• Talent for Murder, A (1984) (TV) .... Ann Royce McClain
• Gift of Love: A Christmas Story, The (1983) (TV) .... Amanda Fenwick
• Pirates of Penzance, The (1983) .... Ruth ... aka Slave of Duty, The (1983) (UK: subtitle)
• Last Unicorn, The (1982) (voice) .... Mommy Fortuna
• Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982) (TV) .... Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
• Sweeney Todd (1982) (TV) .... Nellie Lovett
... aka Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982) (TV)
• Mirror Crack'd, The (1980) .... Miss Jane Marple
• Circus of the Stars #5 (1980) (TV) .... Ringmaster
• Lady Vanishes, The (1979) .... Miss Froy
• Death on the Nile (1978) .... Salome Otterbourne
... aka Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (1978) (UK)
• Story of the First Christmas Snow, The (1975) (TV) (voice) .... Sister Theresa/Narrator ... aka First Christmas, The (1975) (TV) (USA: video title)
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) .... Eglantine Price ... aka Bedknobs and Broomsticks: 25th Anniversary Special Edition (1996) (USA: longer version)
• Something for Everyone (1970) .... Countess Herthe von Ornstein ... aka Black Flowers for the Bride (1970) (UK) ... aka Rook, The (1970)
• Mister Buddwing (1965) .... Gloria ... aka Woman Without a Face (1965)
• Harlow (1965/I) .... Mama Jean Bello
• Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, The (1965) .... Lady Blystone ... aka Moll Flanders (1965)
• Greatest Story Ever Told, The (1965) .... Claudia ... aka George Stevens Presents The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) (USA: complete title)
• Dear Heart (1964) .... Phyllis
• World of Henry Orient, The (1964) .... Isabel Boyd
• In the Cool of the Day (1963) .... Sybil Logan
• Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) .... Mrs. Iselin
• All Fall Down (1962) .... Annabell Willart
• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) (uncredited) (voice) .... Marguerite Laurier
• Blue Hawaii (1961) .... Sarah Lee Gates
• Breath of Scandal, A (1960) .... Countess Lina
• Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The (1960) .... Mavis Pruitt, Beauty Parlor Proprietress
• Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959) .... Pearl ... aka Season of Passion (1961) (USA)
• Reluctant Debutante, The (1958) .... Mabel Claremont
• Long, Hot Summer, The (1958) .... Minnie Littlejohn
• Please Murder Me (1956) .... Myra Leeds
• Court Jester, The (1956) .... Princess Gwendolyn
• Indiscreet Mrs. Jarvis, The (1955) (TV) .... Brenda Jarvis
• Lawless Street, A (1955) .... Tally Dickson ... aka Marshal of Medicine Bend (1955) (USA)
• "Star Time Playhouse" (1955) TV Series .... Regular
• Purple Mask, The (1955) .... Madame Valentine
• Life at Stake, A (1954) .... Doris Hillman ... aka Key Man (1954) (USA)
• Remains to Be Seen (1953) .... Valeska Chauvel
• Mutiny (1952) .... Leslie
• Kind Lady (1951) .... Mrs. Edwards
• Samson and Delilah (1949) .... Semadar
• Red Danube, The (1949) .... Audrey Quail
• Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) .... Susan Bratten
• Three Musketeers, The (1948) .... Queen Anne
• State of the Union (1948) .... Kay Thorndyke ... aka World and His Wife, The (1948) (UK)
• If Winter Comes (1947) .... Mabel Sabre
• Private Affairs of Bel Ami, The (1947) .... Clotilde de Marelle ... aka Women of Paris (1954) (USA: reissue title)
• Till the Clouds Roll by (1946) .... London Specialty
• Hoodlum Saint, The (1946) .... Dusty Millard
• Harvey Girls, The (1946) .... Em
• Picture of Dorian Gray, The (1945) .... Sibyl Vane
• National Velvet (1944) .... Edwina Brown
• Gaslight (1944) .... Nancy Oliver ... aka Murder in Thornton Square (1944) (UK)

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