12/10/2022
Dame Angela Lansbury, star of 'Murder, She Wrote', dies aged 96
Angela Lansbury, known for her roles in Murder She Wrote and Beauty and the Beast amongst many more, died on Tuesday her family announced.
"The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday," her family said in a statement.
"In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.
"She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined."
Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances and a lifetime achievement award.
She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, Gaslight (1945) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1946), and was nominated again in 1962 for The Manchurian Candidate and her deadly portrayal of a Communist agent and the title character's mother.
Lansbury's widest fame began in 1984 when she launched Murder, She Wrote.
Based loosely on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories, the series centred on Jessica Fletcher, a middle-aged widow and former substitute school teacher living in the seaside village of Cabot Cove, Maine. She had achieved notice as a mystery novelist and amateur sleuth.
The actress found the first series season exhausting. "I was shocked when I learned that had to work 12-15 hours a day, relentlessly, day in, day out," she recalled.
"I had to lay down the law at one point and say 'Look, I can't do these shows in seven days, it will have to be eight days'."
Despite the long days and reams of dialogue to memorise, Lansbury maintained a steady pace. She was pleased that Jessica Fletcher served as an inspiration for older women.
"Women in motion pictures have always had a difficult time being role models for other women," she observed. "They've always been considered glamorous in their jobs."
