Angela Lansbury: The Ultimate Reinventor

On October 16, 1925, one of the most gifted actresses of the 20th century was born in Poplar, England. Her name was Angela Brigid Lansbury. She was the first child born to Irish actress Moyna MacGill and lumber merchant/politician Edgar Lansbury. Angela was Moyna's second child as Moyna had a daughter Isolde born in 1920 during her first marriage to English writer/director  Reginald Denham. Five years later, the family welcomed twins boys Edgar and Bruce. Unfortunately, Angela's father died in 1934 and her mother's attempt to find a suitable husband and father figure for her children failed. Moyna decided to take Angela and her brothers to the United States as war loomed over Britain in 1940. Isolde did not join them as she had  married a young actor named Peter Ustinov.

Angela's family eventually found its way to California. Moyna was hopeful of getting work in films as an actress. The mother and daughter made ends meet by working at Bullocks department store. Moyna was also very social and hosted parties for British performers who had newly arrived in Hollywood. At one of these gatherings, Angela was discovered by an MGM casting director. MGM was currently casting Gaslight. The casting director thought Angela would be great for the part of Nancy Oliver. Indeed, the man was correct. Angela earned her first role as the conniving maid to Paula (Ingrid Bergman) with eyes for Paula's husband (Charles Boyer). Despite only being 19 years, Angela had a maturity necessary for this role. Her performance earned Angela her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Angela followed up her debut playing Elizabeth Taylor's sister in National Velvet. Then, Angela played the role of gentle music hall singer Sibyl Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Lansbury's portrayal of the ill fated Sibyl was endearing and heartbreaking. She earned her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Picture of Dorian Gray. It seemed she was on her way to becoming a major star.

Unfortunately, Angela suffered the same fate as another young actress at Warner Brothers named Alexis Smith. Lansbury and Smith both seemed more mature and poised than the typical 20 something actress. As a result, both women appeared in successful movies but never quite got the push they needed to break into the "A list " of leading ladies. Angela was cast and performed well in The Three Musketeers, The State of the Union, The Harvey Girls, and Kind Lady. However, MGM saw fit to dub her in The Harvey Girls, which disappointed Angela greatly. Her MGM days which started off so strongly had become frustrating to Lansbury as MGM didn't seem to know what to do with her usual qualities.

Angela had trouble shaking the "mature" moniker. During the late 1950's and early 1960's, she was often cast as women older than she was. In some cases, this led to very good parts. For instance, in 1958, Angela played Minnie Littlejohn in The Long, Hot Summer. The part of Will Varner's (Orson Welles) mistress gave her a small but interesting character to play. Angela made the most of it. In 1962, Lansbury was cast in the meaty role of Annabell Willart in John Frankenheimer's All Fall Down. Angela received excellent reviews for her performance as  Warren Beatty's overbearing  mother. This is the part that led to her greatest movie role.

John Frankenheimer was directing a another film in 1962, The Manchurian Candidate.  The star of the film, Frank Sinatra wanted Lucille Ball to play the crucial role of Eleanor Iselin. Frankenheimer  believed Angela Lansbury would be perfect for the part. Sinatra agreed to watch Frankenheimer's All Fall Down before the role was finally cast. Lansbury's performance convinced Sinatra that Lansbury was the best actress for the role. Lansbury did not disappoint. In my opinion, her portrayal of Eleanor Iselin is one of the best  performances by any actress recorded on film.

 Lansbury grasped the complexity of her character. One moment, Eleanor was the supportive wife of her senator husband. The next moment, she was clearly using her sexuality to manipulate her husband. Eleanor also wanted to appear to be the proud and concerned mother of Korean war hero Raymond Shaw. Angela Lansbury's ability to subtly suggest that Eleanor has an unnatural interest in her son is outstanding. When Lansbury finally makes her overt gesture to her son near the end of the film, the audience is repulsed but not shocked. Deep down, the viewer has known there was an incestuous relationship. No dialogue was needed, only a nuanced performance by a great actress. That's what Lansbury provided for the audience. She received another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. To this day, I am amazed that Angela Lansbury did not win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role. (No disrespect to Patty Duke intended.)

Despite the success Angela had in 1962, Hollywood still seemed at loss for how to cast her. This led the talented Ms. Lansbury to begin a new phase in her career as a Broadway musical star. In 1964, Angela took a chance on a new musical by Stephen Sondheim called Anyone Can Whistle. Unfortunately, it ran only one week. However, it did show that Angela could sing and had stage presence. It took two years, but Angela got another chance at Broadway. In 1966, Angela was cast as Mame Dennis in Jerry Herman's musical Mame. Lansbury got rave reviews and established herself as a bona fide Broadway star. Image that, the girl who was dubbed in The Harvey Girls was now wowing audiences as musical theater star!

Angela went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It also led to other starring roles on Broadway during the late 1960's and 1970's. Lansbury starred in Dear World in 1969 and won a second  Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 1974, she played Mama Rose in a successful revival of Gypsy. For her portrayal of Mama Rose, Angela was awarded her third Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 1979, Angela took  a huge risk pairing with Stephen Sondheim again. The musical was the dark tale Sweeney Todd. In it, Lansbury would play the female lead and accomplice to the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The role called for Lansbury to play Mrs. Lovett, an unattractive woman both physically and morally. Lansbury's risk proved worthwhile. The show became a huge success and Angela won her fourth  Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Lansbury is only actress to win 4 Tony Awards in this category.

Angela Lansbury made a few films in the 1970's. Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Lady Vanishes, and Death on the Nile. All these films showed Lansbury could still make the most of any role. I found her turn as Salome Otterbourne in Death on the Nile to be one of the bright spots in that film. Once again, Lansbury was brave enough to play a middle-aged woman who had seen better days. Salome was an alcoholic author of trashy romance novels. Her portrayal was excellent because Salome was more than just comic relief. She was a tragic figure too. Otterbourne was a bestselling writer at one time, but now her work was passe. Lansbury gave her role that pathos needed to prevent Salome from becoming a one dimensional character.

As the 1980's approached, Lansbury turned to another medium -- television. She did two successful mini-series: Little Gloria, Happy at Last and Lace. She co-starred with Lee Remick in The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story. She also teamed with George Hearn to do tape the stage Sweeney Todd for television. These endeavors led to two Emmy nominations and one Golden Globe nomination. Then, Angela was cast in the role she is remembered for best: Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. Jessica was a former English teacher and widow. Unbeknownst to Jessica, her nephew Grady has shown her murder mystery manuscript to a publisher. As a result, Jessica Fletcher becomes a bestseller novelist and crime solver. You see, murder seems to follow Jessica everywhere she goes now. The premise was simple but audiences loved it and especially Lansbury. Jessica was sweet but smart and resourceful too. In addition, Lansbury got many of her former MGM costars and friends to do guest starring roles on the show. The show remained on the air until 1996. For eight out of the twelve years, Murder, She Wrote ranked in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings. Angela won four Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher. Once again, Lansbury had reinvented herself and became a household name. Ironically, she is probably better remembered as result of Murder, She Wrote than the actresses to whom she lost leading roles at MGM.

Angela Lansbury has been a role model for me for over 25 years. I admire her bravery to try new challenges regardless of how diffficult they might be. I also admire how she has dealt with adversity in her personal life and in her career. Lansbury's family home burned down in 1970. In addition, she discovered during the same time period that her children had substance abuse problems. Lansbury and her husband Peter Shaw made a radical decision. For a few years, the family lived a simple life in Ireland. It worked and she has actually said the fire in many ways saved her and family. Now that's putting a positive spin on tragedy! However, she believes the family rediscovered the importance of relationships while in Ireland.

Angela was widowed in 2003. Rather than go into seclusion, Lansbury has continued to work. In fact, she has returned to Broadway three times since 2007. Lansbury starred in two plays Deuce and Blithe Spirit and one musical A Little Night Music. She received Tony nominations for all three productions. She won one Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in Play for Blithe Spirit. This fifth award tied her with Julie Harris for most Tony Awards won by an individual.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my birthday tribute to Angela Lansbury. This was truly a labor of love. Despite the fact that she has never won an Oscar or Emmy, Angela Lansbury has conquered the mediums these awards honor. In spite of these disappointments, Angela Lansbury said in her Private Screenings interview with Robert Osbourne how lucky she considers herself. I think this reflects a woman who realizes that awards are nice. However, true achievement can only be measured by one's willingness to stretch himself/herself and still accomplish one's goals. Angela Lansbury has certainly done that!

My buddy Dawn at Noir and Chick Flicks wrote a fabulous tribute for Angela too. Please click on link below to enjoy it!http://dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com/2011/10/happy-birthday-angela-lansbury.html#comments