Angela Lansbury, star of 'Murder, She Wrote', dies aged 96
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote.
Angela Lansbury has died just five days short of her 97th birthday.
The family of the Murder She Wrote star confirmed the news in a statement this evening.
They said: "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.
"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 preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined."
The five-time Tony Award winner had a long association with Cork.
She moved to the village of Conna with her husband Peter Shaw and their children in the early 1970s.
She wanted to get away from Los Angeles as her son Anthony had become addicted to drugs and her daughter Deirdre had fallen in with the Manson family.
Lansbury also had a house in Shanagarry which she spent many summers in.
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.
Her mature demeanour prompted producers to cast her much older than her actual age.
In 1948, when she was 23, her hair was streaked with grey so she could play a fortyish newspaper publisher with a yen for Spencer Tracy in State Of The Union.
Her stardom came in middle age when she became the hit of the New York theatre, winning Tony Awards for Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Gypsy (1975) and Sweeney Todd (1979).
She was back on Broadway and got another Tony nomination in 2007 in Terrence McNally’s Deuce, playing a scrappy, brash former tennis star, reflecting with another ex-star as she watches a modern-day match from the stands.
In 2009 she collected her fifth Tony, for best featured actress in a revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit and in 2015 won an Olivier Award in the role.
But 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’.” CBS and the production company, Universal Studio, agreed, especially since Murder, She Wrote had become a Sunday night hit.
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.”
In the series’ first season, Jessica wore clothes that were almost frumpy. Then she acquired smartness, Lansbury reasoning that, as a successful woman, Jessica should dress the part.
Murder, She Wrote stayed high in the ratings until its 11th year. Then CBS, seeking a younger audience for Sunday night, shifted the series to a less favourable midweek slot.
Lansbury protested vigorously to no avail. As expected, the ratings plummeted and the show was cancelled.
For consolation, CBS contracted two-hour movies of Murder, She Wrote and other specials starring Lansbury.
Murder, She Wrote and other television work brought her 18 Emmy nominations but she never won one.
She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations and wins for best actress in a television drama series and the most Emmy nominations for lead actress in a drama series.
In a 2008 Associated Press interview, Lansbury said she still welcomed the right script but did not want to play “old, decrepit women”.
“I want women my age to be represented the way they are, which is vital, productive members of society.
“I’m astonished at the amount of stuff I managed to pack into the years that I have been in the business. And I’m still here.”
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