Angela Lansbury was born in Britain and left there during World War II to come to America. She was contracted by MGM while still a teenager, nominated for an Academy Award for her first film, "Gaslight," in 1944. Two pictures later she was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress this time for "A Picture of Dorian Gray" in 1945. She began a long career often as the other woman in major productions and as the leading lady in other 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 30s. That's exactly what she did in the film "The Manchurian Candidate," her blood chilling Academy Award nominated performance as a politician's monstrous wife.
She concentrated more and more on stage work achieving notable success and a number of Broadway plays and musicals such as "Mame," "Gypsy," "Sweeney Todd," and "Anyone Can Whistle." She won four Tony Awards in 16 years. Although active in television since the early 1950s, she obtained her greatest fame in the 1980s by starring in the mystery program, "Murder She Wrote." As Jessica Fletcher, she became known and loved by millions for well over a decade as a mystery writer who in her spare time would solve crimes.
Angela Lansbury died this week at the age of 96. We had the honor of speaking with her for this program in 2002.