Angela Lansbury, legendary actress and singer, dead at 96
Angela Lansbury, the iconic actress and singer who was best known for her role as lead character Jessica Fletcher in the long-running television programme Murder, She Wrote, has passed away at the age of 96.
According to her family: “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30am today, Tuesday, October 11th, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday,” they say in a statement.
Lansbury’s career spanned over 80 years in the entertainment industry. During that time, she performed as a singer and actress on both stage and screen. Lansbury’s acting career started as a teenager when she made a name for herself in Classic Hollywood-era films like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Gaslight. Frequently alternating between film and theatre, Lansbury also made acclaimed appearances in Broadway productions of Mame, Gypsy, and Sweeney Todd.
After her success in theatrical productions, Lansbury’s success in Murder, She Wrote made her a household name around the world. In 1990, Lansbury returned to the spotlight in animated form as the voice of the kindly Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Lansbury also sang the film’s title song, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Lansbury has earned five Tony Awards and six Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. She was nominated for an Academy Award on three separate occasions, all for Best Supporting Actress, and finally received an Honourary Academy Award in 2013. Lansbury had also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Tony Awards and the British Academy of Film and Television.
Lansbury is survived by her children, director Anthony Shaw and writer Deirdre Shaw, as well as her three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian; five great-grandchildren; and brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.
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