Angela Lansbury, star of TV, film and theatre, dies aged 96



Lansbury gained an Oscar information for her archetypal relation wrong the 1944 movie Gaslight, and gained planetary acclaim arsenic Murder, She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher

Angela Lansbury: the candy, scene-stealing grande dame of our monitors for seventy 5 years

The histrion Angela Lansbury, who has died astatine the property of 96. Photograph: Casey Curry/Invision/APThe histrion Angela Lansbury, who has died astatine the property of ninety six. Photograph: Casey Curry/Invision/APHannah J Davies@hannahjdaviesTue 11 Oct 2022 15.40 EDTLast modified connected Tue 11 Oct 2022 16.Forty 3 EDT

The histrion Angela Lansbury, bully known arsenic Jessica Fletcher wrong the TV postulation Murder, She Wrote and for galore movie and theatre roles, has died aged96. She died successful her slumber connected Tuesday, simply 5 days earlier her 97th birthday, her ellipse of relatives has announced.

Lansbury go calved successful London successful 1925, to Irish histrion Moyna Macgill and Edgar Lansbury, a soma presser and wood merchant who died erstwhile she changed into 9. Following the Blitz, Lansbury, 2 of her siblings and her parent relocated to the USA, successful which she trained astatine New York’s Feagin School of Drama and Radio. She went connected to person an Oscar information for her archetypal movie function, aged 19, wrong the 1944 movie Gaslight, and starred wrong the deed movie National Velvet, arsenic good arsenic a dependable question of different MGM productions successful the people of the Nineteen Forties.

After greater insignificant roles, Lansbury came to prominence each implicit again successful the 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate, nevertheless it wasn’t until 1966, whilst she took the pb sanction wrong the philharmonic Mame, that she reached extended prominence. A pb relation arsenic Rose successful the West End transportation of Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy observed, arsenic did roles successful deed movies and likewise philharmonic theatre productions, including Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

However, she volition beryllium good recognised to galore for gambling the presumption of Jessica Fletcher wrong the US transgression play Murder, She Wrote. An planetary success, the whodunit play ran from 1984 and 1996 and made a worldwide celebrated idiosyncratic of the histrion who played its lead, a transgression discourtesy creator and might-be detective. She additionally exec produced the show, via Corymore Productions, a manufacturing institution she began on with her precocious hubby Peter Shaw, who died successful 2003. Lansbury besides drastically voiced Mrs Potts wrong the 1991 Disney movie Beauty and the Beast.

Lansbury acquired 5 Tony Awards, six Golden Globes and an Olivier Award successful summation to an Honorary Oscar and a Lifetime Achievement Award from BAFTA implicit the way of her profession. In 2014 she became made with the assistance of a dame by mode of Queen Elizabeth II.

In a 2019 with US mag Parade, she said that she turned into nary longer but prepared to retire: “Yes, I bash [think astir it] connected a fewer days. I suppose, Oh, no, goodness gracious. I can’t propulsion myself collectively to bash that these days. But I support doing it. There’s going to travel backmost a factor, successful which I’ll suppose, I’m folding up now. I’m mounting that idiosyncratic distant wrong the closet and I’m going to conscionable unrecorded retired my last years with the family”.

She is survived by means of children Anthony and Deidre and stepson David, positive 3 grandchildren, 5 fantastic-grandchildren and her brother, Edgar.