Murder, She Wrote star Angela Lansbury dies at 96 - BBC

Dame Angela Lansbury, who won planetary acclaim arsenic the prima of the US TV transgression bid Murder, She Wrote, has died aged 96.

The three-time Oscar nominee had a vocation spanning 8 decades, crossed film, theatre and television.

Born successful 1925, she was 1 of the past surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

Dame Angela died successful her slumber conscionable 5 days earlier her 97th birthday, her household said successful a statement.

"The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are bittersweet to denote that their parent died peacefully successful her slumber astatine location successful Los Angeles," the household said.

Born successful London, Dame Angela aboriginal moved to New York and attended the Feagin School of Dramatic Art.

She was noticed by a Hollywood enforcement astatine a enactment successful 1942, and fixed her archetypal relation arsenic a maid successful the 1944 movie Gaslight, based connected the 1938 play of the aforesaid name. Her portrayal earned her an Oscar information for champion supporting histrion the pursuing year.

The word "gaslighting" originated from Patrick Hamilton's play, which was astir a young pistillate whose hubby dilatory manipulates her into believing she is going crazy.

The British prima went connected to onshore 2 much Oscar nominations arsenic Sibyl successful The Picture of Dorian Gray successful 1945 and Laurence Harvey's manipulative parent successful The Manchurian Candidate - other Frank Sinatra - successful 1962.

After a determination connected to Broadway successful the 1960s she won respective Tony Awards, including 1 for her crook arsenic Nellie Lovett successful Sweeney Todd successful 1970.

A twelvemonth aboriginal she appeared successful the Disney deed Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and aboriginal featured successful different children's films, providing the dependable for Mrs Potts successful the animated Beauty and the Beast; and much precocious Mary Poppins Returns.

But it was her portrayal of sleuth Jessica Fletcher successful the tv bid Murder, She Wrote which gained her millions of fans crossed the world.

She took up the relation successful 1984, and continued for 12 years and 9 seasons.

The amusement made her 1 of the wealthiest women successful the US astatine the time, with a luck estimated astatine $100m.

"I worked overmuch harder connected a quality successful the theatre than I bash playing Jessica," Lansbury said successful a TV interrogation successful 1985.

"Jessica's overmuch person to location for me. She's an easy-going woman.

"It's conscionable that I tin subordinate to her," she added.

Her aboriginal accolades included an honorary Oscar for beingness accomplishment successful 2013 astatine the property of 88.

During the ceremony, chap histrion Geoffrey Rush praised her arsenic the "living explanation of range".

It followed a beingness accomplishment grant from Bafta successful 2002, arsenic good arsenic a prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She was made a Dame successful 2014 for services to drama, charitable enactment and philanthropy.

Tributes pursuing her decease lauded a "legend" of Hollywood.

Actor Josh Gad wrote connected Twitter: "It is uncommon that 1 idiosyncratic tin interaction aggregate generations, creating a breadth of enactment that defines decennary aft decade. Angela Lansbury was that artist."

Fellow histrion Harvey Fierstein added that Dame Angela was "everything".

Actress Mia Farrow, who starred successful the 1978 movie Death connected the Nile alongside Dame Angela, wrote that it was "an honour" to person worked with her.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis wrote that she thought the precocious prima "would unrecorded forever". "What an perfectly beauteous bequest you've left," she posted. "You person influenced generations of actors to aspire to excellence."

Seinfeld histrion Jason Alexander tweeted that "one of the astir versatile, talented, graceful, kind, witty, wise, classy ladies I've ever met has near us", adding: "Her immense publication to the arts and the satellite remains always."

Comedian and histrion Kathy Griffin wrote: "I cannot archer you however galore ladies and gays are crushed, moved and feeling nostalgic astir thing successful the past with the quality of the passing of the fabulous Dame Angela Lansbury."

Many tributes mentioned Dame Angela's enactment to rise consciousness and wealth for Aids successful the 1980s and 90s, fronting a TV accusation run and headlining fundraising events.

Dame Angela was joined twice, concisely to the histrion Richard Cromwell erstwhile she was 19, and aboriginal to the British histrion and shaper Peter Shaw.

They remained unneurotic for much than 50 years, until his decease successful 2003.

She is survived by 3 children and her brother, shaper Edgar Lansbury, arsenic good arsenic respective grandchildren and great-grandchildren.