Obituary: Angela Lansbury

Her relation arsenic the genteel Jessica Fletcher made Dame Angela Lansbury 1 of Britain's favourite exports.

The occurrence of the tv bid Murder She Wrote was a precocious constituent successful a showbusiness vocation lasting much than 7 decades.

It took her from Broadway to Hollywood and past planetary fame connected the tiny screen.

And, successful her ninth decade, she returned to instrumentality the signifier by tempest successful Driving Miss Daisy and Blithe Spirit.

Angela Brigid Lansbury was calved successful Poplar, eastbound London connected 16 October 1925. Her begetter Edgar was a erstwhile politician of Poplar and a starring airy successful the Communist Party of Great Britain, portion her paternal grandfather, George, was a extremist person who became Labour Party person successful 1932.

Following the decease of her begetter from crab successful 1935, her mother, the Irish histrion Moyna MacGill, moved successful with a erstwhile service colonel successful Hampstead.

Lansbury attended the section school, wherever she made her precise archetypal signifier quality successful a accumulation of Mary of Scotland. She became a passionate cinemagoer and her parent besides took her to the theatre. She studied euphony and dancing earlier enrolling astatine the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art successful 1939.

With the onset of the Blitz her parent decided to determination the household to New York, wherever Lansbury won a assistance to the Feagin School of Dramatic Art.

"Those of america who were 12 oregon 13 erstwhile the warfare started," she aboriginal said, "were perfectly thrown into the mainstream. We had to turn up instantly, and instrumentality attraction of ourselves."

When her parent joined a touring theatre institution successful Canada, Lansbury secured a occupation astatine a nightclub arsenic an entertainer aft telling the absorption she was 19 when, successful fact, she had lone conscionable celebrated her 16th birthday.

In 1942 she joined her mother, who had moved to Hollywood and where, astatine a party, she was noticed by an MGM enforcement who formed her arsenic the saucy maid successful the 1944 movie Gaslight.

She was an instant success, winning an Oscar information for Best Supporting Actress successful her archetypal movie quality arsenic good arsenic a invaluable declaration with MGM.

But the workplace failed to marque the champion usage of her. "I don't deliberation I was rather blistery capable successful the looks department. Quite frankly, I was each endowment and nary looks.""

Often formed arsenic a quality older than her ain age, Lansbury enjoyed occurrence successful The Picture of Dorian Gray - securing a Golden Globe Award and a 2nd Oscar information - and successful State of the Union, with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

By the opening of the 1960s she was a seasoned of 24 films of varying quality, including a relation arsenic the parent of a quality played by Elvis Presley successful Blue Hawaii, thing she aboriginal said she did due to the fact that she was desperate.

One precocious constituent was her relation arsenic Laurence Harvey's parent successful the governmental thriller The Manchurian Candidate, contempt being lone 3 years older than the actor.

One professional described her show arsenic "the strongest, the astir memorable, and the champion representation she ever made... she gives her finest movie show successful it". The movie won her a 2nd Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and yet different Oscar nomination.

Despite her surface occurrence she ever kept successful interaction with the stage. There were well-received performances connected Broadway, notably successful a 1960 accumulation of A Taste of Honey.

Lansbury's archetypal philharmonic was an experimental Stephen Sondheim project, Anyone Can Whistle, which premiered successful 1963. It was a monolithic flop and closed aft conscionable 9 performances.

There were much insignificant cinema roles but, by the property of 40, she had decided that she was not going to execute superstar occurrence successful the cinema.

Instead she accepted the portion of Madame Dennis successful the philharmonic mentation of Mame, which launched connected Broadway successful 1966 to ecstatic reviews.

The New York Times opined: "Miss Lansbury is simply a singing-dancing actress, not a vocalist oregon dancer who besides acts." Her show won her a Tony award, and an unexpected relation arsenic a cheery icon, thing she came to relish.

"I loved it," she said. "I loved playing it for astir 2 years but aft that I decided to instrumentality a remainder due to the fact that it truly took a batch of retired of me."

Her relation arsenic the gruesome Nellie Lovett successful Sweeney Todd sealed her estimation arsenic a expansive dame of Broadway.

She didn't wantonness the cinema completely. There were Golden Globe nominations for Something for Everyone and the Disney philharmonic Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

"Someone ever came on with a proposition and unless I had a bully crushed to accidental no, I mostly said yes."

But she turned down different roles including that of Nurse Ratched successful One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

If she suffered from being 1 of Hollywood's astir often overlooked actresses, successful the 1980s Lansbury became 1 of its richest.

In 1980 she played Miss Marple successful the movie mentation of The Mirror Crack'd though her energetic show was not met with favour by Agatha Christie fans.

But, for 12 years from 1984, she delighted American viewers successful their millions erstwhile she played different sleuth, Jessica Fletcher, successful the tv bid Murder She Wrote.

"It was a conscious determination due to the fact that TV was a signifier of annuity for actors."

Described arsenic "Miss Marple meets Mary Poppins", Jessica Fletcher provided a comforting beingness successful the midst of luxurious but inevitably crime-riddled surroundings.

The bid stayed astatine the apical of the ratings for an unprecedented 9 seasons and made Lansbury, besides the show's enforcement producer, 1 of the country's wealthiest women, with a luck estimated astatine astir $100m.

She appeared successful much than 20 films successful the 1990s, the decennary successful which she reached 70, including a show arsenic Granny successful Neil Jordan's cult phantasy A Company of Wolves.

She seemed to garner caller vigor from her advancing years. After a interruption of 22 years she was backmost connected Broadway successful 2007 successful a accumulation of Deuce. She followed this up with her relation arsenic the clairvoyant Madame Arcati successful the Broadway revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit successful 2009, winning her 5th Tony Award.

And she received an enthusiastic invited erstwhile she returned location to the London signifier aft an lack of 40 years to reprise the relation successful a accumulation astatine the Gielgud Theatre, a show that won her an Olivier.

"I emotion her. She's wholly disconnected the partition but utterly unafraid successful her ain convictions."

In 2014 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to the theatre and the assorted charities she supported.

Angela Lansbury joined twice. In 1945 she eloped with the matinee idol Richard Cromwell, who was 16 years her elder but the narration failed aft little than a twelvemonth aft helium revealed helium was gay. In 1949 she joined the British histrion and shaper Peter Shaw. It was a national that would past much than 50 years until his decease successful 2003.

Although Americans regarded Angela Lansbury arsenic 1 of their own, she ne'er mislaid interaction with her British roots, maintaining her English accent and peppering her code with old-fashioned British expressions specified arsenic "my, ohio my".

She was erstwhile asked wherefore she kept moving agelong aft different actors mightiness person settled for retirement.

"I've ne'er been peculiarly alert of my age," she said. "It's similar being connected a bicycle - I conscionable enactment my ft down and support going."