'Murder, She Wrote' Actress Angela Lansbury Dies at 96
Angela Lansbury, the big-eyed, scene-stealing British actress who kicked up her heels in the Broadway musicals “Mame” and “Gypsy” and solved endless murders as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series “Murder, She Wrote,” has died. She was 96.
Lansbury died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her three children. She died five days shy of her 97th birthday.
Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.
She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, “Gaslight” (1945) and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1946), and was nominated again in 1962 for “The Manchurian Candidate” and her deadly portrayal of a communist agent and the title character’s mother.
Her stardom came in middle age when she became the hit of the New York theater, winning Tony Awards for “Mame” (1966), “Dear World” (1969), “Gypsy” (1975) and “Sweeney Todd” (1979).
She was back on Broadway and got another Tony nomination in 2007 in Terrence McNally’s “Deuce.” In 2009 she collected her fifth Tony, for best featured actress in a revival of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit,” and in 2015 won an Olivier Award in the role.
But Lansbury’s widest fame began in 1984 when she launched “Murder, She Wrote” on CBS. Based loosely on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories, the series centered on Jessica Fletcher, a mystery novelist and amateur sleuth living in the seaside village of Cabot Cove, Maine.
The actress found the first season exhausting.
“I was shocked when I learned that I had to work 12 to 15 hours a day, relentlessly, day in, day out,” she recalled. “I had to lay down the law at one point and say, ‘Look, I can’t do these shows in seven days; it will have to be eight days.’”
CBS and the production company, Universal Studio, agreed, especially since “Murder, She Wrote” had become a Sunday night hit. Despite the long days — she left her home at Brentwood in West Los Angeles at 6 a.m. and returned after dark — and reams of dialogue to memorize, Lansbury maintained a steady pace.
“Murder, She Wrote” stayed high in the ratings through its 11th year. Then CBS, seeking a younger audience for Sunday night, shifted the series to a less favorable midweek slot. Lansbury protested vigorously to no avail.
As expected, the ratings plummeted and the show was canceled. For consolation, CBS contracted for two-hour “Murder, She Wrote” movies and other specials starring Lansbury.
“Murder, She Wrote” and other television work brought her 18 Emmy nominations, but she never won one. She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations and wins for best actress in a television drama series and the most Emmy nominations for lead actress in a drama series.
Broadway royalty paid their respects.
Audra McDonald tweeted, “She was an icon, a legend, a gem, and about the nicest lady you’d ever want to meet.” Leslie Uggams wrote, “Dame Angela was so sweet to me when I made my Broadway debut. She was a key person in welcoming me to the community. She truly lived, lived, lived!”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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