RIP: In Memoriam Thread

[Cat]

 

This is devastatingly sad news -- a true class act. And also one of the few female friends of Elizabeth Taylor's -- they both went through the child-star system at MGM together.

Having followed Lansbury for many years, via Gaslight, The Manchurian Candidate, Murder She wrote (of course) and Blythe Spirit, and even having watched my mom's VHS tape of her older-ladies-exercise-video -- I thought I knew all there was to know about Angela Lansbury. I didn't know this story:

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The late Angela Lansbury — who died in the early hours of Tuesday at her Los Angeles home just days shy of her 97th birthday — once had to pry her daughter from the clutches of convicted murderer Charles Manson. In a 2014 interview with DailyMail.com, Lansbury revealed that Diedre, now 69, had begun running with a crowd led by the musician-turned-mass murderer during the 1960s, and with her brother Anthony had become involved with drugs.

In order to keep her daughter and the rest of her family safe, the ‘Murder, She Wrote’ actress moved her whole family from their home in Los Angeles to Ireland, where her mother’s family hailed from. Lansbury said the troubles with Diedre and her older son Anthony, now 70, began in the 1960s when they fell under the sway of drugs.

‘It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin,’ the Sweeney Todd star explained at the time. Their drug use brought her children, who were just teens at the time, into unsavory circles. ‘There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits,’ she continued. ‘It pains me to say it but, at one stage, Deidre was in with a crowd led by Charles Manson.’

Like some of Manson’s followers, who would later commit the horrendous Tate–LaBianca murders, Diedre was allegedly drawn to the cult leaders charms.

‘She was one of many youngsters who knew him — and they were fascinated,’ Lansbury continued. ‘He was an extraordinary character, charismatic in many ways, no question about it.’

Fearing the kind of trouble her daughter might get into if she stayed in Manson’s circle, Lansbury proposed a major move overseas. ”I said to [husband] Peter [Shaw], “We have to leave.” So we upped sticks and moved the family to a house I found in County Cork,’ she said, explaining that it was a sort of homecoming, even though she had been born in London. ‘I was drawn to Ireland because it was the birthplace of my mother and it was also somewhere my children wouldn’t be exposed to any more bad influences,’ Lansbury continued. ‘I still have a house there which I try and visit at least once a year. So I refused all work for a year and simply kept house. I bought Elizabeth David’s books and learnt how to cook properly,’ she added, referencing the popular British cooking writer. ‘It was a wonderful time in my life.’

A change of scenery proved to be just the prescription for her children, who thrived in Ireland.

‘Anthony pulled right out of his bad habits quite quickly,’ Lansbury shared. ‘It took Deidre a little longer, but she finally got married and she and her husband now live in Los Angeles, where they run their own Italian restaurant.’

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11305741/Angela-Lansbury-saved-daughter-clutches-Charles-Manson-uprooting-Ireland.html

[sheilaforever]

@DaytimeFanand @Cat thank you both so much for sharing these wonderful memories and stories of the late Angela Lansbury. I have utmost admiration for her long career starting with the old b/w movies - and MSW in particular. May she rest in peace.

[DRW50]

 

[DRW50]

 

[Contessa Donatella]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/angela-lansbury-life-pictures/

[BetterForgotten]

Angela’s Tony wins (her win for Mame is not included because that was when the Tony’s weren’t televised, so there is no known recording if it).

Her theatrical career gave her the opportunity to be cast as a leading lady, something Hollywood refused to do because of her “unconventional” looks by Hollywood standards. 

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[Faulkner]

Such a brilliant actor. 
 

 

[I Am A Swede]

What??!! 

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   Oh no!!  

I know most people will know him from Harry Potter, but his real tour-de-force was in Cracker. Simply one of the best crime dramas ever, and he was beyond great in that role.

[DRW50]

I think I'll always remember him for Cracker as well. 

A one of a kind talent, and a face you never forget.

[Vee]

What a talent.

[YRfan23]

No dammit!!

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two legendary actors this week…sigh

[DRW50]

 

[Cat]

The story Daytime Fan talked about Lansbury and MSW allowing aging guest stars to access health care provisions is one that really stays with me. Angela Lansbury no doubt was a complex, three dimensional woman, but her decency and humanity spoke through her actions. None of it was performative virtie-signaling, either. Giving up her career to move her family to Ireland to save her two children from heroin addiction. Using her MSW platform not just to entertain, but to keep jobbing actors in employment. She stood up to all-around creep and misogynist Les Moonves, too. I couldn't admire this woman more.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, no. What in the heck did he do this time?

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I hope there will come a time when they will name a theatre for her!

 

[kalbir]

Les Moonves treated Angela Lansbury horribly after she basically carried CBS's primetime lineup through some pretty awful times from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.

IT'S THURSDAY FOR SURE FOR `MURDER, SHE WROTE' - Deseret News

NO MYSTERY TO LANSBURY WHO'S KILLING THE SHOW – Chicago Tribune

Low Ratings Did In Lansbury's Show but Her Character Isn't Dying - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

The View From The Top. Les Moonves 2011 Luncheon Recap – HRTS.org

No wonder Murder, She Wrote took swipes at both Friends and CBS during its final season.