Biography
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Angela
Brigid Lansbury was
born on October 16, 1925
in London (United Kingdom, EU).
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Angela Lansbury's Family
Tree:
She was the first child of
Edgar Lansbury and Moyna MacGill (Charlotte Lillian McIldowie),
married in 1924.
Edgar Lansbury died in 1934:
he was 48 and his 9-year-old daughter Angela stood at the bedside,
holding her mother's hand.
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Her first movie was
Gaslight, directed by George Cukor with Ingrid
Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten, filmed in
1944 (an MGM production). This was the first movie of
a great career! (See the Movies
section).
With this movie she got her first Oscar nomination
(See the Awards
section). |
Angela's first husband was
Richard Cromwell (Roy Radabaugh), married on September 27, 1945
in Independence (California). It wasn't a "happy marriage":
Angela realized her approach to marriage had been immature;
then in August 1946, after 11 months, she obtained the divorce
from Roy in Los Angeles.
And in 1946 she got her second
Oscar nomination (See the Awards
section) for her role in The
Picture of Dorian Gray.
Only 5 months after her divorce,
Angela knew her actual husband (Peter Shaw), thanks to Hurd
Hatfield, an actor who invited her to a weekend party at a friend's
house in the Ojai Valley. She didn't know how getting there
and Hurd "sent" Peter taking her.
Angela married Peter Shaw (Peter Pullen)
on August 12, 1949 in London (UK),
St. Columbia's Church, after they won approval from the Church
of Scotland (both Angela and Peter was divorced).
Peter Pullen was born on June 24, 1918 in London (UK).
Their first son, Anthony
Peter Shaw, was born on January 7, 1952 in their home
in Encino (San Fernando Valley).
One year later, on April 26,
1953, at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, they had a daughter,
Deirdre Angela Shaw.
In the 1950s, Peter won custody
of his son, David, and then he and Angela agreed
that the time had come to bring over the ten-year-old boy. David
was born in 1944, while Peter was still married with Mercia
Squires, a model he knew in London.
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The
Shaw Family Tree
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To
get further information about any member of the Shaw
Family,
click on their names.
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©
Copyright AngelaLansbury.net
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Angela's first theater experience
was in Hotel Paradiso, opened on April 12, 1957 at
Henry Miller's Theatre. This play, written by France's master
of farce Georges Feydeau, was directed by Peter Glenville.
One spring day in 1963, Angela received a small blue air mail
letter from Arthur Laurents, where he asked her if she would
be interested in a musical on Broadway. She said: "A musical
on Broadway! It's the most exciting thing I can possibly imagine".
The musical was Anyone Can Whistle. It was subtitled
"A Wild New Musical", opened in New York on April
4, 1964, at the Majestic Theater. (See The Stage section).
She remembers that letter as "The most exciting letter
I have received in years!".
In 1963 she got her third Oscar
nomination (See the Awards
section) for her role in The
Manchurian Candidate.
In 1966 she became a great
world-known STAR with Mame, opened on May 24 at Winter
Garden Theatre. (See The Stage
section).
One of the worst days in her
life was November 25, 1975: Moyna, Angela's mother, died, at
the age of 79.
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In 1984 she began
her wonderful "tv adventure": Murder,
She Wrote (explore the Murder,
She Wrote section). On September 30, 1984,
CBS broadcasted the two-hour pilot/premiere episode
of Murder, She Wrote: it became the weekly
appointment for millions of Americans. This "adventure"
finished in 1996, after 264 episodes and 12 years of
success! Undoubtedly, this show brings Angela more fame:
it's been sold to other networks all over the world,
becoming a top ten series everywhere! |
While they were filming the
last episode, she wasn't behind the cameras: "I didn't
work on the final day of production. The emotion was too much.
[...] The last scene that I actually did on the series was an
insert of the actor Gregg Henry putting a key in my pocket...
I wept all through it, but the audience will never know."
| She's not only a great
movie and theater actress: she's got a wonderful voice
too! You can agree with me looking for her voice in
The Last Unicorn (ITC, 1982), Beauty and
the Beast (Walt Disney, Buena Vista, 1991) and
Anastasia (20th Century-Fox, 1996). Another
example of her talent! |
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In the
year 1992 Angela was among the special guests who were invited
to the Grand Opening of the first Disney Park in Europe (Disneyland
Resort Paris, formerly known as EuroDisney Resort),
where she impressed her handprints you can now see at the Walt
Disney Studios Europe (a second theme park opened in 2002 on
a new area close to the first one). Click
here if you want to find out more!
| In the year 1995, Angela
has officially become a Disney Legend, joining the
other personalities who used their talents for great Disney
performances. Click
here to explore the official Disney Legends website. |
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Angela began the year 2000
with another Disney production: Fantasia 2000. This
animation movie is built up on several segments which are introduced
by celebrity hosts and one of them is our dear Angela.
On July 21, 2000 Angela withdrew
from a new Broadway musical (The Visit) scheduled to
open the following spring, due to her husband health problem
(Peter had heart surgery and she needed to be with him).
On January 29, 2003, Peter
Shaw, Angela's beloved husband, died, at home, of
congestive heart failure, leaving Angela alone after 54 happy
years.
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"Actors
are not made, they are born."
Angela Lansbury, "In her own words" [Page
309, Balancing Act- The Authorized Biography
of Angela Lansbury, written by Martin Gottfried.
© Copyright 1999 by Martin Gottfried.]
"I've
had an incredible relationship with my husband, with
my family. I know they've had problems of their own,
but we have never wavered in our closeness as a family.
I've had a hell of a life."
Angela Lansbury, "In her own words" [Page
317, Balancing Act- The Authorized Biography
of Angela Lansbury, written by Martin Gottfried.
© Copyright 1999 by Martin Gottfried.]
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A&E,
A&E logo, A&E Classroom, Biography® Channel,
The History Channel®,
and The History Channel Classroom® are trademarks of
A&E Television Networks. |
I realized this page thanks
to Martin Gottfried's authorized biography of Angela Lansbury:
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Balancing
Act - The Authorized Biography of
Angela Lansbury has been written by Martin
Gottfried and published by Little,
Brown and Company.
For further info click here.
Balancing
Act - The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury
© Copyright 1999 by Martin Gottfried - All
Rights Reserved.
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