Hollywood Legend Angela Lansbury Dead At 96

By
David Rufful
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One of Hollywood’s most legendary stars has passed away.

A statement from her family confirmed that Angela Lansbury died at her home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM, Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

She won six Golden Globes and received 18 Emmy nominations as well as an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures.

It was just five days shy of her 97th birthday, the family explained.

“In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great-grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury,” the statement added.

“She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined.”

At age 19, Lansbury married man Richard Cromwell and the couple separated nine months later after she learned Cromwell as gay.

The two remained friends until his death in 1960 from cancer.

More on this story via Fox News:

Lansbury made her Broadway debut in 1957 in “Hotel Paradiso” and won Tonys for “Mame” in 1966, “Dear World” in 1969, “Gypsy” in 1974, “Sweeney Todd” in 1979 and “Blithe Spirit” in 2009. Other Broadway credits include “A Little Night Music,” “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” and “Anyone Can Whistle.”

Angela Brigid Lansbury was born on Oct. 16, 1925, in London, U.K. She was the daughter of Belfast-born actress Moyna MacGill and her second husband, lumber merchant Edgar Lansbury. A young Lansbury was introduced to the theatre world at London’s Old Vic. Her mother enrolled her in a school for the arts and dance.

“I was terribly shy, absolutely incapable of coming out of my shell,” Lansbury remembered of her youth. “It took me years to get over that.”

The Depression forced her father’s factory into bankruptcy, and for a few years the family lived on money her mother had saved from her theater career. But tragedy struck the family when the patriarch died in 1935 when Lansbury was just nine years old.

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When England was threatened with German bombings in 1940, Moyna struggled through red tape and won passage to America for her family. With the help of two sponsoring families, they settled in New York and lived on $150 a month. To add to their income, Angela at 16 landed a nightclub job in Montreal doing impersonations and songs. The family eventually traveled to Los Angeles where Moyna helped her daughter land a screen test at MGM. At age 17, Lansbury made her movie debut in 1944’s “Gaslight.” The role earned her an Oscar nomination. She went on to play Elizabeth Taylor’s sister in “National Velvet” that year.