Angela Lansbury, Murder, She Wrote Star and Oscar Nominee, Dead at 96

Dame Angela Lansbury, the fan-favorite actress best known for her long-running series , has passed away, she was 96. The family confirmed that Lansbury passed away this morning, Tuesday, October 11, in a statement. According to the family Lansbury died “peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today.” Lansbury’s death comes just five days prior to what would have been her 97th birthday. Our thoughts are with her family and friends during this difficult time, may she rest in peace.

The family’s full statement reads: “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday. 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. 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.”

Born October 16, 1925, Lansbury would begin her performing career in the theater, but she made an immediate splash as a actress when she landed her first feature film role, appearing in the movie adaptation of the stage play Gaslight in 1944. She began acting in the film when she was just 17, turning 18 on the set, and even land a Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar nomination for her part in the film. Her work there would eventually lead to her appearing in other notable films of the era including The Picture of Dorian Gray (for which she was also nominated for an Oscar), The Three Musketeers, and Samson and Delilah. Lansbury would establish herself as a character actor in the 1950s however, even extending her career into television.

The big and small screens weren’t the only place that Lansbury executed her craft however, taking to the stage with just as much frequency, starring in plays like A Taste of Honey, and musicals including Gypsy, The King and I, and originating the part of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.

Lansbury had countless appearances across her seven decades as a working actress, with career defining work in The Manchurian Candidate, plus the fan-favorite Bedknobs and Broomsticks. and even lending her voice to Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (a role she would continue to reprise in sequels and video games). 

For many fans however, Lansbury’s work as mystery writer turned detective Jessica Fletcher in the hit series Murder, She Wrote was the role that defined her. Lansbury would play the part for twelve seasons (over 260 episodes total) and four TV movies, with Lansbury earning twelve Primetime Emmy nominations for Best Actress in a Drama Series (a record that still stands).

“She was the sort of woman I like, and therefore, I enjoyed playing her.,” Lansbury told NPR earlier this summer about her relationship with the Jessica Fletcher character. “And being Jessica was second nature to me because she embodied all of the qualities that I like about women. She was valiant and liberal and athletic and exciting and sexy and all kinds of good stuff that women are of a certain age and are not given credit for. So to be able to play that gave me tremendous sort of pleasure, and I’m so glad I’ve done it.”

(Cover Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)