Angela Lansbury: things you'd never guessed about the late actress

If Angela Lansbury were to be remembered for just one role, it would be that of Jessica Fletcher in 'Murder, She Wrote', a character she played between 1984 and 1996.

The actress passed away in October 2022, just five days after her 97th birthday.

Born in London in 1925, she had a long and fruitful career in film, theater, and television. She earned three Oscar nominations, five Tony Awards, and the affection of several generations.

Knowing her as Jessica Fletcher, it may not surprise you that gardening and crossword puzzles were among the actress's hobbies. But did you know the following trivia?

Image: CBS

While many people know the actress for the roles she played, there are several curious facts about Angela Lansbury that you may have never heard of.

Angela Lansbury's face always appeared to look older than her real age. The reason for this was the death of her father when she was 9 years old. It affected the actress very much.

World War II forced Angela Lansbury and her family (in the photo with her brothers) to flee from the UK to the United States in 1940.

When she arrived there, she immediately pursued her theatrical ambitions. It was precisely her British accent that earned Lansbury her first role... and an Oscar nomination!

Angela Lansbury worked at a department store, wrapping gifts and getting paid $28 a week. Everything changed when she met John Van Druten, screenwriter for 'Gaslight' (1944), who saw in her the perfect Nancy Oliver, the maid of protagonist Paula Alquist Anton (Ingrid Bergman).
The role earned Angela Lansbury an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at just 17 years old.

When she told her boss at the store that she was leaving for another job, he offered her whatever amount she was going to get paid in the new place, thinking she was leaving for another shop. He had to withdraw the offer when he found out that she was going to get paid $500 a week in Hollywood!

Just a year later, thanks to her role of Sibyl Vane in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (1946), Angela Lansbury would receive her second Oscar nomination as Supporting Actress. She was 18 years old.

To this day, she is the only actress to have been nominated for an Oscar twice before her 20th birthday. Interestingly, she passed the auditions for both films on the same day.

In 1945, the actress married Richard Cromwell, 18 years her senior. Seven months after the wedding, the marriage ended. As it turned out, the actor liked men, although he thought that marriage could help him change. The actress was 19 years old.

Everything got better with Peter Shaw, her second husband and better half for 54 years - from 1949 until he died in 2003. They were the perfect couple and had two children: Anthony Pullen Shaw and Deidre Angela Shaw.

Angela Lansbury was quite a courageous mother. When she found out her children were exposed to narcotic substances and under the influence of cult leader Charles Manson, she took them to her mother's town in Ireland, where she locked them up to keep them safe.

The Manson clan would be responsible for the murder of actress Sharon Tate and several others. Imagine, one of Angela Lansbury's daughters could have been in this picture!

In 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962), Lansbury played the mother of actor Lawrence Harvey, though she was barely three years older than him. Throughout her career, the actress would complain about how Hollywood had aged her.

Angela Lansbury could have been Miss Caswell in 'All About Eve' (1950); Alice in 'A Place in the Sun' (1951); or Mrs. Robinson in 'The Graduate' (1967). Marilyn Monroe (pictured), Shelley Winters, and Anne Bancroft would land those roles, respectively.

A role she turned down was Nurse Ratched in Milos Forman's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975).

Louise Fletcher would end up getting the famous role of Nurse Ratched. She also won an Oscar for it!

Her presence in 'Death on the Nile' (1978) and 'The Mirror Crack'd' (1980) was key to her being chosen as Jessica Fletcher in 'Murder, She Wrote' in 1984. However, Angela Lansbury was not the first option. Doris Day and Jean Stapleton (in the photo) were among those who rejected the role.

Angela Lansbury was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress during the 12 seasons that 'Murder, She Wrote' was on TV (between 1984 and 1996). However, she never won it. Now, that's a record that will be difficult to beat!

Not everyone knows that the actress gave voice to Mrs. Potts in the animated film 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991). She even sang the main theme of the film: the song on which the protagonists dance as they fall in love.