While we mourn the passing of Angela Lansbury, we also are moved to celebrate her long, loving, generous life and an extraordinary career of some 80 years.
Some of her film work has been mentioned on this blog previously, such as roles in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960), her debut role in Gaslight (1944), as well as two episodes of her beloved television series Murder She Wrote: "Reflections of the Mind" with Ann Blyth, and a mention of her clever "sequel" as Jessica Fletcher sorts out the solution from a 1949 movie Strange Bargain.
As a theatre fan, I always looked forward to her appearances at the Tony Awards (she won 5 Tonys). Here's a reunion of Miss Angela and Bea Arthur reprising their roles from Mame.
She did it all. She adapted to each era and each new audience. Had there never been a 12-year run of Murder She Wrote on TV, or her voice work in animated features such as Beauty and the Beast where her rendition of the title song still charms and breaks the heart -- she would still have had a prestigious place in the history of film. But she just didn't stop there, and there was no reason to. She embraced all opportunities. We should all be so lucky as to carry her sense of purpose and enjoyment of life.
She was just five days shy of her 97th birthday. I wish there could have been at least one more adventure with Jessica Fletcher, but I'm glad I have some DVDs to visit my old friend from time to time.
Angela Lansbury doesn't require mourning from us; she deserves, rather, a standing ovation.
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