It was - I was in love with love. Armfeldt's solo to celebrate Stephen Sondheim's Special Olivier Award. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has a huge cast of stars announced as headliners, but the cameos are just as iconic, marking the final film for both the late Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim. GROSS: Did you learn a different style of singing from being exposed to all the singers in his collection? It's been seventy years since she got her first Oscar nomination. In the '60s, she was nominated again for her terrific performance as a manipulative mother in "The Manchurian Candidate." Dame Angela was known for playing crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long running TV series Murder, She Wrote, Broadway musicals Mame and Gypsy, and for voicing Mrs Potts in the Disney animation Beauty and the Beast. (PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures . I just didn't fit in that mold. And you learn how to do certain things vocally and also interpretively, how to interpret something in a certain way. Fox News Digital's Lori Bashian. So I could do it. Here's Angela Lansbury. According to Slant Magazine, Lansbury makes an appearance as herself in "Glass Onion." You know LANSBURY: That came - I mean, totally, I understood that. The Private Affairs of Bel Ami. Lansbury, whom mystery fans know best as dauntless novelist Jessica Fletcher from the CBS series Murder, She Wrote, "died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 a.m" Tuesday, her family said in a statement. Lansbury also was first to play Cora Hoover Hooper in Anyone Can Whistle, portrayed Rose in the first Broadway revival of Gyspy as well as Madame Armfeldt in a Broadway revival of A Little Night Music all of which are Sondheim musicals. You gave me such a fright. And that made me roar with laughter. And I - thank goodness I chose to do that or that she agreed to let me do that. ", Warning: Contains light spoilers for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Though Lansbury and Sondheim were certainly memorable, they're far from the only cameos Glass Onion. She started off doing Shaw - George Bernard Shaw and also Shakespeare, and became also the leading lady of the great English sort of matinee actor who was Sir Gerald du Maurier. I dreamed it for you, June. However, while she rarely portrayed villains, her greatest screen performance is arguably as the atypically . And he also had an incredible library of music, of old 78 records in those days. What kind of work did she do? I have a serviceable voice. She was a serious actress. And I tried hard. GROSS: "Gaslight" is one of those movies with really nice black-and-white lighting. He was a serial killer intent on murdering many of his customers. That second performance proved to be the last performance of the US tour and Angela Lansbury's last performance as Mrs. Lovett - the fiendishly plotting baker who's passion for the demon barber of Fleet Street lead them both down very dark paths. You play the maid that he hires. LANSBURY: Well, I - eventually, of course, when we moved out to Los Angeles, and I got my first big interview, and I got the part. In September, Netflix released a sneak preview of Glass Onion that featured writer-director Johnson introducing the film and its premise, which brings Benoit Blanc into a new mystery set in Greece with a new cast of suspects, including characters played by Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista and more. This is FRESH AIR. LANSBURY: I hated it. | So this is what I mean about I - my education at that time was so varied and so exciting from the point of view of what I was learning that I've used and called on it ever since. And really, working with the best, there's not much you do. "An absolute legend ," Johnson wrote. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Angela Lansbury's last red carpet appearance was to celebrate classic films at an event in LA, where she was joined by fellow actors whose work had spanned many decades. Angela Lansbury, a beloved star of stage, film and television, was honored on Sunday night with a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. And so I would go along with her in some instances, and many times she went alone. - I forget the name; I should remember - and also some of the great prep schools outside of the city, and for $25, which in those days was quite a lot of money. Star-studded. "Beauty and the Beast" had a huge impact on the film industry and left a lasting legacy after being nominated for six Academy Awards, three of them being in the best original song category. LANSBURY: So - but in fact, I had been smoking for a couple of years. GROSS: Why don't we hear a short scene from your screen debut in "Gaslight?" The only, let's say, the comfort I took was - and even then, I kind of leant on it - was the fact that I knew that I was an actress and that I could play different roles because I was continuously being offered extraordinary stretches, shall we say, as an actress, to play parts which were way out of my range. Her first role in a movie came at age 17, playing the maid in the 1944 film "Gaslight." Angela Lansbury, famous for role as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series 'Murder, She Wrote,' has died at age 96. After a break, we'll continue their conversation. She held out gallantly, but the material didn't. She held out gallantly . BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR. (Getty Images), This is magical. And she wanted to have a career. ", In a captivating video featured on the Disney+ original documentary "Howard," the talented singer and actress is seen stepping into a recording booth to work on the classic song "Be Our Guest.". Angela Lansbury accepts the Tony for best performance by a featured actress in a play for "Blithe Spirit" at the 63rd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2009, in New York City . Although, I always say that I sort of missed my adolescence. And I realized that I had just made an excruciating error, you know, an emotional error. Before that, however, she earned accolades on Broadway, originating the role of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, one of Sondheim's musicals. Come here. LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) No, sir. I wouldn't want to let go of that lady. "A tale old as time, our beloved Mrs. Potts will sing lullabies to us now from the stars. LANSBURY: No, except to say that it's one of the most rewarding pieces of musical theater to perform there is and one of the hardest. Angela Lansbury died Tuesday, October 11, at the age of 96. Audiences were immediately reeled in for the pairs delightful duet, as Orbach began recording the iconic song, and Lansburys enchanting voice followed. And Johnny will rise gallantly to his feet and lift Ben Arthur's body in his arms, stand in front of the microphones and begin to speak. And some people are absolutely drained and washed out. Photo by Getty Images. In the Cool of the Day. The screen legend also starred in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Sweeney Todd. In a captivating video featured on the Disney+ original documentary "Howard," the talented singer and actress is seen stepping into a recording booth to work on the classic song "Be Our Guest." Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Accuracy and availability may vary. Driving Miss Daisy is a filmed performance of the 2013 Australian theatrical production of the Pulitzer Prize -winning 1987 play of the same name by Alfred Uhry starring Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines. I know what's required here, and I know what a absolutely tremendous, overpowering role it is. Angela Lansbury and her second husband, Peter Shaw, had two children, Anthony and Deirdre, who faced serious issues that put the family through tough times. So you - it suddenly - it manifests itself in what you're doing. And she was very, very good at it. BOYER: (As Gregory Anton) I've never been to an English musical. Angela Lansbury, one of the most beloved and acclaimed actors of stage, film and television, who had a nearly 75-year career, died October 11in her sleep at her Los Angeles home, just five days. Angela Lansbury, one of the most beloved and acclaimed actors of stage, film and television, who had a nearly 75-year career, died October 11in her sleep at her Los Angeles home, just five days. Next month, she's scheduled to receive a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. Star Trek actor George Takei penned a heartfelt tribute, writing on Twitter : "Angela Lansbury, who graced the stage for decades winning five Tony awards and brought the sleuthing Jessica Fletcher into our living rooms for a dozen years, has passed. Market data provided by Factset. What are some of the things you learned? When we left off, they were talking about her first film role at the age of 17 in the movie "Gaslight," starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. They are such pros. We'd go to the various schools all around, preferably in New York and Miss - what's its name? The Last Film Angela Lansbury Was In Before She Died. And she also did epic poems by Alice Duer Miller and various other writers who were writing epic poems about the war at that time. The evening benefits Broadway Cares and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. The last public pictures of Dame Angela were taken in October 2019, at film do in LA. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. GROSS: So sometimes you worked as a team. She was 96. Business never better using only pussycats and toast. GROSS: You came to the United States with your mother. In 1966, Angela Lansbury got her first big break on Broadway with her performance in Mame. I got to dress up and look kind of staggering and terrific with all this paraphernalia that was laid on me. ", Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. GROSS: You made "The Manchurian Candidate" in 1962. The British actor's career spanned eight decades . GROSS: We've talked about your long and really wonderful career on stage and screen. 1 Movie on Netflix with 82.1 Million Hours Viewed on First Weekend, 'Knives Out' Director Confirms That Daniel Craig's Character Benoit Blanc Is 'Obviously' Queer, Everything to Know About Netflix's 'Glass Onion' :'A Knives Out Mystery', Madelyn Cline Had a 'Little Freak-Out' When She Met Her Famous 'Knives Out 2' Costars, 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery': The Killer Is in Plain Sight in Sequel Trailer, Jamie Lee Curtis Jokes She's 'Jealous' of 'Knives Out 2' Stars After Not Getting Cast in Sequel, Kate Hudson Says She Avoided Alcohol Until After Filming Her 'Glass Onion' Bikini Scene, The Cast of 'Outer Banks' : Everything to Know, Lansbury's life and career in a Twitter post, won a Tony in 1979 for best actress in a musical. Watch just a few of the highlights from the over 70-year career of the six-time Tony recipient. It was the kind of role she'd always dreamed of having. But I think she also was quite happy to have me stay with her as I was the only - I was the sort of remaining sibling who was around. In 1972, when Barry Brown and Arthur and Fritz Holt, Barry's partner, asked me to do "Gypsy" in London, I said, you've got to be kidding. Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines of Oct. 12, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after 'CHAOS' on Lufthansa plane: 'Wish me luck', Kelsey Grammer wont apologize for the 'difference' that Jesus has made in his life, Person roaming in 'Scream' Ghostface costume prompts multiple police calls, Kelsea Ballerini kisses Chase Stokes after criticizing ex amid nasty divorce, Why Kevin Bacon refuses to share the secret to his 35-year marriage to Kyra Sedgwick. To me, when it's over, it's over, you know? GROSS: Who has solved God knows how many murders. We would do scenes from "Romeo And Juliet," and she would do scenes as Desdemona. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention. So I had to marry those two rather carefully. So they obviously knew that this young person had something. "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the BeastLansbury joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2001 to re-create her performance as Mrs. Potts, singing the title song from the 1991 blockbuster Disney film. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Fox News Digital's Lori Bashian contributed to this report. He said, Rose - I wrote Rose as a great character. The director, 48, shared a clip of Lansbury performing the song "By The Sea" from the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd, for which she won a Tony in 1979 for best actress in a musical. While working with MGM she'd watched musical actors like Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in rehearsal, yearning to be a part of it all. Season of Passion. Can you explain how you got a lead for that movie but ended up making "Gaslight" first? And I got a laugh, you know, the first time I did it. Angela Lansbury married twice. In 2014 she returned to a London stage for the first time in almost 40 years to star in a West End production of Noel Cowards Blithe Spirit. | How did you feel about taking on a role that she had done? An Academy Award nominee as a teenager, for her debut performance in "Gaslight," the London-born actress went on to ring up five Tony Awards on Broadway, star for a dozen years in the cherished. She was a very earnest and terribly hard-working actor, actress who found it working and learning roles very, very difficult. "Little Yellow Bird" from The Picture of Dorian GrayThe first time American audiences had the chance to hear Lansbury sing (in a voice much different from her later Broadway outings) was in the 1945 film The Picture of Dorian Gray, which earned the stage and screen star her second Oscar nomination. . Angela Lansbury, Screen and Broadway Icon, Dead at 96, Randy Marcus/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty, 'Glass Onion' Is Now on Netflix! The 96-year-old actress, who starred in several shows such as "Sweeney Todd," "Gypsy" and "Mame," was not present at the 75th Tony Awards that were held Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. TERRY GROSS: Angela Lansbury, welcome to FRESH AIR. I say that without any sense of pride at all. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE"). But that was the beginning of her career in the States and mine, too. And I was making 500 a week or 750 a week, which in those days was an enormous amount of money. Something went wrong, please try again later. Tributes from across the world of entertainment have been paid to Dame Angela. In June, Lansbury will receive the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. Well, it was one of those films of the 1940s with Deborah Kerr. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. I said, I could no more approach that role having treasured the recording of Ethel Merman singing Rose. Originally broadcast in 2000. And in this movie, Charles Boyer plays a husband who's trying to drive his wife mad. Lansbury, notably, worked as an actor for over seven decades on both stage and screen. BIANCULLI: Angela Lansbury grew up in England and came to the U.S. during World War II. She also left behind. It was like training on the job. And his whole life had been listening to these records, and he had an enormous collection. RIP dearest Angela., Celeb obsessed? And congratulations on the Kennedy Center Honor. And he encouraged me to be this snotty, cocky little person who was able to dominate Charles Boyer with inference. Oh, sure. And I wasn't allowed to inhale, as Mr. Clinton would say. Angela Lansbury, circa 1955. And people don't really always believe this. LANSBURY: Oh, I should say so. LANSBURY: Well, simply that he felt that she was a naughty, rather dirty girl, and that was the way he saw her. This is not true always. Here, she performs Lovett's first solo in the 1980 national tour of the Tony-winning musical, which co-starred George Hearn. (Performance begins at the 3:02 mark.). Legendary actress Angela Lansbury, who died on October 11 just shy of her 97th birthday, was a beloved movie, television, and stage presence for over . On October 11, Hollywood and the culture at large lost one of the last great icons of stage and screen when Dame Angela Lansbury passed away in her sleep just days short of her 97th birthday. We didnt think they would. LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) Oh, you don't know what you've missed, sir. LANSBURY: I never felt competitive with her. A death notice for Angela Lansbury (last October) and appreciation of her achievements: in The New Yorker, "Angela Lansbury Shimmered Through the Decades: The actress, who died this week at ninety-six, revealed every facet of her talents" by Michael Schulman on 10/12/22 which I reproduce here so that I can refer to it in a separate posting I'm doing on an AL performance from 1973. Lansbury won four of her five Tony Awards for performances in musicals, but the only musical performance preserved on film is her spectacularly original work as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen. Let's get back to Terry's 2000 interview with Broadway, movie and TV actress Angela Lansbury. You can go to town, you know? What's your rush? Angela Lansbury, the effervescent actor and singer who entertained generations of fans on the stage and screen during her eight decades in show business, has died. And when you're a student and you are given a role, something is assigned to you. It's been six years since Angela Lansbury won her fifth Tony for playing Madame Arcati in a Broadway revival of Blithe Spirit. Angela Lansbury's Performance Elevated Murder, She Wrote From the coquetteish Nancy in the film classic Gaslight to Aunt Adelaide in Nanny McPhee, Angela Lansbury's roles become timeless due to her performance. The last time I saw Lansbury was in 2014 in Toronto as Madame Arcati in "Blithe Spirit . A lthough the late Angela Lansbury played a huge variety of roles over the course of her long career, she was perhaps most associated with benign characters, thanks to the enduring Eglantine Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and detective Jessica Fletcher in TV series Murder, She Wrote. He said, sort of whispered in the ear of Mr. Ballerino, the man I was seeing, you know, you should suggest that this young lady meets George Cukor, who's trying to cast the role of the maid in "Gaslight." I shall force someone to take the body away from him. I really do. She was a great recitalist, as they used to call them in Victorian days - or Edwardian days, I should say. Originally broadcast in 1980 and. Advertisement She also won four Best Actress Emmys for her role as Jessica Fletcher in the long-running CBS mystery series "Murder, She Wrote." You grew up in London. LANSBURY: That's absolutely true. GROSS: What was it like for you after playing so many different roles over the years to settle into one role for several years? He felt she was - and when I gave him that, he thought it was terribly funny. And Touchstone and Audrey have a very funny scene together. The actor Angela Lansbury, best known as Jessica Fletcher in the TV series Murder, She Wrote and for numerous film and theatre roles, has died aged 96. Lansbury, a formidable actress who captivated Hollywood in her youth, became a Broadway musical sensation in middle age and then . Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix Dec. 23. And on Broadway, she's won five Tony Awards for such performances as her starring roles in the musicals "Gypsy," "Mame" and "Sweeney Todd." 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 a.m. today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday, her family said in a statement obtained by Us Weekly at the time. LANSBURY: I was completely nonplussed. In 2019, Janis spoke to Home Theater Forum about what it was like to work with such legendary stars Lansbury included which was a major career moment for him. Next month, she's scheduled to be honored at the Tonys with a special Lifetime Achievement Award. GROSS: Were there things that you were very naive and in the dark about in that film that you tried to cover up for so that people wouldn't know how green you were? All of the physical aspects of acting suddenly came to me. Actress Angela Lansbury has died at 96 years old. And he says, with no disrespect to Merman, it's the first time that the number "Rose's Turn" was done the way it should be. And I was being paid, good heavens, you know? One quick look as each of them leaves you all your life, and what does it get you? I would be drinking a glass of water and breathing a big sigh of relief. Aged 93, and wearing a long red cardigan and cream trousers, the Broadway star attended the Robert Osborne Celebration of Classic Film event at The Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. Her first role in a movie came at age 17, playing the maid in the 1944 film "Gaslight." She was nominated. Margaret Hall Let's get back to Terry's 2000 interview with Broadway movie and TV actress Angela Lansbury. Get away, world. Lansbury was cast in the starring role of 75-year-old Countess Aurelia, despite her actual age of 44. And as I say, I listen to your program all the time. (Singing) Wait. But, you know - and we would listen to music all the time. BIANCULLI: Angela Lansbury speaking to Terry Gross in 2000. GROSS: Well, I feel a song queue coming on. "The Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd Lansbury won four of her five Tony Awards for performances in musicals, but the only musical performance preserved on film is her spectacularly original work as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. And I always remember it because Ingrid and Charles and George Cukor were so wonderfully kind. GROSS: Can you talk about any specific aspect of singing that you learned during that period? GROSS: It's funny because your situation was the opposite of Judy Garland. Angela Lansbury, Screen and Broadway Icon, Dead at 96 Lansbury, whom mystery fans know best as dauntless novelist Jessica Fletcher from the CBS series Murder, She Wrote, "died peacefully in. LANSBURY: Any actress will tell you that evil roles to play are the best. In fact, she received Tony Awards for her performances in both Mame and Sweeney Todd as well as for her work in Gypsy, Dear World, and Blithe Spirit(plus a sixth Lifetime Achievement Tony). I really enjoyed talking to you. Her death came five days before her 97th . And in the song "A Little Priest," Angela Lansbury, as Mrs. Lovett, suggests a particularly gruesome partnership. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. GROSS: And you started getting roles in movies. GROSS: Well, how did you feel about playing the older women? She was 96. But certainly, we all were the beneficiaries of his artistry. Next month, Lansbury will be honored at the Tonys with a special Lifetime Achievement Award. Legal Statement. Do you remember getting lit for the film and what that process was like? The family of Dame Angela Lansbury announced today that the legendary actor has died, having passed peacefully in her sleep at the age of 96 (she would have been 97 in just a few days) (via NBC News). And I managed to just skin by by the skin of my teeth, you know, playing roles where I was much older than I actually was, playing Walter Pidgeon's wife in "If Winter Comes," you know?