(SOUNDBITE OF GYPSY ORCHESTRA AND RICHARD LEONARD'S "OVERTURE"). Both those latter musicals had lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and both were very juicy leading roles. And this - my ability to do that worked, thank goodness, because I understood exactly what Cukor was asking me to do. ", 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Scrapbooks full of me in the background - give them love, and what does it get you? This is FRESH AIR. You might get it from Nina Simone, or you might get it from Judy, or you might get it from Merman. 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. Coming up, I review "Keeping Company With Sondheim," a new PBS "Great Performances" documentary about the new version of one of Stephen Sondheim's classic Broadway musicals. GROSS: Your first marriage was to Richard Cromwell, who you later found out was actually gay. 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 . In other words, what I do is I use the emotional kick that I know is inherent in that moment, in that scene that I'm singing. Well, there you go. Many . 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. The Murder, She Wrote star previously won Tonys for her performances in Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. LANSBURY: (As Rose, singing) Why did I do it? 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. What are you doing with your evening out? 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. You - and I picked up a tremendous amount at MGM, working with Kay Thompson and Judy and Andy Williams, all those. And Touchstone and Audrey have a very funny scene together. (Singing) Up in a balloon, boys, up in a balloon. And in that instance, I think that woman had so many layers and so many personas in a sense, she was riveting and so interesting to play. 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. Sondheim, meanwhile, died in November 2021 at age 91. CHARLES BOYER: (As Gregory Anton) You would please not refer to your mistress as she. I was under contract. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. And I tried hard. Photo by Getty Images. Just listen and hear and do what I was told and asked to do. GROSS: You made "The Manchurian Candidate" in 1962. The legendary actress died on Oct. 11 at age 96. We came in 1940, which was a terrible year because it was the - during the year was the onset of the really big bombing of Britain. Armfeldt's solo to celebrate Stephen Sondheim's Special Olivier Award. LANSBURY: From playing Jessica Fletcher, yes, I do. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. It's a technique. 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. GROSS: Well, I feel a song queue coming on. GROSS: Well, how did you feel about playing the older women? Our website is made possible bydisplaying online advertisements to our visitors. The actress, who is 96 years old, is scheduled to appear at next month's Tony Awards and be presented with a special lifetime achievement award. I think my on-set demeanor was a very, very careful, covered, rather shy attitude about what I was doing. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER. So I was never going to get to play the girl next door. And, you know, and I said, well, you know, she's not the only one in the house, is she? GROSS: Well, I should mention that in Craig Zadan's book about Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents really praises your interpretation of this role. I do remember very well. Dame Angela Lansbury, who won international acclaim as the star of the US TV crime series Murder, She Wrote, has died aged 96. Here, she performs Lovett's first solo in the 1980 national tour of the Tony-winning musical, which co-starred George Hearn. And that's what sells the song. In her over 75-year career she GROSS: And how did you feel about playing such a really evil role? And this is, you know, toward the end of "Gypsy." LANSBURY: Absolutely. Paige Gawley. 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. 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? "Open a New Window" from Mame At the 1971 Tony Awards, Lansbury got the chance to re-create one of the Jerry Herman classics from her Tony-winning performance in the 1966 musical. Dame Angela smiled in solo shots, but was also pictured linking arms with actress Eva Marie Saint, and next to Carole Cook, Diane Baker and Robert J. Wagner, on the red carpet. So she played a variety of roles, actually. LANSBURY: She was the sort of woman I like, and therefore, I enjoyed playing her. LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) Oh, no, sir - not with me. Although she was born in London, and retained a classic English poise all her life, Angela Lansbury, who has died aged 96 . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, And I just - it was a shock, but it wasn't a shock because I was so in love with Richard Cromwell when I married him that I was just - you know, I'd never had any kind of experience. Sit you down. And so, well, the rest, as they say, is history. The evening benefits Broadway Cares and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Let's talk about what led to that audition. 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. So, I mean, you - if - most performers are like sponges, and we all pick up from one another. (SOUNDBITE OF RICARDO LORENZ'S "THE WORST (EMPANADAS) IN LONDON"). When it comes to the work, I'm on solid ground. It's been worked on here and in Russia, on and off, for over eight years. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Now, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandkids. BOYER: (As Gregory Anton) Yes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR. Angela Lansbury is set to grace movie screens one last time. In 1991, Lansbury starred in the Disney classic, "Beauty and the Beast" as Mrs. Potts, the former castle cook who turned into a teapot after the curse was placed on the castle. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites. Lansbury is perhaps best known for her 12-year stint as Jessica . Sit. Angela Lansbury lost her father at a young age. Rest, great soul.. GROSS: So sometimes you worked as a team. He felt she was - and when I gave him that, he thought it was terribly funny. It's been seventy years since she got her first Oscar nomination. "But what it meant for me, besides just how special it is to have both of them in the movie, it meant that I just got to spend 10 minutes with each of them to film this little moment." And I could not allow it to intrude into my own emotional, you know, state. This time, boys, I'm taking the bows, and everything's coming up Rose. So I was sort of trapped - happily trapped - for 12 years with it. I know they - I don't know whether they're mixing me up with the character. BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR. And that's what I bring to singing - is - because I'm not really a singer. Here, she joins the cast in the Sherman Brothers song "Substitutionary Locomotion.". But certainly, we all were the beneficiaries of his artistry. She was a very earnest and terribly hard-working actor, actress who found it working and learning roles very, very difficult. Copyright 1991-2023 Playbill Inc. All Rights Reserved. Behind All the Star-Studded Cameos in 'Knives Out' Sequel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt! That was all prearranged and thought up by George Cukor. 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. "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. "There was an incredible thrill walking into that studioand have this full orchestra and this full chorus performinglive," "Beauty and the Beast" director Kirk Wise remarked. And this is basically a scheme to institutionalize her so he could take her jewels and her money. And his whole life had been listening to these records, and he had an enormous collection. Here's Angela Lansbury. And so I would go along with her in some instances, and many times she went alone. Lansbury's late-career roles included a starring role in PBS's Little Women miniseries, where she worked with director Vanessa Caswill, and a role in 2018's Mary Poppins Returns. Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop. Director Rian Johnson was thrilled to work with the legends. He was a great friend of Joan Crawford's and, oh, Bill Holden and Zachary Scott and all kinds of actors and actresses of that era. Andy was a backup singer in those days. Next month, she's scheduled to be honored at the Tonys with a special Lifetime Achievement Award. Angela Lansbury, one of Hollywood's most legendary stars, passed away at the age of 96 on Tuesday, her family confirmed to Fox News Digital in a statement. It just had never really sunk in. "Substitutionary Locomotion" from Bedknobs and BroomsticksLong before she sang a tale as old as time, Lansbury starred in another Disney musical, the 1971 hit Bedknobs and Broomsticks, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. And he had a great, great recording machine that used to slam down - you could put 12 records on it. So my career in movies was jump-started by my being accepted for the role of Nancy in "Gaslight.". I had a dream. 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. LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) Oh, you don't know what you've missed, sir. I got to dress up and look kind of staggering and terrific with all this paraphernalia that was laid on me. Forget everything that it does with your throat, but just the emotion of it. GROSS: Was that your bit of business, singing that vaudeville kind of song, "Up In A Balloon?". However, while she rarely portrayed villains, her greatest screen performance is arguably as the atypically . 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. 'Glass Onion' Casting Directors Break Down the Movie's Cameos, Daniel Craig Didn't Want to Make 'Song and Dance' of Benoit's Sexuality in 'Knives Out 2', Daniel Craig Says His 'Glass Onion' Character Being Gay 'Just Feels Right': 'It's Normal', Hugh Grant Jokes He's 'Married to James Bond' in 'Glass Onion', 'Glass Onion' Cast and Director Take Fans Behind the Scenes of 'Knives Out' Sequel: Watch, 'Glass Onion' Is the No. LANSBURY: I hated it. You gave me such a fright. "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. Angela Lansbury, the award-winning stage and screen actress who rose to stardom in Sweeney Todd and Murder, She Wrote, died at home in Los Angeles on October 11.She was 96. LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) No, sir. LANSBURY: That's absolutely true. Lansbury won five . We want you to - we know you can sing it as far as your own rendition of the songs. And on Broadway, she's won five Tony Awards for such performances as her starring roles in the musicals "Gypsy," "Mame" and "Sweeney Todd." And congratulations on the Kennedy Center Honor. And I was able to take a cigarette out of a packet in my purse and smoke it, which I hadn't been able to let on, that I had been smoking from the time I was, really, about 14 years old. LANSBURY: I never felt competitive with her. Let's get back to Terry's 2000 interview with Broadway movie and TV actress Angela Lansbury. The Private Affairs of Bel Ami. I'm David Bianculli, professor of television studies at Rowan University in New Jersey, sitting in for Terry Gross. And that revelation, I think, is what ended the marriage. And in this scene, you're telling your son, who has been brainwashed, that he has to be the assassin. 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. Next month, Lansbury will be honored at the Tonys with a special Lifetime Achievement Award. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. (PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures . LANSBURY: (As Nancy Oliver) Gentleman friend, sir. But part of me wanted to be like the girls who were under contract. BIANCULLI: Angela Lansbury speaking to Terry Gross in 2000. 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. So I'd like to play part of "Rose's Turn." She won her first Tony Award for that performance . And we celebrated. Always so kind & generous when I met her. One of the last remaining stars of her generation . Liverpool was bombed right after we left on our ship, which was a Canadian Pacific liner which was headed for Canada. I'm David Bianculli, in for Terry Gross, back with more of Terry's 2000 interview with Broadway, film and TV actress Angela Lansbury. Angela Lansbury is being remembered. And during that scene, I suddenly got this - the feel and the smell of being able to make an effect by the way I played the role, the way I comported myself. You've been the stage mother, you know, throughout your life. Stephen Sondheim, who died in November at 91, also appears in the scene, which takes place over a Zoom call with Daniel Craig's detective character, Benoit Blanc. I would go to the studio heads and say, look; don't make me play this part. This is FRESH AIR. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. ", As it turns out, "Buttons, A New Christmas Film" may not have been the last acting endeavor of Lansbury's after all, as the veteran actor reportedly shows up in none other than a highly anticipated film Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," the follow up to 2019's acclaimed murder mystery film "Knives Out.". You docket it all away, and you remember and you use stuff later. GROSS: Yeah. I shall force someone to take the body away from him. Dame Angela Lansbury smiled for the camera and posed with fellow veteran actors at a red carpet event, in the last public pictures taken of the actress before her death. GROSS: You came to the United States with your mother. It is a technique. For a career that spanned over half a century, the London-born actress received 5 Tony Awards, 18 Emmy nominations, 3 Academy Award nominations, and an Honorary Oscar (2013). I told the camera guy to just, 'Keep the camera rolling. LANSBURY: No, nothing was my idea in that movie. Ruthie Henshall, Adam Garcia, More Will Lead U.K. Jackie Burns, Ashley Prez Flanagan, Nathaniel Tenenbaum Star in, See Who's Joining Wayne Brady, Lea Salonga, Ali Stroker for 2023. Perhaps best known for her work as TV sleuth Jessica Fletcher on the long-running Murder, She Wrote, Broadway fans will always think of the beloved Angela Lansbury, who passed away October 11 at the age of 96, as the woman who sensationally created the roles of Mame and Mrs. Lovett in two classic, hit musicals. Directed by Tim Janis, "Buttons" follows two orphaned girls who dream of finding a family to adopt them in time for Christmas and are aided in the search by two guardian angels, played by Lansbury and Van Dyke. West End star Elaine Paige said Dame Angela was always so kind and generous when the pair had met, describing her as one of the last Golden Age of Hollywood stars. Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox. What's your rush? So upset to hear the news that the legendary Dame Angela Lansbury has died, Paige tweeted, sharing a picture of the pair together. And I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste. I really do. Next month, Angela Lansbury will receive a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. And I did - I went very fast in drama school and ended up working in one of the senior plays. In 1966, Angela Lansbury got her first big break on Broadway with her performance in Mame. I said no. And if it wasn't for me then where would you be, Miss Gypsy Rose Lee? LANSBURY: Very well. So I had to marry those two rather carefully. So I had to make my - make peace with myself on that score. No. In 1970, Lansbury's Malibu home was destroyed in a brush fire. - 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. But nevertheless - I don't know if you remember, but I do smoke a rather long Cigarettello in the movie. LANSBURY: People ask me that often. Well, someone tell me, when is it my turn? You're always working, aren't you? And I was being paid, good heavens, you know? March 2, 2023, By And you were asked to do this in England by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book and directed the British production. LANSBURY: Yes. And she was very, very good at it. The British actor's career spanned eight decades . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. We would do scenes from "Romeo And Juliet," and she would do scenes as Desdemona. 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. BOYER: (As Gregory Anton) Oh, now, you know, Nancy - don't you? You grew up in London. Angela Lansbury married twice. I can take care of myself when I want to. This was before the LPs and even the 45s came out. Angela Lansbury, a formidable actress who captivated Hollywood in her youth, became a Broadway musical sensation in middle age and then drew millions of fans as a widowed mystery writer on the. She's not the only one in the house, is she? His wife is played by Ingrid Bergman. What kind of special provisions were made for you on the set? What is that? It was produced as a 2014 film by Broadway Near You (United States) in association with Umbrella Entertainment (Australia). What I inferred was a great deal more than what I was saying. 1, she recognised the fact that Britain was likely to be bombed, and that London really was no place for us to remain if we could possibly get away. 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. And in this movie, a terrific movie, you're a manipulative, domineering mother and wife who's trying to promote the political career of your husband. Thank you, Angela Lansbury for all the many hours of joy you gave us all - whether on . And some people are absolutely drained and washed out. Season of Passion. GROSS: Yes. LANSBURY: Oh, it was required that there was a social worker with me until my 18th birthday, which I celebrated on the set of "Gaslight," actually. And that made me roar with laughter. I'm not going to just spout the lyric. 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. Shortly after news broke on Tuesday that the celebrated actress died in her sleep at her Los Angeles home, tributes . I'm David Bianculli, and this is FRESH AIR. And whom are you going to the musical with? Days after Lansbury's death, Johnson was in disbelief at how lucky they were to have worked with the two legends.