Biography

Angela Lansbury's Family Tree:

She was the first child of Edgar Lansbury and Moyna MacGill (Charlotte Lillian McIldowie), married in 1924.

Edgar Lansbury died in 1934: he was 48 and his 9-year-old daughter Angela stood at the bedside, holding her mother's hand.

Her first movie was Gaslight, directed by George Cukor with Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten, filmed in 1944 (an MGM production). This was the first movie of a great career! (See the Movies section). With this movie she got her first Oscar nomination (See the Awards section).

Angela's first husband was Richard Cromwell (Roy Radabaugh), married on September 27, 1945 in Independence (California). It wasn't a "happy marriage": Angela realized her approach to marriage had been immature; then in August 1946, after 11 months, she obtained the divorce from Roy in Los Angeles.

And in 1946 she got her second Oscar nomination (See the Awards section) for her role in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Only 5 months after her divorce, Angela knew her actual husband (Peter Shaw), thanks to Hurd Hatfield, an actor who invited her to a weekend party at a friend's house in the Ojai Valley. She didn't know how getting there and Hurd "sent" Peter taking her.
Angela married Peter Shaw (Peter Pullen) on August 12, 1949 in London (UK), St. Columbia's Church, after they won approval from the Church of Scotland (both Angela and Peter was divorced).
Peter Pullen was born on June 24, 1918 in London (UK).

Their first son, Anthony Peter Shaw, was born on January 7, 1952 in their home in Encino (San Fernando Valley).

One year later, on April 26, 1953, at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, they had a daughter, Deirdre Angela Shaw.

In the 1950s, Peter won custody of his son, David, and then he and Angela agreed that the time had come to bring over the ten-year-old boy. David was born in 1944, while Peter was still married with Mercia Squires, a model he knew in London.

The Shaw Family Tree

To get further information about any member of the Shaw Family, click on their names.

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Angela's first theater experience was in Hotel Paradiso, opened on April 12, 1957 at Henry Miller's Theatre. This play, written by France's master of farce Georges Feydeau, was directed by Peter Glenville.
One spring day in 1963, Angela received a small blue air mail letter from Arthur Laurents, where he asked her if she would be interested in a musical on Broadway. She said: "A musical on Broadway! It's the most exciting thing I can possibly imagine".
The musical was Anyone Can Whistle. It was subtitled "A Wild New Musical", opened in New York on April 4, 1964, at the Majestic Theater. (See The Stage section).
She remembers that letter as "The most exciting letter I have received in years!".

In 1963 she got her third Oscar nomination (See the Awards section) for her role in The Manchurian Candidate.

In 1966 she became a great world-known STAR with Mame, opened on May 24 at Winter Garden Theatre. (See The Stage section).

One of the worst days in her life was November 25, 1975: Moyna, Angela's mother, died, at the age of 79.

In 1984 she began her wonderful "tv adventure": Murder, She Wrote (explore the Murder, She Wrote section). On September 30, 1984, CBS broadcasted the two-hour pilot/premiere episode of Murder, She Wrote: it became the weekly appointment for millions of Americans. This "adventure" finished in 1996, after 264 episodes and 12 years of success! Undoubtedly, this show brings Angela more fame: it's been sold to other networks all over the world, becoming a top ten series everywhere!

While they were filming the last episode, she wasn't behind the cameras: "I didn't work on the final day of production. The emotion was too much. [...] The last scene that I actually did on the series was an insert of the actor Gregg Henry putting a key in my pocket... I wept all through it, but the audience will never know."

She's not only a great movie and theater actress: she's got a wonderful voice too! You can agree with me looking for her voice in The Last Unicorn (ITC, 1982), Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney, Buena Vista, 1991) and Anastasia (20th Century-Fox, 1996). Another example of her talent!

In the year 1992 Angela was among the special guests who were invited to the Grand Opening of the first Disney Park in Europe (Disneyland Resort Paris, formerly known as EuroDisney Resort), where she impressed her handprints you can now see at the Walt Disney Studios Europe (a second theme park opened in 2002 on a new area close to the first one). Click here if you want to find out more!

In the year 1995, Angela has officially become a Disney Legend, joining the other personalities who used their talents for great Disney performances. Click here to explore the official Disney Legends website.

Angela began the year 2000 with another Disney production: Fantasia 2000. This animation movie is built up on several segments which are introduced by celebrity hosts and one of them is our dear Angela.

On July 21, 2000 Angela withdrew from a new Broadway musical (The Visit) scheduled to open the following spring, due to her husband health problem (Peter had heart surgery and she needed to be with him).

On January 29, 2003, Peter Shaw, Angela's beloved husband, died, at home, of congestive heart failure, leaving Angela alone after 54 happy years.

Read something about the A&E Biography Show on Angela Lansbury

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I realized this page thanks to Martin Gottfried's authorized biography of Angela Lansbury:

Balancing Act - The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury has been written by Martin Gottfried and published by Little, Brown and Company. For further info click here. Balancing Act - The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury © Copyright 1999 by Martin Gottfried - All Rights Reserved.