A&E presents

The Biography Show

This page has been realized with the indispensable help of Beth C., a special member of the Angela Lansbury Fan Club from the State of New York.

The show begins with Jerry Orbach. He introduces himself to the public: as you certainly know, Jerry Orbach has been Harry McGrow, a Boston private eye, in more Murder, She Wrote episodes.

Angela has been described as first an acclaimed Hollywood actress, then the Queen of Broadway, and, later, a television beloved star.

Moyna (Angela's mother) never attains stardom, but she appeared in a few silent-films and was a figure in the London stage.

Then they introduce her sister (Isolde) and her twin brothers.

And after that, you can listen to an old GL's speech (GL stands for George Lansbury, Angela's grandfather, who was a leader of the British Labour Party):
"We desire to change the present chaotic, unchristian, immoral industrial system into one based on cooperation, justice and love".

Now you can see and listen to Mr. Martin Gottfried, the author of Balancing Act - The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury, and to Edgar Lansbury, Angela's brother.

Then they speak about the war-time in London and told something about that period of Angela's life, when she decided to stay in the city with Moyna (while her brothers were sent to live in the country, for their safety).
Angela says: "My mother, I think, realized that I had a talent, and she decided that this is what I should do. She made the decision other than me".
Angela attended the Webber-Douglas School of Dramatic Art less than one year: in the 1940s the Lansburys left London and sailed for America.

They lived for a few months in New York and, in 1942, they went to Hollywood.
At this point you can see the first Lansbury home in Los Angeles.
Angela: "It was hot... it was hot. The streets were dry and hot".

Angela's working-life in Los Angeles begins in a Los Angeles department store: she worked in the cosmetic department.

Her first screen test is a failure: director George Cukor felt she was too young for the part.

Then they interviews Van Johnson (MGM co-star).

And now they begin to mention her movies:
# Gaslight (that brought her first Oscar nomination)
# The Picture of Dorian Gray
# The Harvey Girls (you can see a theatrical trailer). And about of The Harvey Girls, they stress the fact that she didn't sing with her voice!
# The Hoodlum Saint (they show a theatrical trailer)
# Till the Clouds Roll By.

Then they speak about her first wedding in September 1949, with Richard Cromwell, the divorce and her return home with Moyna.

# Then, at 23, she acted in State of the Union (another theatrical trailer).

And now she meets her actual husband: Peter Pullen Shaw.
She says: "This extraordinarily attractive young English man arrived, on my door-step, and we just never looked back".

# Samson and Delilah (theatrical trailer)
# Mutiny.

Early 1950s: A String of Beards, a tv-drama.

Four Star Playhouse (1954)
# Please Murder Me (1956) with Raymond Burr.

The life of the Shaws changes with the arrival of three new members: David (son of Peter and his previous wife), Anthony and Deirdre.

# The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960; a theatrical trailer shown).

# John Frankenheimer: All Fall Down (a theatrical trailer shown).

# The Manchurian Candidate.

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Special Thanks to Beth C. (NY)