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Books
By and On Angela
Balancing
Act
The Authorized Biography of
Angela Lansbury
By
Martin Gottfried
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Amazon.com
Editorial Reviews
Synopsis
Fully authorized, this biography
of Angela Lansbury, one of the most
beloved stars of stage, screen, and
television, completely covers her life
and fabulous career.
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FEW WOMEN in
public life today command the unqualified affection
and respect that are conferred upon Angela Lansbury.
In a carrer that has spanned more than fifty years,
she has achieved the singular distinction of enjoying
triumphs in film, theater, and television, giving
in each area an astonishing range of performances
and creating a gallery of unforgettable characters,
from Mame to Sweeney Todd's Mrs. Lovett
to her beloved Jessica Fletcher on Murder,
She Wrote.
In Balancing
Act prizewinning drama critic and author
Martin Gottfried tells the story of this remarkable
woman's life with, for the first time, her authorization
and full cooperation. From a childhood in one
of England's most prominent political families
to her first Academy Award nomination at age seventeen
to her overcoming television's prejudice against
strong women, Lansbury has had, by any measure,
an extraordinary career. But her success have
never been easily won, and Balancing Act
traces candidly the commitment and determination
of a dedicated professional who often found herself
having to struggle to practice the craft she so
loved.
After being wartime
England, the young actress began her film career
at MGM, where she rewarded the studio's faith
in her by giving classic portrayals in Gaslight
and The Picture of Dorian Gray. But Lansbury
was soon relegated to supporting roles, more often
than not playing women older than she herself
actually was, and her frustration took its roll.
The Manchurian Candidate finally presented
a part worthy of her gifts, and she responded
stunningly, giving one of the great performances
of the decade - though the recognition she received
for it again proved to be short-lived.
Only four years
later Lansbury descended a staircase in the lead
role in Mame and made theater history.
How an actress with almost no musical experience
and a reputation for playing embittered older
women managed to conquer Broadway in the part
of a great, vivacious force of nature is one of
the classic tales of show business, and Gottfried
recounts its drama in rich detail. But even this
triumph proved not to be the climax of Lansbury's
career, for when she began to appear in Murder,
She Worte, in 1985, she not only created
one of television's enduring classics but redefined
the possibilities for women in the medium.
In Balancing
Act Lansbury appears frequently in her own
inimitable voice - wry, candid, irreverent, unsentimental,
and always thoroughly engaging. She shares dozens
of wonderful anecdotes about her career, and discusses
frankly her love of home and family, her disappointments,
and her thoughts about her craft. Here in all
its color, drama, and inspiration is a model biography
of a consummate actor.
Martin
Gottfried has known Angela Lansbury for
more than twenty years. He is a prizewinning drama
critic, formerly with the New York Post
and currently with the New York Law Journal.
His ten previous books include biographies of
Bob Fosse, Stephen Sondheim, Danny Kaye, and George
Burns.
Read the Introduction
to the book, written by Martin
Gottfried.
Balancing
Act - The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury
Published by Little, Brown and Co.
© Copyright 1999 by Martin Gottfried
- All Rights Reserved.
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