Dame Angela Lansbury R.I.P.

[NeoSuperBlissey]

Website Deadline is reporting that Dame Angela Lansbury has passed away just five days shy of her 97th birthday.

Lansbury is, perhaps, best known to Disney fans for her voice role as Mrs. Potts in the 1991 classic "Beauty and the Beast" and related media, as well as the role of Eglantine Price in the 1971 live-action/animation hybrid film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."

Other Disney-owned roles include: the voice of Dowager Empress Marie in "Anastasia" (1997), a segment hostess for "Fantasia 2000" (2000; "The Firebird" segment) and as as the "Balloon Lady" in "Mary Poppins Returns" (2018).

https://deadline.com/2022/10/angela-lan ... 235141468/

[rodrigo_ca]

Oooh I can't believe it this one actually made me sad

Rest in so much peace, Dame Angela Lansbury. Your voice will be heard forever

[Disney's Divinity]

Oh, no! I've always loved her, in almost everything she's ever been a part of. Eglantine Price in Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, Mrs. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate, Mame, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, the aunt in Nanny McPhee, so many great roles. She was always a highlight in whatever she was in (Mary Poppins Returns, Anastasia, The Last Unicorn, The Harvey Girls, Dorian Gray, etc). I just always loved her, she was a class act, I thought she carried herself with such grace and elegance, and I always loved her voice. "I Don't Want to Know" is probably my favorite vocal performance of hers, with "Beauty and the Beast" not far behind. It's funny having read some of her comments behind-the-scenes of B&tB, I think she was always a little insecure about her voice on ballads and yet those were always my favorites of hers! And I always thought it was neat she was friends in real life with my favorite of the Golden Girls, Bea Arthur.

I knew the time for a lot of these older stars like Pat Carroll, Lansbury was coming around the bend, but still--a hard pill to swallow! She will be missed. I'm glad her end was a peaceful one. Rest in peace.

[singerguy04]

Such a devastating loss. RIP to one of the most amazing performers of all time!

[PatrickvD]

Such a prolific career. A classic triple threat actress. So many great roles and movies. Gaslight, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Manchurian Candidate, Sweeney Todd. The list goes on.

Her cameo in Mary Poppins Returns is a personal favorite.

A screen icon if there ever was one.

[carolinakid]

I’ve been listening to my Mame Original Broadway Cast CD and the Bedknobs and Broomsticks Soundtrack CD in my car all day. I will listen to my Gypsy Broadway Cast CD tomorrow. She was a fabulous Mama Rose!

[Elladorine]

She always seemed like such a wonderful, classy lady. My admiration of her came early in life, as my mom was a fan long before I was born; I was very delighted as a kid when I’d first learned she was doing a voice in the then upcoming Beauty and the Beast.

I knew she was getting up there in age, and like with Betty White, was afraid it was only a matter of time that the world would lose her. May she forever grace us with her iconic roles and heartfelt singing; I hope she’s currently sitting down and having a nice spot of tea with Jerry Orbach and David Ogden Stiers.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

The fact that it only happened a few days before her birthday makes it extra sad. The first movie I can remember seeing her in was Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

[Disney Duster]

Oh no! A giant loss for the world. She was one of the absolute classiest, brightest, most sentimental stars of shows and films and music. We have lost a wonderful woman, but her iconography will live on forever.

[lord-of-sith]

A very sad loss for the entertainment (and especially theatre) world. But lord what a life! 97 years old and accomplished more as a performer than most could ever dream of. I'm so glad we have so much of her iconic performances preserved forever. Rest in Peace Miss Lansbury.

[D82]

This is very sad news. What a bad year for true Disney legends. First Pat Carroll and now Angela Lansbury just a couple of months later. Though, as others have said, she led a really long and successful life and her impressive legacy lives on. I'm glad she passed away peacefully too.

I grew up watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Murder, She Wrote and loved her in both. Also Beauty and the Beast, of course, though I wasn't aware she was the voice of Mrs. Potts back then, plus I grew up watching the Spanish dub. She was also great in everything else I've seen her in since then. I thought her last film role was probably for Mary Poppins Returns, but I've read she has a cameo in the upcoming Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, so we'll get to see one more performance from her.

Alan Menken wrote some really nice words about her I thought were worth posting here:

I’m so saddened to hear of Angela Lansbury’s passing. She shined so bright in so many roles and in so many ways. And, yet, the actual, real, beautiful, precious person that she was, outshone them all. I feel blessed and privileged to have played any kind of role in her life to have shared the stage with her, to have produced her in the studio, as dear Mrs. Potts. I hope Howard Ashman is somehow there to greet her in spirit. She was so kind and compassionate towards him in his last days. She radiated love and she will be so missed by so many.

Source: https://twitter.com/AIMenken/status/1580220640078200833

[Vlad]

May she rest in peace. I picture her entering in Heaven, where there's a stage, and Bea Arthur is there, she holds out her hands, and Angela joins her, and together they sing "Bossom Buddies", like at the Tony Awards.

[Disney's Divinity]

May she rest in peace. I picture her entering in Heaven, where there's a stage, and Bea Arthur is there, she holds out her hands, and Angela joins her, and together they sing "Bossom Buddies", like at the Tony Awards.

Awww.

I've read she has a cameo in the upcoming Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, so we'll get to see one more performance from her.

I had already been looking forward to Knives Out's sequel because the first one was incredible--but knowing Lansbury will be in it is something even greater to look forward to.

In all the tributes on TV I've seen of her, there's been almost no mention of Bedknobs & Broomsticks, which I find strange. I mean, I know the movie was nowhere near as successful as something like Mary Poppins, for example, but it and Murder, She Wrote were the things that made me love her growing up (much like Bette Midler with Hocus Pocus or Sally Field because of Mrs. Doubtfire / Steel Magnolias--family films are powerful ways to build an actor's fanbase). Admittedly, she was also my favorite thing about B&tB while I was a child. That film is more mature than many Disney films, and I suppose hearing Lansbury gave me something to latch onto when watching it at that age. Now that I'm older, Cogsworth is actually my favorite part of the film, he's hilarious, but her performance of the title song is one of the greatest Disney vocals of all time, up there with Pat Carroll, Tony Jay, Jodi Benson, etc. I'd read a long time ago about her upbringing, her family fleeing her home country because of Hitler / WWII, how she studied ballet as a child. The latter is what I attribute to the elegant, graceful way she always carried herself.

I love reading and watching all the tributes to her. At least she's a huge name who will be remembered at the awards shows, whereas Pat Carroll was overlooked at the Emmy's In Memoriam earlier this year (only a month or so after she'd passed, too).

[Rose Dome]

I’ve been meaning to log in to here since I read the news

Angela will long be remembered for her talent and her warmth

[D82]

It seems Angela Lansbury will appear as herself in the Knives Out sequel, as well as Stephen Sondheim, who will also make a posthumous cameo in the movie:

Two Broadway legends will make posthumous onscreen appearances in the upcoming film sequel to Knives Out, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim. The film is due to see a limited theatrical release beginning November 23 and will stream on Netflix from December 23.

It remains unclear how Sondheim and Lansbury will figure into the murder mystery, though both will be appearing as themselves. The film was reportedly shot from June–September 2021.

Source: https://www.playbill.com/article/angela ... ilm-sequel

In all the tributes on TV I've seen of her, there's been almost no mention of Bedknobs & Broomsticks, which I find strange.

That's strange indeed. On the Internet, though, I've seen it mentioned a lot, some even chose an image of her from the film to illustrate the article.

Admittedly, she was also my favorite thing about B&tB while I was a child. That film is more mature than many Disney films, and I suppose hearing Lansbury gave me something to latch onto when watching it at that age. Now that I'm older, Cogsworth is actually my favorite part of the film, he's hilarious, but her performance of the title song is one of the greatest Disney vocals of all time, up there with Pat Carroll, Tony Jay, Jodi Benson, etc.

I agree on her performance being one of the greatest. My favorite Beauty and the Beast character growing up was Lumiere. I didn't like Cogsworth that much back then, but now I do. I agree he's hilarious. As for Mrs. Potts, I've always liked her. I think she's a very endearing character. The film actually has great sidekicks.

I love reading and watching all the tributes to her. At least she's a huge name who will be remembered at the awards shows, whereas Pat Carroll was overlooked at the Emmy's In Memoriam earlier this year (only a month or so after she'd passed, too).

That's a shame. I don't understand why they always leave some people out in these In Memoriam sections at awards shows.

[Disney's Divinity]

Jerry Orbach is great as Lumiere, too. I think what makes those characters great "sidekicks" is they never feel like sidekicks, they feel like real characters who impact the story to degrees, with weight and gravity of their own. The same with Sebastian and Genie. It's fun seeing Lansbury and Orbach together on Murder, She Wrote. What's funny to me is that one of the other MSW regulars (the best one after Lansbury herself and the Seth character) who plays the sheriff in the early seasons, Tom Bosley, played Maurice in the Broadway show (also on the OBC recording). They also filmed together as husband and wife in The World of Henry Orient--Lansbury's character was truly vile in that film. It's funny how well she could pull off cruel, evil characters--the kind that are sell-outs and truly hollow to the core--despite being a real sweetheart in real life.

But she could throw barbs when she had a mind to. I know she was not happy they made a remake of the animated film, B&tB, not because of anything the remake did specifically, just its mere existence. I believe Jeremy Irons felt the same way. I don't blame a lot of actors who feel that way about the remakes. She also made comments that I think put a knife in a new version of Murder, She Wrote they were going to make with Octavia Spencer. I was looking forward to that, too, but I didn't blame her since Jessica Fletcher is a character that she put so many years into. Funny to think another actress I like, Jean Stapleton, almost played the role. I probably would've liked her, too, but not nearly as much. As far as the lost show with Spencer, I didn't really understand why they didn't make a mystery show for her anyway, just change the title and the character's name, make it its own show. A mystery show with her as star would've been fun.

A little factoid about MSW that's interesting to me is that CBS (the channel it aired on) pretty much killed it by moving its time slot. On its own, its ratings had been tying Friends at the time, and was in the top 10 most-watched shows still. So it never really died a proper death like a lot of shows do, as far as poor ratings doing it in. I wonder if it could've gone 8 more seasons or something if they hadn't done that.

[D82]

I think what makes those characters great "sidekicks" is they never feel like sidekicks, they feel like real characters who impact the story to degrees, with weight and gravity of their own. The same with Sebastian and Genie.

That's very true.

What's funny to me is that one of the other MSW regulars (the best one after Lansbury herself and the Seth character) who plays the sheriff in the early seasons, Tom Bosley, played Maurice in the Broadway show (also on the OBC recording).

I haven't seen Murder, She Wrote since I was a child, but I think I remember Jerry Orbach's character. I hadn't realized it was him, though! It's interesting that he and Angela also worked together there. I definitely remember Tom Bosley in the series and I've heard the songs from Beauty and the Beast's Broadway musical, but I hadn't realized he was Maurice either.

But she could throw barbs when she had a mind to. I know she was not happy they made a remake of the animated film, B&tB, not because of anything the remake did specifically, just its mere existence. I believe Jeremy Irons felt the same way. I don't blame a lot of actors who feel that way about the remakes.

I think most actors (and creatives involved with the original films) feel the same way about the remakes; she was probably just more sincere about that than others.

[Disney's Divinity]

The Murder, She Wrote box set was actually one of my first purchases when I had my first job. It's nice being able to take time and watch things at convenience like that, whenever you're in the mood to see a particular episode; sometimes I just like to watch the episodes where it's really that trio from the early seasons (Jessica, Seth, Amos) and the recurring townsfolk guest appearances, and skip the other episodes.

I'd read just this past month that there are finally Blu-ray releases coming for Frasier and Dawson's Creek after so long waiting. I hope Murder, She Wrote gets a Blu-ray transfer someday (along with other shows like Will & Grace). There are a lot of old shows that can use those. A question I've always had is can a very old show like The Golden Girls (or much older, like Maude, All in the Family, etc.) for example even receive a Blu-ray transfer? I mean, obviously they can be put on a Blu-ray disc, but would it result in any significant difference is what I mean to say? Anyway, perhaps all the fanfare right now might encourage a MSW Blu-ray upgrade to happen, whatever company owns it might think this is the most lucrative moment to put out a set.

[Farerb]

Disney Legend Alan Menken Remembers His Friend, Disney Legend Angela Lansbury
https://d23.com/disney-legend-alan-menk ... -lansbury/