Roll the Rug Out...

ANGELA LANSBURY
October 16, 1925

It's difficult for many people who only know Angela Lansbury as cuddly Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996), or as the warm and cozy Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast (1991), to comprehend that for nearly half of her career, Lansbury was typecast as either a tart, a bitch, or both.



She was the slutty Cockney maid helping to drive poor Ingrid Bergman mad in Gaslight (1944); Judy Garland's laquered rival in The Harvey Girls (1946); and one of the most manipulative screen mothers of all time in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Along the way, Lansbury earned a clutch of Oscar nominations and the respect of the industry, if not the topflight stardom and leading lady status she deserved.

All that changed in 1966, when, after submitting to the indignity of having to audition no less than four times, Lansbury won the coveted role of Mame Dennis in, of course, Mame, Jerry Herman's musical adaptation of Patrick Dennis's immortal comedy. Lansbury had made her Broadway bow three years earlier, in the cult flop Anyone Can Whistle, which lasted only eight performances; Mame, on the other hand, was an unstoppable juggernaut, winning Lansbury the first of four Tonys and finally cementing her legendary status.



Never let it be said, however, that Hollywood is anything less than shortsighted; and despite the Tony Awards and the rave reviews, when the 1974 movie version of Mame was finally made, it wasn't Angela Lansbury who received the starring role, but the more bankable Lucille Ball -- resulting in one of the most notorious screen turkeys of all time. Lansbury held her head high, scored further stage triumphs with the 1975 revival of Gypsy and her stunning work in Sweeney Todd (1979), and in 1984, became a megastar when she signed on for a little mystery series called Murder, She Wrote. Its phenomenal success made Lansbury one of the highest paid actresses in the world, and a household name.



Named a Commander of the British Empire in 2005, La Lansbury was nominated for a fifth Tony in 2007, for Deuce; it was her only nomination which didn't result in a win. Shockingly, she's never won an Oscar or an Emmy. She is, however, a candidate for sainthood here at Stirred, Straight Up, with a Twist. Happy Birthday, Angela Lansbury! It's Today!