Letters to the Editor: Angela Lansbury, the actress you really wanted to work with.
Angela Lansbury, one of the finest Broadway stars of all time, died Saturday night. She was 78. I had many friends who loved her, and as a kid who lived in New Jersey during the first years of the 20th century, I got to see her in her first performance on Broadway. And then we worked on films together at the time, both of my parents were also actors and I remember sitting across from Angela and listening to her stories about how she worked with legendary director Frank Capra, who she was married to for 54 years. I was only a kid, I’d only seen parts of her first movies and I’d seen all of her movies on TV. I admired her tremendously, she was the ultimate artist and I admired and respected her. I can’t believe the world is going to miss this woman.
Lansbury’s career is a great one. She performed on Broadway for more than 60 years. She sang and danced and starred in films and on stage for eight more decades. She received one of the greatest honorary awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, and was knighted by the Queen of England. I was very sad she died so young. I was sad she passed away in such a short time, but I’m at the point now where I can see the future, and she died at age 78.
The New York Times describes her this way:
She was the most famous American in her day and a living legend whose career spanned the first half of the 20th century. No Broadway actor has ever captivated the stage like Ms. Lansbury, whose performances were legendary and memorable.
I had other things to be proud about, but I had nothing but respect for this performer. I have a very good friend who just wrote to me to say how talented she was, and I could tell he loved her so very much. I wrote her a letter, and I’