Angela Lansbury, who is a five-time Tony Award winner, has built a career on stage while maintaining a successful one in film and television and will be honored this fall by the American Theatre Wing at their annual gala in September.
The gala, which benefits the theater education and artist development programs at SpringboardNYC, the Theatre Intern Group, also benefits the National Theatre Company Grants and Jonathan Larson Grants.
“Angela Lansbury’s contributions to the American theatre are incalculable and her advocacy on behalf of the wing unmatched,” Heather Hitchens, executive director of the American Theatre Wing, said in a statement. “We are incredibly honored to pay tribute to all that she has done to elevate the art form that we care so deeply about.”
Lansbury’s stage credits include Mame, Dear World, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Blithe Spirit, and Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, among others. The veteran actress made headlines earlier this year when she announced she would be gracing the same stage her mother performed on nearly 100 years ago at London’s Gielgud Theatre.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Lansbury said. “She made her debut there and I’m going in now. I could be in her dressing room. I know so much of my talent came from her. She was a sensitive, lovely actress who played Desdemona, and acted with Basil Rathbone. She was a star.”
Lansbury also spoke out against a reboot of the infamous murder mystery show that dominated the ’80s, saying she was happy it had been shelved.
“I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote, because Murder, She Wrote will always be about Cabot Cove and this wonderful group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person. So, I’m sorry that they have to use the title Murder, She Wrote, even though they have access to it and it’s their right,” she said.
Image via Wikimedia Commons