Angela Lansbury: 'Murder, She Wrote' Actress Dies Aged 96

Dame Angela Lansbury, who starred in the hit TV drama Murder, She Wrote, has died at the age of 96.

Her family said the actress died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles early on Tuesday, just five days shy of her birthday.

The London-born star won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances, was nominated for three Oscars, and in 2013 she received an honorary Academy Award for her lifetime achievement in film.

On the big screen, she was known for her roles in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Anastasia (1997), and 1991's Beauty and the Beast where she was the voice of Mrs Potts.

In her best-known role, Lansbury played Jessica Fletcher, a writer and amateur sleuth, in Murder, She Wrote which began in 1984. The show performed well in the ratings until its 11th year.

Her mature demeanour prompted producers to cast her much older than her actual age. In 1948, when she was 23, Lansbury's hair was streaked with grey so she could play a forty-ish newspaper publisher with a yen for Spencer Tracy in State of the Union.

She won Tony Awards for Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Gypsy (1975) and Sweeney Todd (1979).

In 2009 she collected her fifth Tony, for best featured actress in a revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit and in 2015 won an Olivier Award in the role. Then in June this year she was honoured with a lifetime achievement Tony.

She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, Gaslight (1945) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1946), and was nominated again in the same category in 1962 for The Manchurian Candidate with her portrayal of a Communist agent.

She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations (15) and wins for best actress in a television drama series (4) and the most Emmy nominations for lead actress in a drama series (12).

In an interview in 2008, Lansbury said she still welcomed the right script but did not want to play "old, decrepit women".

She said:

"I want women my age to be represented the way they are, which is vital, productive members of society.

"I'm astonished at the amount of stuff I managed to pack into the years that I have been in the business. And I'm still here."

Her family said in a statement:

"In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.

"She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw.

"A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined."

(c) Sky News 2022: Angela Lansbury: Murder, She Wrote actress dies aged 96

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Her death has been met by an outpouring of tributes and praise for her acting talent by stars from across the industry.

American actress and Orange Is the New Black star Uzo Aduba called her "an icon of the stage".

She tweeted: "She poured so much love into each of us.

"An icon of the stage, and legend across so many mediums but, we all knew…she was always one of us."

Gad said that Dame Angela had "touched four generations" with her work.

"It is rare that one person can touch multiple generations, creating a breadth of work that defines decade after decade. Angela Lansbury was that artist," he wrote on Twitter.

Jason Alexander, who appeared in Seinfeld, praised her as "one of the most versatile, talented, graceful, kind, witty, wise, classy ladies I've ever met".

He added: "Her huge contribution to the arts and the world remains always."

Actor Harvey Fierstein tweeted: "Angela Lansbury - She, my darlings, was EVERYTHING!"

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who starred alongside Dame Angela in the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, said their time together will "forever be one of the joys of my life".

Disney Animation Studios tweeted: "We join the world in mourning Disney Legend Angela Lansbury, who brought such incredible warmth and personality to Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Her unforgettable performance will forever be a classic."

Playwright Paul Rudnick said Dame Angela "provided the most fabulous, irreplaceable joy" and was "beloved as a person and an actress, and managed to be approachable, glamorous and heartbreaking".

West End star Elaine Paige said Dame Angela was "one of the last Golden Age of Hollywood stars & a Broadway & West End icon".

Author Rebecca Makkai wrote: "A thing you should know: In September, 1987, Angela Lansbury headlined a show that packed the Chicago Theater with 2,400 people to raise money for AIDS research. It was the first major AIDS benefit in Chicago, and it raised $1 million."

(c) Sky News 2022: Tributes pour in for Dame Angela Lansbury after her death aged 96