Dame Angela Lansbury Has Died

It's a sad die for lovers of mysteries and musicals alike. Angela Lansbury, the acclaimed actress perhaps best known for her long-running television series Murder, She Wrote, has passed away at the age of 96. Her death was announced via a statement from her family. She is survived by her brother, her three children, and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to the BBC.

Born in London on October 16, 1925, Lansbury was the daughter of Irish actress Moyna MacGill, and Edgar Lansbury, a timber merchant. The actress was only 18 when she landed her first film role in 1944's Gaslight—a role which also brought her the first of three Academy Award nominations. Over the course of her more seven-decade career, she would add another eighteen Emmy nominations, and five Tony award wins to her accolades, her latest in 2009 at the age of 83.

She first garnered Broadway accolades as the starring role in Mame in 1966, kicking off her reputation as a musical theater actress, later going on to snag awards for her roles as Mama Rose in the 1974 revival of Gypsy and originating the menacing Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's 1979 production of Sweeney Todd. In 1971, she starred in the Disney classics Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and would later charm Disney fans as Mrs. Potts in the animated hit, Beauty and the Beast in 1991.

It was on the small screen where she would take up perhaps her most iconic role, though. In 1984, Lansbury was cast as the mystery writer/amateur detective Jessica Fletcher in CBS's surprise hit series Murder, She Wrote. The show would go on to run for twelve years.

In 2014, Lansbury was named a DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II.

Per the statement from her family, Lansbury is survived by her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, as well as three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, five great grandchildren, and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.

"She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw," the statement continued. "A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined."

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