{"id":108198,"date":"2021-10-16T05:13:50","date_gmt":"2021-10-16T09:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=108198"},"modified":"2021-10-14T06:14:16","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T10:14:16","slug":"happy-90th-birthday-angela-lansbury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=108198","title":{"rendered":"“Those of us who were 12 or 13 when the war started were absolutely thrown into the mainstream. We had to grow up instantly and take care of ourselves.” — Angela Lansbury"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nAngela Lansbury in “Gaslight” (1944)<\/i><\/p>\n

It’s her birthday today. <\/p>\n

Her performance in Gaslight<\/i>, at age 18, is one of the most auspicious debuts of all time. She makes a huge impression as Nancy, the maid in that crazy house. She’s saucy, smart, tough, and has a life beyond the screen. You don’t forget her. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar, her first time out of the gate.<\/p>\n

Lansbury’s career has spanned almost 90 years. Is a career like Lansbury’s even possible now? The entertainment world has changed so much. She did it all: serious films, comedies, musicals, a huge hit television series (which she also executive produced), television movies, smash hits on Broadway. She is a star who can still fill a theatre on the draw of her name alone. <\/p>\n

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\nAngela Lansbury in “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962)<\/i><\/p>\n

One lazy afternoon in Chicago, Mitchell and I turned on the television, and the 1992 TV movie Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris<\/i> was on. We settled in to watch. There’s a scene where Mrs. ‘Arris (Angela Lansbury) sits on a park bench and breaks down into tears. There are so many great moments in her career, but that one stands out as one of the most heart-wrenching.<\/p>\n

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\nOmar Sharif and Angela Lansbury in “Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris” (1992)<\/i><\/p>\n

\nMitchell and I watched the scene in silence, and then glanced at each other when it was done, and saw we both were sobbing<\/i>. The movie went on, but Mitchell sobbed next to me, “I’m trying to get past it … but I just can’t …” I sobbed, “I can’t either.”<\/p>\n

So many iconic moments, so many unforgettable performances. Today I want to link to a clip from the Tony Awards many years ago when she and Bea Arthur took the stage, sang “Bosom Buddies,” and brought the house down. <\/p>\n

If you are GIANT GODDESSES, all you need is some simple shimmying, some cross-around walking, a step-touch-step-touch thing … and the audience roars in approval. Your collective energy fills a huge theatre. Your mere presence is exhilarating. <\/p>\n

You have not lived until you have watched this clip at Sidetrack<\/a>, a Chicago bar with a weekly musical-number extravaganza, where clips like this one are played on the 20 enormous televisions throughout the bar, and the hundreds of gay men (and their straight friends) who show up every week sing along at top volume. <\/p>\n

BOW DOWN. PAY TRIBUTE. <\/p>\n

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