Angela Lansbury Was ‘Pissed Off’ After Pursuing a Role in a TV Series
Angela Lansbury pursued a role in a TV series after a successful career in theater and movies. When she began reviewing scripts, the Murder, She Wrote actor admits she was “pissed off.” Here’s why.
Angela Lansbury said she was typecast
Although Lansbury was a successful actor, she had difficulty getting different roles. During an interview with Katie Couric, Lansbury said she was typecast. Most of the roles she was offered were for an older woman, even though she was a young woman in her twenties and thirties at the time.
Couric says Lansbury “played everyone’s mother.” For example, Lansbury was only nine years older than Elvis when she played his mother in Blue Hawaii, and she was just three years older than her co-star Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate.
Angela Lansbury was ‘pissed off’ when she pursued a TV series role
Lansbury told the Television Academy Foundation she decided when she was around 60 years old that she wanted to be in a television series. She admitted she was tired from being on the road a lot and she was ready to settle down.
Lansbury said the casting agency sent her scripts that were “dreadful.” She wasn’t pleased with the roles she would be auditioning for. Most of the roles were for the maid or housekeeper in an ensemble cast. Lansbury revealed she became “pissed off” at the low-quality roles she was being considered for.
“They sent me some scripts that were really just dreadful,” said Lansbury during her interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “They had me playing the maid or the housekeeper in some ensemble piece. These were not my agents, but these were the producers they contacted for roles. And when I got [the scripts] I was really pissed off.”
Lansbury was disappointed with the roles because she had worked so many years in the theater and movies. She built a reputation for herself, so she found these small roles insulting.
“Is that what you call a television opportunity for me? At my age?” asked Lansbury. “Within about a week’s time, that fast, I got two scripts in the mail. One of them was Murder She Wrote and the other was from Norman Lear. It was for a sitcom to do with Charles Durning.”
Why Angela Lansbury remained in the entertainment industry
During their 2009 interview, Couric asked Lansbury if she ever thought about just relaxing and stepping away from acting. Lansbury said she couldn’t see herself retiring.
“The bottom line is I really don’t know how to relax to the degree that I could just stop,” said Lansbury. “So, when something comes along and is presented to me and I think, ‘Gee, I could have some fun doing that,’ or ‘I think I could bring something to that,” I’ll do it.”
Lansbury once said women become invisible and lose their place in society when they get older. Couric asked Lansbury if she ever felt that way and if she did, how she how she overcame that feeling.
“By working and doing what I do,” said Lansbury. “And I really only come to life, I think, when I’m working. My whole modus operandi has been work and family.” Lansbury said she wanted to do “one great movie” before she died.
RELATED: What Was Angela Lansbury’s Net Worth at the Time of Her Death?
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