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Angela Lansbury: stage, screen, TV icon

The Manchurian Candidate

When I was crashing at my parents’ house in Charlotte, NC, in the spring of 1977, I went to the downtown library to watch the 1944 version of the movie Gaslight. It starred Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotten. In her film debut, 19-year-old Angela Lansbury, as the young maid Nancy, received a best-supporting actress Oscar nomination. (Some folks did not know the meaning of gaslighting in 2013.)

In 2018, my family went to the cinema to see Mary Poppins Returns. In her antepenultimate film, she had a cameo at the end as the Balloon Lady. Her final film appearance was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, in which she played Angela Lansbury.

Her greatest film role was as the mother of a would-be assassin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Casey Seiler of the Albany Times Union newspaper says she was “absolutely perfect” in “one of the few paranoid political thrillers that haven’t been outstripped by reality.” Here are just three minutes.

One of my favorite parts, though, is her voicing Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1991). Here’s Tale As Old As Time.

She received an honorary Oscar in 2013 for her career as “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”

Cabot Cove, Maine

Of course, the performer was best known as Jessica Fletcher, novelist and an amateur sleuth in Murder, She Wrote. She appeared for a dozen seasons (1984-1996) plus four TV movies between 1997 and 2003. She received an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series for every season, yet never won.

As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the program was “a huge ratings hit on Sunday nights following 60 Minutes. Both CBS shows appealed to intelligent, older viewers, and Lansbury was the rare woman in the history of television to carry her own series… ‘Nobody in this town watches Murder, She Wrote,’ Lansbury, referring to the TV industry, said in 1991. ‘Only the public watches.’

“The show was ranked in the top 13 in the Nielsen ratings (and as high as No. 4) on Sundays in its first 11 seasons but plummeted to No. 58 when CBS moved it to Thursdays in 1995-96 against NBC’s then-powerful lineup. The series finale, quite appropriately, was titled ‘Death by Demographics.'”

LA Times quotes her: “What appealed to me about Jessica Fletcher is that I could do what I do best and [play someone I have had] little chance to play — a sincere, down-to-earth woman. Mostly, I’ve played very spectacular bitches. Jessica has extreme sincerity, compassion, extraordinary intuition. I’m not like her. My imagination runs riot. I’m not a pragmatist. Jessica is.”

I freely admit to watching the program regularly. Maybe, as one critic noted, it was an opportunity to try to solve the crime with, or maybe before, the author.

Theater!

As the Los Angeles Times noted, “It was her deep roots in the theater, and the many Tony Awards that followed that won the hearts of theatergoers and critics, who were often rhapsodic in their praise…

“Critic Rex Reed declared that she brought ‘the Broadway stage about as close to an MGM musical as the Broadway stage is likely to get,’ according to the 1996 biography ‘Angela Lansbury.’

“Her charismatic performance as the eccentric title character in a 1966 production of Mame vaulted her to Broadway superstardom and resulted in the first of her four Tonys for best actress in a musical.

“At 83, she tied the record for most Tony Awards won for acting when she received a fifth for portraying a medium in the 2009 revival of ‘Blithe Spirit. (Audra McDonald set a new record in 2014 when she won her sixth.)”

I saw the TV movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 1982, which was quite compelling. Her Broadway performances were undoubtedly even greater.

Here are Hollywood notables paying tribute to Angela Lansbury, plus A Critic’s Appreciation by David Rooney.

The Gilded Age, starring 1st Pres!

everybody’s in show biz

The Gilded Age, an HBO Max series, has been well-received. It’s one of my sister Marcia’s favorite shows. “Old New York in the 1880s. Old Money and New Money are the opposites that attract to create a Post Civil War Era New York society.” I haven’t seen it yet.

But I may have to because my church, First Presbyterian, is a filming and production site for the program! The building “will be featured in the opening scene of the second season, and it will also be used as a production and cast holding site throughout the month of August,” according to the church office.

Apparently, the 2022 Capital District is more representative of 19th-century NYC than 21st-century NYC. Preparation for filming began on 1 August, “and related activities will continue through August 25th. We will be able to attend worship on Sundays as we normally would since the production company works only on weekdays. However, access to the building during weekdays will be restricted to the production company and church staff in order to observe strict COVID-19 protocols.”

No closeup for me

I had seen the casting call for extras. “Grant Wilfley Casting is seeking paid actors to play 1880s pedestrians and church-goers. According to the casting call notes, women will be fit for corsets, should have shoulder-length or longer hair and ‘natural’ hair colors only will be allowed. No balayage, undercuts, wigs, weaves, braids, ombre or unnatural looking highlights will be considered. Shaved heads and dreads will also not be permitted.” And no, I didn’t try out.

Costume fittings began on June 27, and all background actors had to “attend a costume fitting and mandatory COVID-19 testing before filming. Extras must also be up-to-date with all COVID-19 vaccinations as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The casting company reports that background actors will be paid $60 for COVID testing, $30 per two hours for fittings, and $165 per 10 hours for filming.” And you thought show biz was glamorous.

“The Gilded Age filmed sections of its first season around Troy, New York, completely transforming the city. The TV series is a period drama that follows the millionaire titans of New York City in the 1880s, including Marian Brook, an orphaned daughter of a Union general, and a ruthless railroad tycoon named George Russell. Played by Louisa Jacobson, Marion moves into the New York City home of her wealthy, old money aunts, played by Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon.”

During the second week of production, “a team of horses pulling a carriage went up on the sidewalk forcing an actor to fall. But she was not hurt, and production resumed.

Nichelle Nichols; Vin Scully

the voice

Barrier-breaking Nichelle Nichols inspired the naming of her Star Trek character. “When [she] came to audition…, she was carrying the book she was reading. Uhuru is a 1962 novel by Robert Ruark about the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, and Roddenberry noticing, a 20-minute conversation ensued… [Gene] Roddenberry was inspired to read the novel and decided to name the communications officer after the title.”

Famously, she got work advice from Martin Luther King, Jr. “He told me that Star Trek was one of the only shows that his wife Coretta and he would allow their little children to stay up and watch. I thanked him, and I told him I was leaving the show. All the smile came off his face, and he said, ‘You can’t do that. Don’t you understand, for the first time, we’re seen as we should be seen? You don’t have a Black role. You have an equal role.'” And, of course, she stayed on the series and for several movies.

It only occurred to me later that one of the reasons my father was drawn to Star Trek was that she was one of the few black people on network television, along with Greg Morris as electronics expert Barney Collier on Mission: Impossible and very few others.

NASA recruiter

People magazine: “Last December, the star made her final convention appearance before her many fans as part of a three-day farewell celebration at L.A. Comic-Con. Nichols was seen waving, blowing kisses, and flashing Star Trek’s famous Vulcan salute to the many fans… She was surrounded by members of her family and longtime friends, including… former astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, who joined NASA as a result of Nichols’ role in recruiting women and minorities into the space program in the 1970s and 1980s [thanks to] her Star Trek fame.”

Her impact is seen in the many tributes: George Takei (Sulu) wrote: “My heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.”

Also paying homage: Zoe Saldana (Uhura in the 2009 movie) and Celia Rose Gooding (Uhura in the Paramount+ series). Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan on ST: TNG) said, “Nichelle was the first Black person I’d ever seen who made it to the future.” Nichelle Nichols was 89.

Iconic broadcaster

In baseball announcing, Vin Scully was the Greatest Of All Time. The Los Angeles Times touted his “folksy manner and melodic language.”

He covered the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 years until 2016, from “the 1950s era of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson” to “Clayton Kershaw, Manny Ramirez, and Yasiel Puig in the 21st century.” He also covered golf, tennis, and the NFL. “In 2010, the American Sportscasters Association named him the greatest sportscaster of the 20th century.”

Scully was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982; here’s a Scully bobblehead. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016.

The Los Angeles Times declared: “For legions of Dodgers fans, Vin Scully was the voice of their beloved baseball team. But for many Angelenos, the ginger-haired broadcaster was more like a family member: a grandfather, a tío, someone they welcomed into their homes on game day.

“Heartbroken fans mourning Scully’s passing… at age 94 say it felt like a death in the family.

“‘It almost felt like I lost my father again,’ said Desiree Jackson, who took the bus from skid row to Dodger Stadium to lay flowers and pray at the makeshift memorial that sprang up there overnight. ‘I fell in love with sports because of my dad, and my brother, and Vin.'”

Here is Mark Evanier on his father’s love of the Dodgers and Scully. An emotional Ken Levine wrote: “No one besides my father has had as much impact on my life as Vin Scully,” and was thrilled to have worked with him.

Producer Norman Lear turns 100

People For The American Way

Plugging his 2017 documentary film, “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast,” Carl Reiner had his old friends Norman Lear and Dick Van Dyke come over to be interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning’s Tracy Smith. “They constitute a team of GOLDEN BOYS — older, yes, but no less amusing.”

“The culture has age all wrong,” Lear said. “The culture sells age as utterly going down. Well, it’s the expression, ‘Going downhill.’ And he woke up this morning to come here feeling great. I woke up this morning, I couldn’t wait to get here to see these guys! It’s not ‘downhill!'”

Reiner died in June 2020, but Lear and Van Dyke are still going strong.

TV legend

I watched much of the output of producer Norman Lear. Here’s a paragraph from his IMDB page. “Born in 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut, Lear flew 52 combat missions over Europe in World War II before beginning his television career. His classic shows of the 1970s and ’80s – All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others – collectively reached as many as 120 million viewers per week and are said to have transformed the American cultural landscape, bringing the social and political issues of the day into American living rooms for the first time.”

Yes, I saw all of those, both iterations of One Day At A Time, and more obscure shows such as Hot L Baltimore (1975). Possibly my favorite of his lesser-known programs is The Powers That Be: “The exploits of a clueless American senator and the eccentric, morally corrupt people who are closest to him.” It was the launching pad for several well-known performers.

Even before All In The Family, I saw the movie The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968), produced by Lear.

He has a trove of awards, including five Emmys. But also the National Medal of Arts (1999), the GLAAD Media Award (2014), a Peabody Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and the Kennedy Center Honors (2017).

PAW

“With the rise of the radical religious right, Lear put his career on hold in 1980 to found People For the American Way, the nonprofit organization that remains a relevant and effective force defending all aspects of the First Amendment.”

Indeed, it’s from his organization that I get messages from Norman on a regular basis.

From December 2021: “Progress can feel painfully slow on issues we care about. And sometimes we even see hard-won progress being rolled back. On my 99th birthday, the Washington Post ran an op-ed that I wrote expressing my bewilderment that some politicians are still trying to make it harder for people to vote.

“I’m hoping that by my 100th birthday we will have renewed a strong federal commitment to voting rights. “

From Memorial Day weekend 2022: “When I joined with Rep. Barbara Jordan and others to create People For the American Way, we felt it was important to give people a way to join with others in asserting that this country belongs to all of us. No one is more American on account of their religion or skin color – or where they were born or who they love.

“Some days the bad news feels overwhelming. The violence and contempt and dishonesty can be so dispiriting. Those are the days we need each other the most. Those are the days I remind myself to be grateful that there are so many of us who have made a commitment to making a difference.”

Then a pitch to donate to People For The American Way. Happy birthday, Norman Lear.

Director Eric Laneuville turns 70

L.A. Law, Lost, NYPD Blue, Dream On

One of my favorite television programs was the MTM program St. Elsewhere (NBC, 1982-1988). And one of my favorite characters was Luther Hawkins, played by Eric Laneuville, who appeared in 128 of 137 episodes. Initially, Luther was a hospital orderly, but he became a certified paramedic and eventually a student physician assistant.

Eric was born in New Orleans, LA. His first prominent acting roles were in the science-fiction film The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston and on the TV program Room 222 (1970-1974). But he has had but two acting credits since 1996, and none since 2014.

That’s because he’s in demand as a director. He started this path by directing 20 episodes of St. Elsewhere, starting in 1984. He has also helmed multiple episodes of Midnight Caller; Doogie Howser, M.D.; Everybody Hates Chris; Girlfriends; Ghost Whisper; CSI: NY; The Mentalist; Grimm; NCIS: Los Angeles; Blue Bloods; Chicago Fire; and the current iteration of The Equalizer.

(St. Elsewhere was up against the earlier version of The Equalizer on CBS on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. for three seasons. I’d watch St. Elsewhere but catch The Equalizer in reruns.)

Eric was nominated for Emmys (Dream On, I’ll Fly Away, the Directors Guild of America awards (Lost, NYPD Blue), and both (L.A. Law).

I’ll Fly Away

In 1992, Eric won both an Emmy and a Director’s Guild Award for the All God’s Children episode of I’ll Fly Away. I LOVED that program, which ran from 1991 to 1993 on NBC, plus a TV movie on PBS.

“Forrest Bedford [a pre-Law and Order Sam Waterston] is a Southern lawyer in the late 1950s, generally content with his privileged life. But the winds of change are blowing, and he becomes increasingly involved with civil rights cases. Meanwhile, Lilly Harper [Regina Taylor], who cares for his children, is on her own journey of political and personal awareness.” The kids were played by Jeremy London as Nathan, Ashlee Levitch as Francie, and John Aaron Bennett as John Morgan

Here’s the All God’s Children episode of I’ll Fly Away.