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(Dame) Angela Lansbury?
oxfordruse
Posts: 1,359 Forum Member
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OK, guys... I'm watching some old movies, I'm feeling maudlin, and I'm compelled to write a post recognising a Great British talent that's all too infrequently heralded. So, herein's a tribute to Ms Angela Lansbury.
Frankly... it's totally unjustifiable that the goddess who is Angela Lansbury, CBE, isn't yet a GBE, i.e. the minimum she would need from Queen Elizabeth II to be called Dame.
If you delve deeply enough, you see that Angela's life story is one of constant near misses: the almost-A-list celebrity, the originator of so many wonderful Broadway roles who missed out on the movie version because she wasn't Hollywood-pretty enough; and the woman who deservedly, but equally kinda sadly, only found mainstream American fame through a murder mystery show (a show which, nevertheless, as an erstwhile student, I feel obliged to say is 100% awesome). I mean, FFS: this woman single-handedly MADE Gaslight and The Manchurian Candidate the great movies they are today; yet she's won five Tonys and NO Oscars, despite being nominated for the latter three times. She never even won an Emmy.
It's a travesty, and she needs to be recognised by the people who matter - i.e. we citizens of her homeland, and our dear sovereign - before she dies and it's too late.
And, when she does pass on, I shall mourn her as though she's a member of my own family. I'm already resigned to the fact that, as I'm a mere 27 years of age, I haven't had much chance to see her live on stage and, given her advanced years and ever-increasing bent towards retirement, it's unlikely I'll now get the chance to do so.
God bless you, Ms Lansbury, and long may you live.
Who among you can join me in this deserving tribute? :cool:
Frankly... it's totally unjustifiable that the goddess who is Angela Lansbury, CBE, isn't yet a GBE, i.e. the minimum she would need from Queen Elizabeth II to be called Dame.
If you delve deeply enough, you see that Angela's life story is one of constant near misses: the almost-A-list celebrity, the originator of so many wonderful Broadway roles who missed out on the movie version because she wasn't Hollywood-pretty enough; and the woman who deservedly, but equally kinda sadly, only found mainstream American fame through a murder mystery show (a show which, nevertheless, as an erstwhile student, I feel obliged to say is 100% awesome). I mean, FFS: this woman single-handedly MADE Gaslight and The Manchurian Candidate the great movies they are today; yet she's won five Tonys and NO Oscars, despite being nominated for the latter three times. She never even won an Emmy.
It's a travesty, and she needs to be recognised by the people who matter - i.e. we citizens of her homeland, and our dear sovereign - before she dies and it's too late.
And, when she does pass on, I shall mourn her as though she's a member of my own family. I'm already resigned to the fact that, as I'm a mere 27 years of age, I haven't had much chance to see her live on stage and, given her advanced years and ever-increasing bent towards retirement, it's unlikely I'll now get the chance to do so.
God bless you, Ms Lansbury, and long may you live.
Who among you can join me in this deserving tribute? :cool:
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Comments
I had wondered why she hadnt received one before now.
I love her in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Murder, She Wrote.
I've just had a squint at her biography on Wiki, and see that she became a naturalised American in 1951. Maybe that has something to do with her not getting one. Although others have.
For all the wonderful roles that she played on the big screen and Jessica Fletcher of course, my favourite Angela Lansbury role was as Aunt Hortense Boutin in Lace. Absolutely brilliant.
She has excelled on film, stage and television. She has been criminally overlooked for a range of awards. She is humble despite being extraordinarily talented.
I also regret that, at the age of 29, I have never had nor likely to ever get the opportunity to see her on stage.
The Company of Wolves is good..Her head falls off the lands in the fire
That's a pretty big spoiler for anyone who might have checked out the movie on the basis of this post. :eek:
Secondly, I've never really thought about it, but you make a good case.
And thirdly, I'm sure she would be very touched to know someone from your generation cared enough about the matter. Hats off to you for caring.
Perhaps Ms Lansbury is very happy with the honour she has already bestowed on her and is not greedy or rude enough to want more than that?
Not sure why some members of the public feel an actor should automatically be given a Damehood or Knighthood after already receiving honours from Her Majesty. I think it belittles and cheapens all the other honours that are given to people for services to the country. Perhaps all the other honours should be scrapped and just have one honour where the recipient can call themselves Dame or Sir, then it may perhaps keep members of the public happy.
Why? She has a CBE. If a member of your family had been honoured with a CBE would you not feel like it was being rubbished by some members of the public as a meaningless honour and not as good as a Damehood or Knighthood? I think some people need to be considerate and thoughtful of others who have CBEs (and OBEs) and recognise those honours as something great to have achieved.
I think you need to see this for what it is: a light-hearted thread, in the Showbiz section of an entertainment website, that was intended to pay homage to a wonderful actress - not a debate on the merits of the Order of the British Empire. So I doubt many people will agree with your rather heavy-handed posts.
No one - not one person - has said that a CBE is a meaningless honour. There is a great tradition in this country, home of Shakespeare and centuries of theatrical tradition, of awarding damehoods and knighthoods to performers who represent that tradition.
And, not to belabour the point, but it's wholly ironic that you're saying it isn't fair to rank honours in order of significance, or say one means more than another. That's the whole point of the honours system. It's an order. Ranking is inherent. It'd be fine to say that you don't think Angela Lansbury deserves the higher honour, but that's *not* what you've said so far. You're saying that one honour isn't better than the other, which is just blatantly incorrect. If that's truly how you feel, then you should be railing against the whole thing.
Right - back to Angela. She's awesome!
Err, no I haven't. I'm replying to OTT statements from posters who think she has a right to have a Damehood and to call herself a Dame when she's already been given an honour. It is obvious some posters don't think a CBE is good enough, which is the point I am making. The posters should see the fact she has already been given an honour as a good thing since most people don't even get that.
This week she was on some high numbered movie channel in a movie or maybe TV movie from 1992 with Diana Rigg called Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris, based on Paul Gallico's novel. It was fascinating to see someone who is actually very Americanised revert authentically to playing a Londoner. It's a very light film, a dated story and a piece of rather silly flimsy, yet with expert casting it works very well for its genre, her performance stops it becoming too sickly sweet.
Dont worry, she is back on broadway in March in an all star cast
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Candice-Bergen-Angela-Lansbury-et-al-Join-Broadway-Revival-of-THE-BEST-MAN-20111101