Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury

by Martin Gottfried

A prize-winning drama critic presents an authorized biography of his longtime friend, Angela Lansbury, from her Academy Award nomination for Gaslight to TV's Murder She Wrote, incorporating her own reflections on her life. 50,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Theatre, Autobiography, Film, Media Tie In

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 1999

About the author

Martin Gottfried,was a New York drama critic for over forty years and the author of five biographies and two books of theater criticism.

Gottfried graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1959,and attended Columbia Law School for three semesters, next spending one year with U.S. Army Military Intelligence.Gottfried began his writing career as the classical music critic for The Village Voice, doubling as an off-Broadway reviewer for Women's Wear Daily, a position that made him the youngest member of the New York Drama Critics Circle in the organization's history.

Winner of the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and recipient of two Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships, Martin Gottfried was the chief dramatic critic for the New York Post and Saturday Review. He is the author of A Theater Divided, Jed Harris: The Curse of Genius, All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse, Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury and Nobody’s Fool: The Lives of Danny Kaye.

Reviews

[Jack Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read! I adore Angela Lansbury and reading about her illustrious career was fascinating. I've always been interested in her theatre career, especially Mame and Gypsy and was extremely absorbed by the chapter that charted her stage career as well as the years doing Murder, She Wrote. I think that the books is well written but that because the information comes from a variety of sources, the reader is made to listen to the numerous times she wasn't taken seriously or was overlooked. Especially her years in Hollywood and how it forced her into roles she may not have wanted to do but felt a necessity to do so. Until Sweeny Todd it doesn't feel like she was really looked at seriously and praised even though she had won and been nominated for awards by that point. Even in Mame that is quintessential Angela Lansbury, she was criticized a lot and overlooked for the film. I think that as an admirer of her, this was hard to hear and you feel her frustration at the business and can empathize with her and the choices she made.

I have to say a really fantastic biography of a truly exceptional woman. I shall be interested to read more by Martin Gottfried in the future.

[Lkelly6 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Gottfried writes an interesting biography of a lovely woman. Unlike most “celebrity” biographies, this one offers no scurrilous gossip or innuendos or scandal-mongering. Instead this book presents the details of how Angela became an actress and how she prepared for her many different kinds of roles: stage, movies, television, musical comedy. It seems that she was not a natural for any of these, but using the talents she had and working really hard to adapt, she managed to succeed all around. Furthermore, she remained loyal and steadfast to her husband and children.

I highly recommend reading this fine book of life.

[ERIC FOWLER · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice look into all of Angela’s accomplishments and her family life. One of my very favorite actors of all time.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book at the end of the last century by one of my theater-going buddies, but never got around to reading it until now.
Angela Lansbury was one of the great stars of late 20th Century Broadway, and I enjoyed reading about her biggest star turns, in "Mame" and then as Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd."
Much of the great lady's movie career is told here as a series of disappointing roles, where she was cast as much older, bitchier women even when she was in her lovely twenties, and never in leading roles. Hollywood, says critic and author Martin Gottfried, never knew quite what to do with her.
I learned a heap about Lansbury's youth and family, including her actress mother Moyna and sister Izzy, her brothers, who became notable TV and theater producers, and the private life she tried to maintain while traveling and working. I also learned about her career choices as she moved into middle age, when she and her husband/agent, Peter Shaw, often chose projects with a goal of exposure and financial gain over the quality of the project.
The final half of the book is the most fascinating with its focus on theater, and her fame earned in the long-running "Murder, She Wrote" television series.
Lansbury chose an authorized biography over writing her own memoir (sad, as I seem to recall someone saying she was a delightful dinner companion with a trove of wonderful stories). But she was also very private, and in many ways inhibited, surprising in such a wonderful actress, perhaps. This makes for frequently dry reading, unfortunately. I'm glad I read it, but don't feel I know the lady much better, other than some new facts about her life and experiences. (I was surprised to learn her family lost their Malibu home to a 1969 wildfire, which resonates in this year of L.A.'s disastrous fires.)
An okay read for fans of theater and film, but if you're looking for a juicy tell-all, this is not for you.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela Landsbury appears through the entertainment industry in a variety of roles. However she may be know best for playing Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote a role in which she was describe as

“Angela plays her as decent, fair-minded, unbigoted, warm - a role model. She is sunny without being a goody two-shoes. Forgiving of flaws, but not namby-pamby or corny. There's still some steel there. She doesn't suffer fools, she's charming, but there is an innate decency - a decent person from a more decent time.”

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled ‘The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury’ I’m not at all sure what to write about this book other than it’s nice, pleasant but not at all exciting – perhaps like the lady herself? That is not a dig, or it would be a dig at myself because I’m quite similar to the lady in many ways. Like her I was never the ingénue and rarely the leading lady. Like her I enjoyed singing and doing musicals better than plays. And an even a more odd similarity is that she writes letters for people and crafts them in much the same way I have done, writing carefully composed drafts and then copying the final version to mail and saving the original, perhaps because it’s a controlled complete conversation without interruption; communication from my edited self, written to please, but not say too much or the wrong thing. I’ve admired her work endlessly – ‘State of the Union’, ‘The Long Hot Summer’, ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and especially ‘Sweeny Todd’. That although she went through droughts in her career she stuck at it, balanced it with marriage and family until better roles came along, like ‘Mame’ and then ‘Murder, She Wrote’

[Katie Cotter]

What a great business woman and producer, as well as an actress/singer.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and thorough look at an amazing woman!

[Dora Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Angela Lansbury, I really enjoyed this biography, and I learned a lot about her that I didn’t already know.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I doggedly read this to the end because of my love for Angela, but have to say it's not very well written and can be a bit hard to follow for those of us not steeped in the worlds of film and theater. It seems like a thorough chronicle of her career, but definitely raises more questions than it answers about the rest of her life. On the whole, I'm glad I read it and learned quite a bit, but it took a while to get there. Now to recover with some episodes of Murder, She Wrote...

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in Angela Lansbury's childhood and early movie career, you'll enjoy this book which was written some time ago and isn't, unfortunately, as up to date as one might hope. Despite that, I would recommend the book for its antidotes on everything from "Sweeney Todd" to "Murder, She Wrote".

[Erin Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book very much. As a great fan of Angela Lansbury I was excited to learn lots of little tidbits about someone I thought I already knew so much about. The only reason I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 is that the occasional paragraph seemed out of place from those around it. Overall, I really like this.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book and loved it.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an older book,but if you are interested in the life of Angela Lansbury you will find this one interesting. Her background is not like anything you would expect.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved Angela Lansbury and I loved learning more about her. =) Excellent writing, as well. It was fun and interesting to read.

[Lisa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy this incredible woman's stage and movie presence (Sweeny Todd, The Manchurian Candidate) you'll enjoy this book. An incredible talent. I love her!

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written biography of Angela Lansbury. What an interesting woman.

[Sharon Bengel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about a fascinating lady. And when you're done all 12 seasons of Murder She Wrote are on Netflix!

[Melissa Tevlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does not really paint a nice portrait of Angela Lansbury. Would not recommend to anyone thinking this will be all sugary.