Product Description
Fully authorized, this biography of Angela Lansbury, one of the most beloved stars of stage, screen, and television, completely covers her life and fabulous career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Very Detailed
This is an extremely detailed look at Angela Lansbury and with much grace given.It is amazing to hear this woman was nearly perfect. I suggest to buy this book if you are doing a research paper of some kind.It is seriously that thorough.

Self-Serving, But a Great Read Nonetheless
There are two mainstream biographies of Angela Lansbury floating about on the marketplace, and of the two this is clearly the best one. Standing in stark contrast to "Angela Lansbury: A Life On Stage and Screen," this account of the legendary actress's life and career features extensive quoting, administered specificially for the author and this book, and glosses over more shameful episodes (which we all have some form of) such as her childrens' drug problems in the late 60s. Few insights into Lansbury's personal life and intrinsic motivations are revealed, but since the author is clearly a frend of hers that is one thing to be expected, and, unfortunately, the whole idea of writing a proper biography with genuine insight into the person biographized cannot hinge on such liberal quoting and a prior friendship between author and subject.

For more Lansbury information
If you're interested in finding out more about this great woman, there's an interview on youtube that's over an hour long, done by the Archive of American television. Search Archive Interview Angela Lansbury, you'll get to see the lady herself talk extensively about her life in general, including growing up in England during the Great Depression, moving to America in the middle of World War II, her parents, her career.
Quite fascinating for any Lansbury fan, posted up by the channel TVLEGENDS.

Amazing! Brilliant!
Hello Ms. Lansbury:

I just wanted to tell you how much enjoyment your performances have given my wife and I, over the years. Oh, and your decision to move to Ireland after your house in Malibu burned down: Brilliant! I grew up in Santa Monica, where there was too much money and too many drugs... So many kids my age (I was born in 1954, and graduated from Santa Monica High in 1972) had their lives destroyed by drugs. Los Angeles and Hollywood are terrible places to raise kids! You are so very lucky, to have raised a beautiful son and daughter, and to have had a husband who loved you, for so many decades. I only hope that my wife and I can enjoy over 50 years of marriage, as you and your spouse successfully did! Best wishes to you and your family. [...]

A GREAT BIOGRAPHY
If you are an Angela Lansbury fan like I am, you will love this book. It tells of her family, her marriage, children, her days at MGM, her talks and encounters with movie stars, her movie career, Murder She Wrote and after. It is a well-written book not trashy like the Kitty Kelly biographies or sugar coated. I enjoyed reading this book. A GREAT READ. ... Read more

Product Description
The popular film, stage, and television star shares her secrets to good health, outlining her daily regimen and discussing diet tips and stretching and offering a menu plan that includes some of her favorite recipes. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful book to know a nice aspect of Angela Lansbury!
This is not only a book for fitness and well-being lovers, but a book to discover a nice aspect of Angela Lansbury's private life: her anecdotes, her favourite hobbies... it's like a conversation with a friend! If youlike Angela Lansbury, you'll love this book! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book
I am a big fan of Angela Lansbury and she has a common sense approach in this book to remaining healthy and fit.It has obviously worked for her!

Positive Moves
Angela Lansbury's approach to aging and keeping fit is very practicle.The excercises she suggests to keep ones body flexible are doable.Eating healthy is a way of life that is sensible.Her attitude is catching.One is able to adjust her plan to ones life.I highly recommend this book.

Best section: morning stretching exercises

There are many great tips in this book, but the best part (for me) was the series of morning stretching exercises that take only a few minutes and really get the kinks out. Lansbury includes info on exercise, diet, mental and emotional health, and general wellness. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an up-to-date and intimate portrait of one of America''s most popular and admired actresses. It f ollows her career from its beginnings in such films as Gasli ght and State of the Union, through Broadway success to the present day. ' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An enjoyable glimpse--yet only a glimpse--into a fascinating life
Angela Lansbury is, without doubt, a national treasure as an actress and has become something of an icon to many. While her television work has made her a durable popular favorite, recognition of her formidable talent and skill as a serious film and stage actress is less widespread, as this biography highlights.

The book is something of a valentine to Ms Lansbury, and while it
does include interesting tidbits of information about her life and work, manages to touch on the main events of her personal and professional life and has a decent offering of quotes from colleagues, friends and Ms Lansbury herself, it is by no means an
in-depth biography of this fascinating, multi-facted woman.

One is keenly aware that much has been left out or unexplored;
it may be that Ms Lansbury's own preference for privacy and the
power and status she possesses have made it difficult for a truly
definitive biography to be created.This is a disappointment.

In the right hands of a gifted biographer with deep access, the richness of Angela Lansbury's background, history, character, accomplishments and life would yield a magnificent theatrical biography.
She is deserving of no less.

An excellent biography of one of my favorite actresses
This is a thoughtful, three-dimensional portrait of one of my favoriteactresses.It is well-researched, and full of anecdotes about Lansbury'slife and thoughtful opinions of her film and television work.I learnedmuch about Lansbury, and would highly recommend this book to anyoneinterested in her life and career.

A FACT FILLED ,HEART WARMING JOURNEY
THIS BOOK WAS A WONDERFUL INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE OF A GREAT LADY WHOS LIFE WAS AS INTERESTING AS THE MANY ROLES SHE HAS PLAYED THROUGH THE YEARS .MOVIES,STAGE,AND TV AND SONG SHE HAS DONE THEM ALL WITH STYLE AND ELEGANCE ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Angela Lansbury: A Biography"- Review by Deborah Wilkinson
Margaret Wander Bonanno's biography is well-worth reading, despite thefact that it was published quite some time ago (in 1987).The authorclearly admires Angela Lansbury.The biography provides a warm andrespectful recounting of Ms. Lansbury's life and career up to that pointwithout fawning.The subject of the biography is treated as a real person,not as an idol. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Don't Waste Your Money
My fiance was a best man in a wedding recently and had never given a speech before. So I bought this book and another one. Boy am I glad that I bought the other book, because this one was no help at all. It only gives you examples of specific toasts and speeches for specific families. It doesn't help. It's not generic enough for someone to put together their own speech from it. It doesn't tell you how to write a speech or do's and don'ts about writing toasts. I would not recommend this book to anyone. If you want a good book for this, buy The Best Man's Handbook. It has way more useful information on speeches and toasts than most speech books. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive handbook for organizing a wedding. ... Read more

Product Description
A speaker who looks poised and sounds professional is very impressive, and the ability to speak well in public is important both for work and leisure. This book offers advice on preparing for all types of speeches, from weddings to after-dinner speeches. Starting with preparing yourself and overcoming nerves, the book then gives practical advice on length and content of a speech and draws on examples of other speeches, jokes, comic stories and anecdotes to get you started. ... Read more

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This title in the "Family Matters" series provides advice on duties and etiquette. ... Read more

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The head hairdresser at the MGM studios since 1935 offers an insider's look at Hollywood's Golden Age, recounting his rise from rags to riches, his affairs with Greta Garbo and Ava Gardner, and his role in the history of a great studio. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Oh, Come On...
Listen, I like a good show-biz fish story as much as anybody, but most of Mr.Sydney Guilaroff's "I was there!" memories are called into question when he asks the reader to accept the rather outlandish notion that he was heterosexual (he was for all practical purposes outed by Esther Williams in her autobiography) romantically involved with some of his famous female clients. Meaning no disrespect, but if he was seriously trying to carry off this Liberace-esque charade, he should have left out the precious early photo of himself looking like Norma Shearer with his two adopted sons, and most CERTAINLY a later photo with his hunky adopted "grandson" at his side (said grandson being a full grown man when adopted. Take THAT discriminatory same-sex inheritance laws!).
The book may be 100% fact, but with the author so determined to nail the door shut on his very obvious closet, I can't trust anything in the book to be reliable.

crowning glory is a crowning pleasure
while the author doesn't 'dish the dirt', he tells an interesting and historical view of the hollywood that was (and never to be seen again). once upon a time ago, making movies and the land within was controlled by a few large studios operating under a studio system. who would know about the nitty gritty details of such a life and business but a person who worked within during the studios' highs and lows. see, you needn't tell all the family secrets to tell a good story but rather telling it as it was, at least through the eyes and ears of someone who was in the center of it all.

A little hard to believe
Although I am sure Sydney Guilaroff knew all the people he talked about, his book does have a number of inaccuracies, and he comes off as a somewhat naive and not very well educated person. Not sure how much of this is his fault or the fault of his editor/writer. He credits himself for being in so many places at the right time and being the inspiration for so much that after awhile, it gets a little hard to take. Just the Summer Stock story alone is pure bunk; Judy wore the same outfit from the Get Happy number in a deleted scene from Easter Parade 2 years prior. It hardly makes sense that Guilaroff can take credit for the outfit himself. Either way, for film buffs, it is a fun and breezy read, although if you are looking for some very keen insights that are truthfully written, probably not the book for you.

under the blowdryer
While being well written, Sydney Guilaroff's autobiography reveals him either as someone with perfect timing or one who brings bad luck to others. He was with Joan Crawford at her sickbed when she won her Oscar for Mildred Pierce, he spoke with Marilyn Monroe the night she died and recommended she take a Nembutal!, he ran into Lana Turner after she had purchased the knife that would kill Johnny Stompanato, he was with Elizabeth Taylor for her emergency tracheotomy, and he spoke with Judy Garland and Princess Grace of Monaco before they died. This kind of opportunism existed even before he became the head of MGM's hairdressing and makeup department from 1934, when as a novice he styled Louise Brooks' hair into her signature bob, and then at Saks New York was visited by Claudette Colbert and Joan Crawford. It was Crawford who helped bring him to Hollywood, since she insisted on visiting him for each film and Mayer resented her absence, though he also considered the coiffures worn by his female stars to be lacklustre. However Sydney had differences with Mayer, refusing to be signed to a contract and he quit after one argument, only to be brought back with the promise that he would have no dealings with the studio boss. Guilaroff's insider view of MGM makes him an informed source on Crawford leaving, where he says she left volantarily, and Garbo effectively fired after the failure of Two-Faced Woman. He perpetutates the myth that Judy Garland's recordings for Annie Get Your Gun were mediocre (proven to be wrong by their modern day commercial release) and provides the disparate and shocking tale of her drug-induced incapability even during her Summer Stock Get Happy return to work after she had lost the weight she had carried during production. The story of Judy performing the number perfectly in one take as soon as the music started is either evidence of her impulse to entertain or proof of Guilaroff's fabrication. Garland's drug-taking are about the lowest he is willing to stoop, though Irene Dunne's deliberate request for retests so that she could earn more money is catty. We learn Garbo was an insomniac, Cary Grant a depressive, though it's a surprise that he doesn't rationalise Montgomery Clift's drug-taking during Raintree County as a post-accident necessity considering he picked up on Garland's addiction the first time he met her. Guilaroff isn't shy about his accomplishments and credits himself with colouring Shirley MacLaine, Ann-Marget and Lucille Ball their red hair colours, providing Marlene Dietrich with a non-surgical facelift which used hooks in a wig to stretch her skin taut, and suggesting Garland wear the fedora for Get Happy since she had pulled out all her hair. He also attributes non-hair related suggestions, like the all over the face kissing Garbo gaveRobert Taylor in Camille, directed Marilyn's test for The Asphalt Jungle, recommended Richard Burton for Cleopatra, and defended Lena Horne from the commissary racism. He also, perhaps unwittingly, exposes himself unflatteringly when he tells of his dislike of grey hair, criticising Crawford for it and thereby terminating her communication with him before she died, and spotting Garbo after she too had dismissed him. Guilaroff believes that Monroe's death was suicide and not accidental, her depression not alieviated by her psychiatrist and spurred on by her involvement and rejection by the Kennedys. His personal life remains a mystery, his remarkable adoption of a child while remaining a bachelor and not an admitted homosexual (his experience adoption helped Crawford succeed with hers),though he does admit to proposing to Garbo and being turned down, and to having long term sexual affairs with her and Ava Gardner. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Angela Lansbury, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 532 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
Star-studded musical biography of Jerome Kern with great song numbers featurning some of MGM's finest talent. "How d'ya like to spoon with me?", "Whys was I born?","Look for the silver lining" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Horrible Sound Distortion!
Unplayable due to horrible sound distortion on DVD.Tried to play on several different DVD machines. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Auntie Mame, Angela Lansbury, Beatrice Arthur, Christine Baranski, Rosalind Russell, Bruce Davison, Robert Preston, Emily Skinner, Harriet Sansom Harris, Gene Saks, Sab Shimono. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 101. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Angela Brigid Lansbury, CBE (born 16 October 1925) is an English actress and singer whose career has spanned eight decades. Her first film appearance was in Gaslight (1944) as Ingrid Bergman's conniving maid, for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. Among her other films are The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and Beauty and the Beast (1991). She expanded her repertoire to Broadway and television in the 1950s, and she was successful in Broadway productions of Mame, Gypsy (revival), and Sweeney Todd. She is best-known to many for her television role as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on the long-running U.S. television series Murder, She Wrote (1984 to 1996). She most recently appeared on Broadway in a revival of Blithe Spirit as Madame Arcati, for which she won her fifth Tony at the age of 83, tying her with Julie Harris's record for most Tony wins. Lansbury has been appearing since December 2009 in a well-received revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music as Madame Armfeldt (for which she has been nominated for a Tony as well). The production stars Catherine Zeta-Jones. Lansbury is scheduled to leave the role on June 20, 2010. Lansbury has won five Tony Awards, six Golden Globes, and has been nominated for numerous other industry awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress on three occasions, and eighteen Emmy Awards. Angela Brigid Lansbury was born in Poplar, London, England, to Belfast-born actress Moyna MacGill and Edgar Lansbury, a member of the Co...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=165527 ... Read more