Angela Lansbury...gracious lady! Last of the great stars...

They say the bigger the star, the most gracious they are.



This most certainly applies to Angela Lansbury.



The talented stage actress with the light touch not only held court in Tinsel Town during the golden heyday of the golden studio system, but managed to surge forward decades later and win the adoration of a younger fan base, by virtue of the power of the medium of Television and a weekly hit series on the reigning network of the day, CBS.



Even still, two of her stand-out performances early on in her illustrious career, are sure to be mainstays in film archive for generations to come.

Gaslight, is a classic, of course.



But, "National Velvet", held a particular fascination for me personally since Lansbury played the older sister of a movie star held dear to my gushing heart, Elizabeth Taylor.



But, I've always been a big fan of "Murder She Wrote", too.



In fact, I landed a bit part on one episode, when the detective drama was still at the top of the pile and nabbing impressive ratings.



I recall the experience vividly.



For example, shortly dashed onto the set at Universal Studios, I signed in, and excitedly poured a piping cup of coffee and reached for a tasty-looking doughnut on the house.



Universal wasn't always so generous with the hand-outs, though.



In fact, it wasn't until Ms. Lansbury stepped in and put her foot down, that the greedy studio relented and was inclined thereafter to share the spoils of their success.



In spite of the fact it was an industry tradition for production companies to provide a free breakfast and coffee to the cast and crew as they wandered in at the crack of dawn each day, Universal dug its feet in and went against the grain.



Indeed, the stingy old studio execs at one of the most-prosperous studios in Burbank, enforced a policy which required that all personnel - crew members, actors, extras, and the like - toss a few coins their way to cover the cost of the European-style brunch.



One day, Ms. Lansbury happened to be pouring a cup of java on the sound stage, when she spied an actor dropping a few coins into a tin cup.



Lansbury's initial reaction was to be taken aback.



"What you doing?" she pointedly asked the day player.



"Oh, we have to pay for our coffee and doughnut," he chuckled.



The kind-hearted actress - steeped in tradition - was aghast.



"What," she cried out incredulous.



Within minutes, the award-winning thespian stormed off to the production office and notified the Director in no uncertain terms that if there was a collection cup gracing the table the next day, she wouldn't be putting in an appearance for work.



That must have been quite a jolt to the producers.



According to eyewitnesses, bright and early the next morning - there were a generous proportions of fruit, bagels, sandwich meats, and doughnuts artfully spread out on a table - all for the taking - free!

Lansbury is a generous performer when it comes to acting out scenes with fellow actors, too.



According to the script, my character - a tipsy yuppie on a lunch break at a watering hole Angela's character invested in with her nephew - is supposed to bang his mug on the counter to get the attention of the bartender (played by Jack Carter).



During the first run-thru, I rapped my beer glass on the hardwood surface, and stepped on Angela's line by mistake!



I was so embarrassed that I wanted to crawl under the carpet and hide.



"I'm so sorry," I apologised profusely.



Angela, cool-as-a-cucumber, didn't even bat-an-eye in disgust.



"Dear, not to worry. That's what rehearsals are for."



Gosh, what a swell dame, I thought to myself.



Her loving-kindness reminded me of a quote from William Hazlitt:



"Gracefulness is the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul."

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