Balancing Act : The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury

Rating:
Summary: Angela Lansbury bio simply the best yet!
Review: After finishing reading the final chapter of the unauthorized biography of ANGELA LANSBURY : BALANCING ACT by Martin Gottfried, this has to be the most interesting and well-written and accurate account of this great performer's life. From her humble beginnings in England to her contract in Hollywood, where she was always cast in roles much older than she truly was, the controversy over the "Manchurian Candidate", her success on the stage, and on TV as the loveable Jessica Fletcher in "Murder, She Wrote" --- this book tells all in a most fascinating way! However, what makes this book stand above previous efforts is the fact that the author knows the great lady, and included herein are Angela's own personal thoughts to flesh out his expose! And despite certain setbacks in her life and career, she always remains positive and trudges on to the next level. Truly inspiring and well worth reading! This is definitely a book to keep on my bookshelf! I especially enjoyed the chapters concerning Angela's performing as "Mame", the stage musical, and the heartbreak of not being considered to reprise the role when it was eventually turned into a movie. The role went to Lucille Ball, a great comedianne, but not a great singer! I once saw Angela when she played in "Sweeney Todd", as the pie-making Nellie Lovett, and it's beautifully captured here in this book. I loved it! Until the day comes when Angela herself writes the definitive bio of her colorful life, Martin Gottfried's book, BALANCING ACT, is a worthy treat for all her fans to read!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining biography of Lansbury, but only of her career
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. I learned many things that I didn't know about Angela Lansbury before. She is quoted extensively, and provides many fascinating anecdotes about her career in movies, theater, and television. But since it is authorized, you have to wonder what's left out. The fact that it's authorized may also account for its big flaw. The title and introduction suggest that Lansbury has had to balance professional triumphs with personal tragedies throughout her life. The book itself doesn't give you that impression. It devotes many chapters to the triumphs, but mostly skims over the tragedies, espicially Lansbury's children's drug problems, so that they are merely afterthoughts and don't seem to have affected her much. This may be because Lansbury and the others interviewed did not really want to talk about these tough times, or it may be because Martin Gottfried did not do enough research. Worth reading for the chapters on Lansbury's career, but don't expect much depth where her personal life is concerned.

Rating:
Summary: Faniciful Reminiscences
Review: I iimmediately picked this book up to find out how and when Angela came to touch all of our hearts, and the story is as beautiful and graceful as the woman we all know and love. Angela was born in 1923 as Angelo Lansburino, the son of Joao and Ingrid Lansburinho in Cachopo, a Portuguese village just north of the Algarve. In 1927 the family moved to Luchenbach, Texas and it was there that people began to notice that little "Angelinho" had an aptitude for the performing arts. Angelo made a beeline for success, with a small pitstop in 1951 for sexual reassignment surgery, which ultimately led to her most well known dramatc role on "Murder She Wrote". Now Angela spends most of her time in her home in Yellowknife, Canada with her parter of sixteen years Al Rahman Sulieman, her former agent and her six Siberian huskies. A wonderful book with great pictures. Please buy.

Rating:
Summary: Faniciful Reminiscences
Review: I iimmediately picked this book up to find out how and when Angela came to touch all of our hearts, and the story is as beautiful and graceful as the woman we all know and love. Angela was born in 1923 as Angelo Lansburino, the son of Joao and Ingrid Lansburinho in Cachopo, a Portuguese village just north of the Algarve. In 1927 the family moved to Luchenbach, Texas and it was there that people began to notice that little "Angelinho" had an aptitude for the performing arts. Angelo made a beeline for success, with a small pitstop in 1951 for sexual reassignment surgery, which ultimately led to her most well known dramatc role on "Murder She Wrote". Now Angela spends most of her time in her home in Yellowknife, Canada with her parter of sixteen years Al Rahman Sulieman, her former agent and her six Siberian huskies. A wonderful book with great pictures. Please buy.

Rating:
Summary: Tightly written, perceptive portrait of a complex artist
Review: Martin Gottfried's "authorized" biography has everything the first book about Angela Lansbury lacked: depth, insight, and a clear understanding of the commitment, teamwork and partnering between Lansbury and her husband, Peter Shaw. Rather than merely collecting quotes from previous press clippings, Gottfried explores in exquisite detail the work of an incredibly sensitive, intelligent and complex soul -- someone who is not just an actor/performer/singer but an artist who draws on a wealth of experience and talent that few in the industry can ever hope to match.

Lansbury's high standards for whatever she applied herself to comes through clearly with a dedication that can inspire anyone pursuing a dream, a craft, or an artistic career. Her ability to balance true family crises with a unique and often frustrating career gives testimony to her strength as a woman, mother, wife, and performer as Gottfried weaves a stunning biography that is difficult for the reader to interrupt.

The style of Gottfried's book handsomely captures the delicate tapestry of his subject's life work. While Angela Lansbury is one of this century's greatest character actresses, her carefully-layered portrayals are more easily understood thanks to Gottfried's intelligent, compassionate and multidimensional approach to his subject.

Take note: This is not your standard, vapid Hollywood biography. Nor is it a star turn. Instead, it is a remarkably honest and well-rounded portrait of a woman whose work in all forms of media transformed her into a cultural icon without ever depriving her of her humanity.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining biography of Lansbury, but only of her career
Review: Martin Gottfried's "authorized" biography has everything the first book about Angela Lansbury lacked: depth, insight, and a clear understanding of the commitment, teamwork and partnering between Lansbury and her husband, Peter Shaw. Rather than merely collecting quotes from previous press clippings, Gottfried explores in exquisite detail the work of an incredibly sensitive, intelligent and complex soul -- someone who is not just an actor/performer/singer but an artist who draws on a wealth of experience and talent that few in the industry can ever hope to match.

Lansbury's high standards for whatever she applied herself to comes through clearly with a dedication that can inspire anyone pursuing a dream, a craft, or an artistic career. Her ability to balance true family crises with a unique and often frustrating career gives testimony to her strength as a woman, mother, wife, and performer as Gottfried weaves a stunning biography that is difficult for the reader to interrupt.

The style of Gottfried's book handsomely captures the delicate tapestry of his subject's life work. While Angela Lansbury is one of this century's greatest character actresses, her carefully-layered portrayals are more easily understood thanks to Gottfried's intelligent, compassionate and multidimensional approach to his subject.

Take note: This is not your standard, vapid Hollywood biography. Nor is it a star turn. Instead, it is a remarkably honest and well-rounded portrait of a woman whose work in all forms of media transformed her into a cultural icon without ever depriving her of her humanity.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Especially About Her Fans
Review: This authorized biography of Angela Lansbury is interesting and well-written...but she was a part of the project, had final say over what was and wasn't included, and left SO MUCH out! Her personal life is covered much better in the other two unauthorized biographies of Angela Lansbury. But what really floored me in this one was her descriptions of "fan psychology" and the way she talks about teenagers who looked up to the character she portrayed in shows like "Mame." She describes the kids' adulation of her in terms of being "a tragedy." While one fan clearly became out of control in terms of following her around and pestering her, the rest of us - legions of us - didn't. Hello! What's so tragic about children looking up to, and being inspired by, a responsible celebrity?

Rating:
Summary: Not only a mere biography of a great Star!
Review: This is not a mere biography of a great Hollywood and Broadway Star. Here you can "listen" to her voice too, you can share her best and worst moments while acting in Broadway and Hollywood. You should read it even if you think you already know Angela Lansbury; and if you're a big fan of this wonderful actress, you HAVE to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Biography Of An Outstanding Performer
Review: This is one of the finest celebrity biographies that I have ever read. Actress Angela Lansbury is profiled with candor and wit in Martin Gottfried's "Balancing Act". Gottfried conducted countless interviews with the star herself of whom he says, "No biographical subject could have been more cooperative.", and many, many of those who knew her and worked with her. The book details her early life in London, her arrival in America during WWII, and her first film, at MGM, where they promptly decided to change her name to "Angela Marlow". The book writes with candor about her first failed marriage and her Hollywood years into the late forties, when she married Peter Shaw (and the marriage is still going strong). In the early fifties, she gave birth to her son Anthony and daughter Deidre Shaw, and in the late sixties, with her Hollywood career in a slump, she bounced back on Broadway in her Tony-Award winning title role in the musical "Mame". The book is at its most exciting when detailing her Broadway career, and not just with "Mame", but with her three other Tony-Award winning roles in "Dear World", "Gypsy", and "Sweeney Todd". And after Broadway, Lansbury conquered television with her ever-popular "Murder, She Wrote" series. Since then, Lansbury has enjoyed steady acting and puttering in her rose garden. Many humorous anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories told by Lansbury concern stars like Ingrid Bergman, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Bea Arthur among them. She is a rueful raconteur and thrilled with her extraordinary professional and personal life. With the color and gusto of "Balancing Act", Angela Lansbury is profiled up close and personal and, as always, absolutely great!

Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: With angela Lansbury's cooperation, the author was able to construct the life of the star and her dreams without being intrusive into episodes of her life. He truly respected the subject and the star rewarded him with candor. it is too often that authors choose biographies to sensationalize a life. In this case, the author told it straight but with humanity and dignity and affection for a woman of icnredible talent and character.