Angela Lansbury uprooted her family to Ireland to save daughter from Charles Manson cult

The wonderful Angela Lansbury, who will be missed (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Dame Angela Lansbury once revealed she uprooted her family to Ireland to save her daughter Deirdre from spree killer Charles Manson’s cult.

The Murder, She Wrote star, who passed away on Tuesday (October 12) at the age of 96, previously explained that she moved her family from Los Angeles to North Cork, after Deirdre fell in with a crowd led by the spree killer in the 1960s.

Discussing the harrowing period of her life, Lansbury said her then-teenage daughter’s troubles began when she and her brother Anthony, now 70, fell victim to addiction.

The Mary Poppins Returns star recalled in a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail: “It started with cannabis but moved to heroin.

“There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits. It pains me to say it but, at one stage, Deidre was in with a crowd led by Charles Manson.”

Like so many of Manson’s followers, Lansbury explained that Deidre was drawn in by the cult leader’s charm and was “fascinated” by him.

Angela Lansbury revealed she uprooted her family to Ireland after her daughter Deirdre (pictured left) fell in with a crowd led by Charles Manson (Frederick M Brown/Getty Images)

The Beauty and The Beast actor added: “She was one of many youngsters who knew him — and they were fascinated. He was an extraordinary character, charismatic in many ways, no question about it.”

Lansbury was understandably worried about her daughter’s future if they stayed in Los Angeles and decided to fly across the Atlantic to her mother’s homeland, to set up home with husband Peter Shaw and their two kids.

While Lansbury’s mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lansbury found a property in Conna, North Cork, to call home for a time and pressed pause on her career for a year to focus on her family.

She said: “I was drawn to Ireland because it was the birthplace of my mother and it was also somewhere my children wouldn’t be exposed to any more bad influences.”

The actor died aged 96 at home in Los Angeles earlier this week (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

The Anastasia star said Anthony escaped his bad habits “quite quickly” and after a little while Deidre, now 69, did the same.

Lansbury said she often thought about the frightening things that could have happened to her children had they stayed in America.

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“I have no doubt we would have lost one or both of our two if they hadn’t been removed to a completely different milieu,” she admitted.

After her stint in Conna, the Hollywood star continued to visit Cork and owned a property in Ballycotton, East Cork.

The three-time Oscar nominee had a career spanning eight decades across film, theatre, and television and was best known for her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in American drama series Murder, She Wrote.

Born in London in 1925 before moving to the US to avoid the Blitz, she was one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

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She died in her sleep just five days before her 97th birthday, her family said in a statement.

They said: “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1.30am today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday.

“In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre, and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine, and Ian, plus five great-grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.

“She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined.”