Angela Lansbury, beloved star of ‘Murder She Wrote,’ dead at 96

In this Dec. 5, 2014, photo, Angela Lansbury poses for a portrait at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP)

Actress Angela Lansbury, star of the CBS-TV series "Murder, She Wrote," cuts a huge cake Feb. 13, 1989, in celebration of the show's 100th episode. Hundreds of friends, associates and fellow stars crowded a Los Angeles ballroom for the gala celebration. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Angela Lansbury attends a photo call during the PBS Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Jan. 16, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Actress Angela Lansbury holds her Golden Globe award for best actress of a dramatic TV series for her role in the mystery series "Murder, She Wrote" at the 42nd annual presentation of the awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 26, 1985. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing)

In this Dec. 16, 2014, photo, Angela Lansbury poses for a portrait during press day for "Blithe Spirit" at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP)

Actress Angela Lansbury poses June 1, 1989, outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where she was rehearsing for the 43rd annual Tony Awards ceremony, which she hosted in New York City. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)

Angela Lansbury in 1988. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Broadway actress Angela Lansbury puts the knife to a cake at a birthday celebration in New York City, Oct. 16, 1966. (AP Photo)

Ginger Rogers, left, star of the Broadway musical “Hello, Dolly,” crowns Angela Lansbury, who was starring in “Mame,” with the crown of Miss Ziegfeld 1967 on Dec. 2, 1966, at the 29th Ziegfeld charity ball. Rogers was the 1966 Miss Ziegfeld. The Ziegfeld club was originally founded as a charity organization of former Ziegfeld girls. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)

Actresses Mary Tyler Moore, Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury pose with a dog up for adoption at Broadway Barks 11 in New York, Saturday, July 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

Angela Lansbury relaxes in her hotel suite, Nov. 24, 1982, after rehearsals for the Broadway comedy “A Little Family Business.” (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine)

Angela Lansbury, right, star of "The King and I," greets Carol Channing, star of "Hello Dolly," in New York City on Monday, May 1, 1978. The two Broadway musical stars were attending a dinner in their honor held by composer Jerry Herman. (AP Photo/Ira Schwarz)

Angela Lansbury gestures as she narrates a special concert version of “Anyone Can Whistle” in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Saturday, April 8, 1995. (AP Photo/Paul Hurschmann)

Christopher Reeve, star of the film version of "Superman," has a word with Angela Lansbury backstage at the Uris Theater in New York, Feb. 11, 1979. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett)

Angela Lansbury, Pierce Brosnan and Phylicia Ayers-Allen at the People's Choice Awards, March 14, 1985. (AP Photo)

Actress Angela Lansbury holds up the award she received at the Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 20, 1990. (AP Photo/Pizac)

Actress Angela Lansbury in December 1993. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Actress Angela Lansbury displays the insignia of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire that she received from His Royal Highness the Prince Charles at the residence of the British Consul in Los Angeles, Oct. 31, 1994. (AP Photo/Lois Bernstein/Pool)

Angela Lansbury at Golden Globe Awards, January 1994. (AP Photo/Mark Terrill)

Actress Angela Lansbury gestures as she is honored at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards on Ellis Island on April 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury and Steve Martin attend the 2013 Governors Awards on Nov. 16, 2013, in Los Angeles (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

In this March 23, 1996, photo, William Windom, left, shows a swagger stick to "Murder She Wrote" star Angela Lansbury, center, and former first lady Nancy Reagan prior to Lansbury being presented the Caritas Award by Reagan in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Frank Wiese)

Actress and honoree Angela Lansbury accepts her award at the 2013 Governors Awards on Nov. 16, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)

This Jan. 23, 2014, photo shows British actress Angela Lansbury on stage at the Gielgud Theatre in central London as she returned to the West End for the first time in nearly 40 years with the play "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

In this Dec. 16, 1982, photo, Angela Lansbury and John McMartin toast backstage at their opening performance of “A Little Family Business” at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York. (AP Photo/Cabrera)

Angela Lansbury, left, and James Earl Jones speak at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday, June 12, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Angela Lansbury participates in the Masterpiece "Little Women" panel during the PBS Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Jan. 16, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Actress Angela Lansbury presents the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award medallion during a dress rehearsal for the 43rd Annual Tony Awards ceremony at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City, June 4, 1989. (AP Photo/Larry Zumwalt)

Angela Lansbury hosted the 42nd Annual Tony Awards in New York City on June 5, 1987. (AP Photo)

Actress Angela Lansbury outside the Gershwin Theater in New York, Aug. 16, 1983. (AP Photo/Mark Elias)

Stars join hands at a press conference in New York on May 6, 1986, to publicize the nationwide Hands Across America spectacle scheduled for May 25. From left, they are: Helen Hayes, Lily Tomlin, Ken Kragan, President of U.S.A. for Africa, which is sponsoring the event, Ben Vereen, Angela Lansbury and Glenn Close. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)

Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones appear at the curtain call for the Broadway opening performance of "A Little Night Music" in New York, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

Angela Lansbury poses for a portrait during press day for "The Blythe Spirit" at the Ahmanson Theatre on Dec. 5, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP)

Angela Lansbury, left, James Earl Jones speak at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday, June 12, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Angela Lansbury participates in the Masterpiece "Little Women" panel during the PBS Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

16th Annual Backstage at the Geffen on Saturday, May 19, 2018, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for Geffen Playhouse/AP Images)