When Angela Lansbury passed away this week at the great age of 96 (just shy of 97!), many of us looked back in fondness at her incredible career. She was one of those familiar faces who graced our screens for decades, without causing scandal or heartbreak; she just wanted to entertain and move us.
It’s not surprising that over her long acting career — which began with an Academy Award nomination for Gaslight in her late teens, and continued over her lifetime — the star shared a few pearls of wisdom. We’ve selected a handful of our favorites to share with you that can inspire and remind us all to seize the gift of life and all that it has to offer.
The purpose of etiquette is to provide an easy set of rules which we can follow when we are in a hurry and want to make sure that we do not give offense to anybody.”
Better to be busy than to be busy worrying.”
I really can’t honestly give any tips beyond hang on to your dream. Hang on to what you want, what you feel you want to achieve and go for it. We are all the victims of our own talent and our own shortcomings sometimes, and we have to be aware of those things because they will trip us up and stop us from achieving what our aims are.”
You just have to be open and ready, and let it all happen.”
I’ve never been particularly aware of my age. It’s like being on a bicycle — I just put my foot down and keep going.”
I pray all the time. I believe in God, in a Christian way. I’m not a great church-goer, but I do put my faith in God. I’m very thankful to him.”
I’m surprised when I realise that my great success really didn’t come until I was 40. And yet I never thought of myself as being 40. I was always just this very active woman and nothing phased me. Even now I’m still feeling so full of that energy so you don’t think of yourself in terms of a figure. I’m 90 … but I don’t feel 90.”
I believe that God is within all of us, that we are perfect, precious beings, and that we have to put our faith and trust in that.”
I believe age should not stop you from keeping on.”
You can read more about Angela Lansbury’s interesting perspective on life in this article by the Belfast Telegraph.