Open Post: Hosted By The Time Angela Lansbury Rescued Her Daughter From Joining Charles Manson’s Cult
The passing of Dame Angela Lansbury made yesterday a very sad day in the midst of a very sad few years when it comes to the loss of the beloved stars of our most cherished Hollywood-made memories (I was still processing the loss of Betty White). And though I’ll continue to honor Angela by watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks for the 800th time, it’s also comforting to hear a story about her being as impressive in her real life as she was on the stage and screen. A few years ago, Angela recounted the tale of the time she had to step in to save her daughter from her spiral into drugs and rubbing elbows with the maniacal Charles Manson and his murderous cult in the hills of Malibu.
Variety retold the details from Angela’s interview where she divulged this interesting intersection of Hollywood and a true crime figure.
Lansbury said her daughter, who is now 69, was “fascinated” by Manson, the notorious serial killer whose string of victims included Sharon Tate. Lansbury’s child became involved with drugs as a young teen and fell under Manson’s spell.
“It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin. There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits,” Lansbury said. “It pains me to say it but, at one stage, Deidre was in with a crowd led by Charles Manson. 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.”
And while “factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits” reads like something that younger me would’ve thought sounded like it kicked an amazing amount of ass, we all know how the whole Charles Manson thing turned out. So after Angela saw what was going on (I’d imagine by following Deidre up the hill and peeking around a tree with a comically oversized Jessica Fletcher magnifying glass), she immediately got to work setting Deidre back in the right direction by high-tailing it out of America.
“We upped sticks and moved the family to a house I found in County Cork,” Lansbury 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. I still have a house there which I try and visit at least once a year. So I refused all work for a year and simply kept house.”
“Hobnobbing with Charles Manson?! Right off to Ireland with us then!” Angela doesn’t fuck around. Rest in peace to a legendary talent and by this account, a no-nonsense mother.