Murder, She Wrote - Portrait of Death - 1:00 pm Friday, February 13 on 5SELECT

About this Broadcast

Portrait of Death
Season 10, Episode 13

A friend of Jessica's wins a fortune in a sweepstake - but soon discovers her new-found wealth brings a host of problems in its wake, and realises she can trust no one. Starring Angela Lansbury and Loretta Swit

HD subtitles audio-description

Movie/Drama Mystery

Cast & Crew

Angela Lansbury (Actor) .. Jessica Fletcher

Lee Purcell (Actor) .. Frances

Loretta Swit (Actor) .. Kim Mitchell

Herb Edelman (Actor) .. Lt Artie Gelber

Leonard Lightfoot (Actor) .. Det Henderson

Kristoffer Tabori (Actor) .. Dr Swoop

Donald Ross (Writer)

Vincent McEveety (Director)

More Information

Did You Know..

Angela Lansbury (Actor) .. Jessica Fletcher

Born: October 16, 1925 in London

Best Known For: Murder, She Wrote.

Early-life: Angela Brigid Lansbury was born in London on October 16, 1925. Her mother was Irish actress Moyna MacGill; her father, Edgar Lansbury, was a timber merchant and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. She has younger, twin brothers, who became theatre producers. Her cousin was legendary animator Oliver Postgate. Angela's father died in 1934, and her mother became involved with a former soldier who was strict with the children. Her mother eventually took her children to Hollywood when she landed a part in a touring Noel Coward play.

Career: While working in a department store in LA, Lansbury met a casting director through her mother. He offered her a role in the 1944 film Gaslight; she was just 18, but it landed her an Oscar nomination. Roles in National Velvet, Blue Hawaii and Bedknobs and Broomsticks followed. She gained further Academy Award nominations for The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Manchurian Candidate. She's also worked extensively on stage, winning a record five Tony Awards. But it was playing Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series Murder, She Wrote, that turned her into a household name. More recently, Lansbury has appeared in Nanny McPhee and Mr Popper's Penguins.

Quote: "I'm never left behind. I'm the bionic woman."

Trivia: Arguably her most offbeat work is a fitness book - Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves - My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being.