Murder, She Wrote - A Killing in Vegas - 1:00 pm Wednesday, January 14 on 5SELECT

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.

Howard Keel (Actor) .. Larry Thorson

David Soul (Actor) .. Wes McSorley

Born: August 28, 1943 in Chicago

Best Known For: Starsky and Hutch (he was Hutch).

Early-life: Born David Richard Solberg on August 28, 1943, in Chicago. His mother was a teacher and his father was a Lutheran minister whose work on the reconstruction of Germany following the Second World War meant that the family moved around a lot. Soul later enrolled at the University of Minnesota, turning down a contract to play baseball in favour of studying political science. He supplemented his income with a job in a nightclub, singing folk songs and rock music. In 1967, he joined a North Dakota musical revue, and was spotted by a talent executive.

Career: Soul made his movie debut in The Secret Sharer. He appeared on several TV shows, including I Dream Of Jeannie, Star Trek, Ironside, and Cannon, and had a role in Magnum Force before hitting the big time in 1975 when he was cast as Ken Hutchinson in Starsky and Hutch. The detective drama became a worldwide success and helped launch his pop career, which included several hits. He's since had roles in Salem's Lot, Holby City, Dalziel and Pascoe and Little Britain. He financed, produced and directed award-winning documentary The Fighting Ministers, then starred on the stage in Jerry Springer: The Opera. His most recent role was a cameo in the movie Filth.

Quote: "There's not enough time to consider how life could have been different, it's just a pointless exercise. When you have an opportunity, just do it."

Trivia: Soul became a British citizen in 2004.

Andreas Katsulas (Actor) .. Jerry Pappas

Stephen Macht (Actor) .. Frank Stinson

Joan McMurtrey (Actor) .. Alice Baxter

Amy O'Neill (Actor) .. Susan Hartley

Richard Portnow (Actor) .. Lt Walt Murphy

Shelley Smith (Actor) .. Katherine McSorley

Jeff Kaake (Actor) .. Eddie Wheaton

Bruce Lansbury (Writer)

Anthony Pullen Shaw (Director)

Murder, She Wrote: A Killing in Vegas

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, Wednesday, January 14 on 5SELECT (46)

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A Killing in Vegas
Season 8, Episode 8

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