Letters to the Editor: Angela Lansbury, the actress you really wanted to work with

To the editor: Upon reading of the passing of the great Angela Lansbury, I just had to write and tell you of my experience with her.

I was doing extra work on her TV show "Murder, She Wrote," and as she was being escorted onto the stage to film her first scene, she passed by the craft service table (this is where the snacks, food and drinks are kept for the cast and crew, including the extras).

On the table were only tortilla chips, coffee and water. Seeing this, she stopped dead in her tracks and said: "This is unacceptable. I want my people well taken care of. I'm going back to my trailer and I'm not coming back until this table is properly stocked with nourishing food and drink for everyone."

Soon thereafter the craft service table was filled with the most wonderful array of food and drink. It became well known among people doing extra work that this was a show you really wanted to work on.

Thank you, Angela — I will never forget you.

Randall Bosley, Los Angeles

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To the editor: My meeting with Angela Lansbury took place at a theater in Los Angeles. My girls and I took the train to see her perform in "Sweeney Todd."

I asked the usher to please take the Playbills backstage for her signature. When he returned the Playbills had no signature. He then told me that after the play my daughters and I were to go to the stage door and they would take us upstairs.

Waiting at the top to greet us was an incredibly welcoming, down-to-earth actress, the delightful Ms. Lansbury. She invited us into her dressing room for a chat about how awful the traffic was on the freeways from San Diego to L.A. The girls were given their autographs and told they could go on stage and visit the set. She treated us as if we were old friends.

I will never forget that this remarkable actress was a very lovely and caring person. No matter how famous she became, she never needed to put on affectations and just remained a wonderful woman. She will be missed.

Lana Alber, Irvine

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.