Angela Lansbury vs Charles Manson: Icon rescued teen daughter from sociopath as she struggled with drugs
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: British-American actress Angela Lansbury, who died at the age of 96 on October 11, once talked openly about her children's drug use when they were just out of high school. The celebrity also discussed how she had to free her daughter from the grip of the notorious mass murderer Charles Manson. In a March 2014 interview, Lansbury opened up about how her biological children, Anthony and Diedre, had started using drugs in their early teens.
“It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin. There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits," she told Daily Mail. "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.” Fearing the kind of trouble her daughter might get into if she stayed in Manson's circle, the actress with her late husband, Peter, made the decision to go to Ireland in order to support their children in quitting drugs.
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Lansbury explained, “‘I said to Peter, ‘We have to leave.’ So we upped sticks and moved the family to a house I found in County Cork. 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.” The actress admitted that while in Ireland, she learned how to cook and avoided acting work for a year. The star's and her agent husband's strategy fortunately succeeded. Their son Anthony got rid of the habit very quickly and soon, daughter Deidre kicked it to the curb too.
Lansbury shared, “Anthony pulled right out of his bad habits quite quickly. It took Deidre a little longer, but she finally got married and she and her husband now live in Los Angeles, where they run their own Italian restaurant.” Lansbury also told the Daily Mail that if her children had chosen to remain in Los Angeles rather than move to Ireland, she would have lost one or both of them. She explained, “Certainly, I have no doubt we would have lost one or both of our two if they hadn’t been removed to a completely different milieu, the simplicity of life in Ireland. We were so very, very lucky we spotted what was happening just in time.”
With Peter Shaw, Angela's second husband, they had two children. They were married in 1949 and stayed so until Peter's death in 2003. During the early years of their marriage, they welcomed their children, daughter Deidre Angela Shaw, now 69, and son Anthony Pullen Shaw, now 70. David Shaw, Peter's child with Mercia Squires, was also a member of Angela and Peter's family.
Ultimately, Manson was found guilty in 1971 of first-degree murder and conspiring to murder in connection with the seven murders carried out by his followers in 1969. At the age of 83, Manson died in prison.