Celebrating Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Potts, Beauty & the Beast

B. October 16, 1925, D. October 11, 2022

Original theatrical release poster, 1992

On Tuesday October 11, the animation world lost the memorable and talented voice artist, Angela Lansbury.  Cast to play the delightful and warmly regarded Mrs. Potts in Disney's animated feature, Beauty & Beast released in 1992, Angela Lansbury was the embodiment of everyone's nurturing mother or grandma. 

                    Original Production Drawing, Graphite & colored pencil on 16 field animation paper

                    Artist:  Disney Unknown

                    Acquired:   June 15, 2019

                    

So to commemorate the Disney legacy she left us, I would like to share two things: this wonderful production layout drawing of Mrs Potts with Maurice......and a quick story that I just learned from a friend of mine.   My best friend from college was performing with the Alaska Repertory Theater in 1998 and insisted that I come down for visit and to meet this special "Disney" person that had come to Juneau.  The Disney person would later turn out to be none other than David Friedman who was music director for Disney's film Beauty & the Beast as well as the original broadway production.  It was a great weekend trip by all and David shared with us at the time that he was working on the music for an upcoming re-release for Beauty & Beast with the newly added animated scene of "Human Again" based upon the broadway success.  He shared with us a rough cut animation sequence for the music he had just recorded in the studio.  What fun insight and firsthand viewing!  This past week David shared his wonderful story on Facebook about how he was asked to help to get Angela Lansbury to play the part of Mrs. Potts.  She almost didn't take the part!  I thought this was fun and memorable.  So read below for more.  

Angela Lansbury's vocals were perfect for bringing this Disney character to life singing one of the most iconic Disney songs in the modern animation era.  May you rest in peace...and know that your contribution is a "tale as old time, song as old as rhyme!"  

From David Friedman's Facebook Post on October 11, 2002:

David Friedman

October 12 at 6:56 AM  · 

ANOTHER ANGELA LANSBURY STORY

One day, when we were in the earlier stages of preparing to do the movie Beauty & The Beast, I got a call from Disney asking me to fly up to Boston to convince Angela to take the roll of Mrs. Potts because she was resisting doing it. I said, "OK. I don't know if I can do that, but I'll try my best."

So, on the appointed day, I flew up to Boston (I had gone to college there, New England Conservatory, so I knew the town well), took a cab to the Copley Plaza hotel, went up to the front desk and said, "I'm David Friedman, I'm here to see Angela Lansbury." The clerk said, "Yes, Mr. Friedman, she's expecting you."

He escorted me to the private dining room where she was sitting at a table with her husband. She leapt to her feet, said, "Oh, Hello. You must be David. This is my husband, Peter. You must be hungry after your trip. Sit down and have something to eat."

I was daunted to be meeting the great Angela Lansbury, but she made me feel immediately at ease. After a while, we got up to go across the hall to a club with a piano that the hotel had cordoned off for our use.

The minute we stepped out of the dining room and into the hall, cameras started flashing, with reporters calling out, "Miss Lansbury, look this way," etc. She was very gracious but it was getting to be a bit intrusive, so I stepped in and said, "Miss Lansbury has to go now.” We said goodbye to the reporters, walked into the empty club, and shut the door. The moment we were inside, Angela said, "Whew! It was never like this before TV. It's television that's created this."

The club was closed so all the chairs were on top of the tables. Angela immediately grabbed a couple of the chairs, put one in front of the piano for me and sat in the other. There was absolutely no star stuff in her. The chairs had to be taken down, so she did it before I had a chance to.

I looked at her and said, “So what’s the problem?” She said, “I can’t sing these songs.” I said, “Why don’t you sing them for me, and let’s see what’s going on.”

She sang Beauty and the Beast, and I said, “That’s great! I could give you a few technical pointers, but you’re fine.” She said, “Oh darling, I have no technique. I don’t know what I’m doing as a singer.” I looked at her and said, “OK, what’s bothering you?” She said, “These are pop songs, I can’t sing them.”

I said, “Ah. Alright. Would you do me a favor, forget about the sound, forget about the style, and just be Mrs. Potts singing to Chip.”

What came out was extraordinarily beautiful. Real, touching, and connected. Very close to what she ended up doing in the film.

I said, “That’s it!” She said, “You’ll let me do that?” I said, “That’s what we want you to do!” With that, she said, “OK. I’m in!”

I realized, in that moment, that Angela was such a connected actress that she could not sing a song unless she knew who she was, where she was and to whom she was singing. And once she had that, she was home free and brilliant.

Four months later, we went into the studio and recorded the song, with Angela singing it directly to me in the booth. (I was Chip for a day.)

After her take (I think she may have only done one or possibly two, she was that spot-on) we went into the control room to listen back, and when Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and the producers and engineer all applauded her, she pointed at me and said, “He did it.”

I couldn’t get over what a gracious and personal gesture that was. Needless to say, it was one of the most gratifying experiences of my career.

P.S. Years later, I found out that the reason Angela had been so reticent to sing the songs was because they had accidentally sent her the pop demo (a demo for the version that Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson eventually sang). No wonder she thought she couldn’t sing it.

I’m forever grateful that we were able to work all that out, not only so that I could have one of the most gratifying personal and professional experiences of my life, but so that the world would get to experience the joy of hearing Angela sing Beauty & The Beast for all time.

She may be gone, but her legacy lives in our hearts and on the work she left behind.