Good-Bye Angela Lansbury: A Tribute to the Beloved Character Jessica Fletcher

I was saddened to hear that award-winning actress Angela Lansbury had died October 11 at the age of 96. Lansbury’s amazing career spanned more than eight decades and included dozens of movie and TV roles. She received six Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), six Golden Globe Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and the Academy Honorary Award. She was nominated for three Academy Awards, eighteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. She was perhaps best known for playing amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the long-running mystery series Murder, She Wrote.

JESSICA FLETCHER

Murder, She Wrote aired from 1984–1996. Throughout its twelve-season run, viewers watched as mystery writer and retired English teacher Jessica solved cases in Cabot Cove and beyond.

Fans of the show loved to see this middle-aged everywoman dig down into the clues, fight injustice, and solve the mysteries that the police could not. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Jessica had keen observation skills and an understanding of human nature. Her ability to match wits with villains who were more than willing to kill her was extraordinary. In a time when many female characters were damsels in distress or sex objects, it was refreshing to see a woman on TV…