Edgar Lansbury (producer)
Encyclopedia
Edgar Lansbury is an award-winning British
theatre, film
, and television producer
.
Born in London
, Lansbury was the son of Belfast
-born actress Moyna MacGill
and Edgar Lansbury
, a politician and businessman, and the grandson of former Labour Party
leader George Lansbury
. He is the younger brother of actress Angela Lansbury
and the twin brother of television producer Bruce Lansbury.
Lansbury's first Broadway
production, the 1964 Frank D. Gilroy
play The Subject Was Roses
, won him the Tony Award for Best Play
. Other Broadway credits include "Promenade (musical)
" 1969-co-produced with Joseph Beruh, The Only Game in Town, Look to the Lilies
, The Magic Show
, the 1974 revival of Gypsy
starring his sister, Godspell
, American Buffalo
(which earned him a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
), and Lennon
.
Off-Broadway
Lansbury has produced, among other productions, revivals of Arms and the Man
, Waiting for Godot
, and Long Day's Journey into Night
, and the comedy As Bees In Honey Drown
, which earned him a second Drama Desk Award nomination.
Lansbury is the recipient of the John Houseman
Award, presented to him by The Acting Company
to honor his commitment to the development of classical actors and a national audience for the theater.
Lansbury's film credits include The Wild Party
, Blue Sunshine
, and Squirm
and the screen adaptations of The Subject Was Roses
and Godspell
.
Lansbury produced the television series Coronet Blue
, which was broadcast by CBS
during the summer of 1967.
Lansbury is the father-in-law of Ally Sheedy
, who is married to his son David.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
theatre, film
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
.
Born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Lansbury was the son of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
-born actress Moyna MacGill
Moyna MacGill
Moyna Macgill was an Irish stage and film actress and the mother of actress Angela Lansbury and producers Edgar Lansbury and Bruce Lansbury.-Life and career:...
and Edgar Lansbury
Edgar Lansbury (politician)
Isaac Edgar Lansbury , known as Edgar Lansbury, was a British socialist politician.Lansbury was the son of Labour Party politician George Lansbury. He grew up in Poplar in the East End of London, and joined the Civil Service at a young age...
, a politician and businessman, and the grandson of former Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
leader George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
. He is the younger brother of actress Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
and the twin brother of television producer Bruce Lansbury.
Lansbury's first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, the 1964 Frank D. Gilroy
Frank D. Gilroy
Frank Daniel Gilroy is an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer and director. He received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play The Subject Was Roses in 1965.-Early life:...
play The Subject Was Roses
The Subject Was Roses
The Subject Was Roses is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for film with the same title.- Background :...
, won him the Tony Award for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
. Other Broadway credits include "Promenade (musical)
Promenade (musical)
Promenade is an experimental musical with book and lyrics by María Irene Fornés and music by Rev. Al Carmines. The show itself, although a musical comedy, originally produced off-broadway by Edgar Lansbury & Joseph Beruh, falls more into the category of Theatre of the Absurd...
" 1969-co-produced with Joseph Beruh, The Only Game in Town, Look to the Lilies
Look to the Lilies
Look to the Lilies is a musical with a book by Leonard Spigelgass, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne.Based on the novel and 1963 film Lilies of the Field, it tells the story of an impoverished group of German nuns, headed by dauntless Mother Superior Maria, who coerce on-the-lam African...
, The Magic Show
The Magic Show
The Magic Show is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, it opened in May 1974 at the Cort Theatre and ran for 1,920 performances, closing on December 31, 1978...
, the 1974 revival of Gypsy
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
starring his sister, Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
, American Buffalo
American Buffalo (play)
American Buffalo is a 1975 play by American playwright David Mamet which had its premiere in a showcase production at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago. After two more showcase productions, it opened on Broadway on February 16, 1977...
(which earned him a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
This is a list of winners of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play initially introduced in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre.-1950s:Vernon Rice Award for Best Production...
), and Lennon
Lennon (musical)
Lennon is a musical with music and lyrics by John Lennon and book by Don Scardino, who also directed its premiere. The musical is about the life of John Lennon and was notable for Scardino's choice to be almost exclusively-based on Lennon's own words and to focus on Lennon's solo career, with no...
.
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
Lansbury has produced, among other productions, revivals of Arms and the Man
Arms and the Man
Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid in Latin:"Arma virumque cano" ....
, Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
, and Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
, and the comedy As Bees In Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown is a satirical comedy by Douglas Carter Beane, an American playwright and screenwriter. The first showing of the play was in New York City in June, 1997. Four weeks later it moved to Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village, where it played for a year. It was also a...
, which earned him a second Drama Desk Award nomination.
Lansbury is the recipient of the John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
Award, presented to him by The Acting Company
The Acting Company
The Acting Company is a theatre company associated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1972 by John Houseman, then a professor of acting at the Juilliard School...
to honor his commitment to the development of classical actors and a national audience for the theater.
Lansbury's film credits include The Wild Party
The Wild Party (1975 film)
The Wild Party is a 1975 Merchant Ivory Productions film directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and starring James Coco and Raquel Welch....
, Blue Sunshine
Blue Sunshine (film)
Blue Sunshine is a 1978 horror film directed and written by Jeff Lieberman and starring Zalman King and Deborah Winters. The film has become a cult item among horror fans, remembered mainly for its creatively weird atmosphere and offbeat plot...
, and Squirm
Squirm (film)
Squirm is a 1976 "nature-strikes-back" horror film starring Don Scardino and Patricia Pearcy. It was the debut of cult horror director Jeff Lieberman and remains the director's most popular film. Squirm also features early makeup work from Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker...
and the screen adaptations of The Subject Was Roses
The Subject Was Roses (film)
The Subject Was Roses is a 1968 American drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard. The screenplay by Frank D. Gilroy is based on his 1964 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title.The film stars Patricia Neal, Martin Sheen and Jack Albertson...
and Godspell
Godspell (film)
Godspell, released in 1973, is the film adaptation of the Off-Broadway musical Godspell created by John-Michael Tebelak.Set in modern New York City, the film stars Victor Garber as Jesus and David Haskell as John the Baptist/Judas...
.
Lansbury produced the television series Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue is an American TV series that ran on CBS from May 29, 1967, to September 4, 1967.It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford costarred...
, which was broadcast by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
during the summer of 1967.
Lansbury is the father-in-law of Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy
Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an American film and stage actress, as well as the author of two books. She is best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.-Early life:...
, who is married to his son David.