Angela Lansbury’s First Marriage Ended Almost As Soon As It Began
Long before Angela Lansbury became television’s sharpest amateur sleuth, she faced a personal mystery she never saw coming. At 19, she married 35-year-old actor Richard Cromwell. Nine months later, he abruptly left, but Lansbury never regretted the experience.
Her Childhood Was Marked By Loss
Angela Brigid Lansbury was born in London on October 16, 1925. Her father, wealthy English timber merchant and politician Edgar Lansbury, died when she was nine, leaving her mother to raise four children. Angela later described his death as a defining event in her early life.
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Acting Already Ran In The Family
Lansbury’s mother, Moyna Macgill, was an Irish-born stage and film actress. Angela studied at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art in London. Her mother’s example helped make performing feel like a realistic career rather than a distant fantasy.
War Drove The Family Across The Atlantic
As World War II threatened Britain, Moyna took Angela and her brothers to North America. Angela continued studying drama in New York before the family eventually settled in Los Angeles. The move placed her within reach of the Hollywood studio system.
Hollywood Noticed Her Almost Immediately
Director George Cukor helped Lansbury secure the role of Nancy, the calculating maid in the 1944 thriller Gaslight. She held her own opposite established stars Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. The performance earned Lansbury an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Screenshot from Gaslight, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (1944)
A Second Nomination Quickly Followed
Lansbury next played the tragic Sibyl Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The 1945 film brought her a Golden Globe and another Academy Award nomination. She had become a two-time Oscar nominee before turning 20.
Screenshot from The Picture of Dorian Gray, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (1945)
MGM Saw Her Differently Than Audiences Did
MGM signed Lansbury to a seven-year contract, but the studio struggled to develop her as a conventional young leading lady. She was frequently assigned sophisticated, troubled, or older characters. Away from the camera, however, the inexperienced young actress was about to fall for a former Hollywood leading man.
Richard Cromwell Had Known Earlier Stardom
Born LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh in 1910, Richard Cromwell entered films near the beginning of the sound era. He landed his breakthrough role in the 1930 drama Tol’able David. His youthful appearance quickly made him a recognizable leading man.
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His Career Included Major Productions
Cromwell appeared in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer with Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone. He later acted in Jezebel and John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln. By the time he met Lansbury, however, his most prominent screen years were behind him.
Screenshot from Young Mr. Lincoln, 20th Century Fox (1939)
Lansbury Found Him Irresistibly Attractive
Lansbury later remembered Cromwell as a fascinating and attractive man. He was experienced, artistic, and considerably older than she was. For a teenager suddenly navigating Hollywood, his attention must have felt enormously flattering.
Their Age Difference Was Significant
Cromwell was 35 when he and the 19-year-old Lansbury married. The 16-year gap placed them at very different stages of life and career. Lansbury later acknowledged that she had simply been too young to understand the decision she was making.
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They Married In September 1945
Lansbury and Cromwell married in a small civil ceremony on September 27, 1945. The wedding came during an extraordinary period in her career, shortly after the release of The Picture of Dorian Gray. From the outside, they appeared to be two successful actors beginning a glamorous Hollywood marriage.
John Springer Collection, Getty Images
Domestic Life Did Not Create Stability
The newlyweds shared a home, but marriage did not produce the closeness Lansbury expected. Cromwell was reportedly unsettled and increasingly unable to continue the relationship. Lansbury did not yet understand the deeper reason for his discomfort.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
Even Tea Became A Point Of Friction
Their differences also surfaced in ordinary domestic routines. Cromwell later complained that Lansbury left tea bags around the house and sometimes got up during the night to make tea. It was a surprisingly mundane glimpse into a marriage that was quietly coming apart.
Cromwell Left With A Note
The marriage ended with startling suddenness. Lansbury returned home one day to discover that Cromwell had left and placed a note for her in the house. According to her later recollection, he told her he was sorry but could not continue.
The Real Reason Remained Private
Neither Lansbury nor Cromwell publicly explained the breakup when their marriage ended. To outsiders, the sudden collapse of the glamorous young couple remained a mystery. Lansbury herself only began to understand what had happened after someone close to Cromwell spoke with her.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
A Friend Explained What Lansbury Had Missed
Lansbury later said that she learned Cromwell was gay after the separation. She maintained that she had no idea about his inclinations when she married him. The revelation finally gave her some understanding of why the relationship had ended.
The Era Offered Few Honest Choices
Cromwell worked during a period when being openly gay could destroy an actor’s career and public standing. Hollywood promoted carefully managed images of its stars, while same-gender relationships remained heavily stigmatized. Lansbury discussed Cromwell’s inclinations without turning his predicament into a scandal.
John Springer Collection, Getty Images
She Refused To Describe Herself As Damaged
Decades later, Lansbury said the experience had not damaged her. She remembered Cromwell as an appealing person and did not express bitterness about his inclinations. Her criticism focused more directly on her own youth and the rushed decision to marry.
She Still Considered It A Valuable Lesson
Lansbury called the marriage a mistake, but she did not wish that it had never happened. She believed the experience taught her something important about herself and relationships. It also gave her a clearer understanding of what she needed from a future partner.
The Divorce Became Official In 1946
Although the marriage had effectively ended after nine months, the legal process continued. Lansbury received her divorce decree on September 11, 1946. She was still only 20 years old when the marriage officially ended.
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They Did Not Become Enemies
Lansbury and Cromwell remained on friendly terms after their divorce. Cromwell also became friendly with the man she eventually married. Their continued connection suggests that Lansbury separated the pain of the breakup from her feelings about Cromwell himself.
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Cromwell Struggled To Rebuild His Career
After the divorce, Cromwell attempted a screen comeback, but Bungalow 13 in 1948 became his final film. He increasingly returned to art, working under his birth name, Roy Radabaugh, and earned attention for his masks and oil portraits. While Lansbury’s career continued climbing, Cromwell quietly built a life beyond Hollywood stardom.
Peter Shaw Entered Her Life Soon Afterward
Lansbury met British actor Peter Shaw in Hollywood, with later accounts describing their first meeting as a blind date. Both were working within the film industry, but their connection quickly extended beyond their careers. Lansbury said they immediately locked together emotionally.
Her Second Marriage Was Entirely Different
Lansbury and Shaw married in London on August 12, 1949. The ceremony took place at St. Columba’s Church, nearly three years after her divorce from Cromwell became final. This time, Lansbury entered marriage with a stronger understanding of partnership.
They Built A Family Together
Shaw had a son, David, from an earlier marriage, and Lansbury embraced him as part of their family. The couple later welcomed a son, Anthony, in 1952 and a daughter, Deirdre, in 1953. Family became one of the central forces in Lansbury’s life.
Shaw Became Her Professional Partner
Peter Shaw moved from acting into talent representation, management, and production. He eventually worked closely with Lansbury and helped establish Corymore Productions. The family company became involved with Murder, She Wrote and several television movies starring Lansbury.
Screenshot from Murder, She Wrote, CBS (1984–1996)
Their Marriage Lasted More Than Five Decades
Lansbury and Shaw remained married until his death in January 2003. Their union lasted 53 years, a striking contrast to her nine-month marriage to Cromwell. Lansbury later described their relationship as a deeply devoted personal and professional partnership.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
One Painful Chapter Did Not Define Her
Lansbury went on to conquer film, Broadway, and television during a career that lasted eight decades. Her first marriage became one early chapter in a life shaped by resilience, work, family, and reinvention. Instead of hiding the experience, she ultimately discussed it with remarkable sympathy and perspective.
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