How Angela Lansbury Saved Her Daughter From Charles Manson

Lansbury and her family were living in Malibu.

In the 1950s, Lansbury welcomed two children, Deidre and Anthony Shaw, with her husband, Peter Shaw. As Lansbury explained to the Daily Mail, the family lived in Malibu, California.

"My career was important to me but our children, Anthony and Deidre, always came first," she said, before adding, "'Well, I say that but I might be shooting a film in Paris for 12 weeks while Peter held the fort back in Malibu. And that was less than ideal. But in those days all women who could afford it had somebody to help take care of their children. As soon as I had the babies I went on a diet and I was back in business. I do regret that. It was a big mistake. You have to be with your children."

Deidre became involved with Manson.

Lansbury explained that both Deidre and Anthony started doing drugs as teenagers. "'It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin," she told the Daily Mail. Deidre was also hanging around with Manson and his followers.

"There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits," the Manchurian Candidate star said. "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."

Manson was using her for her family's money.

Manson biographer Jeff Guinn spoke to People in 2017 about the cult leader's connection to Hollywood stars and their children. He said that Deidre "never formally joined" the Manson Family, but that she “was one of a number of impressionable young people who had her parents’ credit cards, and what they would do is they would pick up these kids after school and then they would head off [to shop].” According to Guinn, Deidre's connection to the group ended when her credit card was cut off, long before the 1969 murder spree his followers carried out for him.

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Lansbury knew she had to do something.

Lansbury realized that she had to do something to change the path her children were on. So, the family moved very far away: to Ireland.

"I said to Peter, 'We have to leave.' So we upped sticks and moved the family to a house I found in County Cork," Lansbury said. "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. I still have a house there which I try and visit at least once a year."

Lansbury took time off of work to be around her kids in their new home. "I refused all work for a year and simply kept house. I bought [cookbook author] Elizabeth David's books and learnt how to cook properly. It was a wonderful time in my life."

Her plan worked.

Lansbury said that moving to Ireland helped her children to straighten up their lives.

"Anthony pulled right out of his bad habits quite quickly," she shared. "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."

Today, Deidre is 69, and Anthony is 70. Anthony is a retired TV director, who primarily worked on his mother's show, Murder, She Wrote.