>>> THIS WEEK, WE LOST A LEGEND, ANGELA LANSBURY.

THE ACTRESS BUST BEST KNOWN FOR THE TV SHOW, "MURDER, SHE WROTE," AND SHE ENJOYED A LONG CAREER WHICH TOOK HER TO BROADWAY HITS TO THE ANIMATED FEATURE "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST."

SHE PASSED EIGHT DAYS SHY OF HER 97th BIRTHDAY.

I HAD THE PLEASURE OF INTERVIEWING HER ON THE EVE OF HER 90th BIRTHDAY.

TONIGHT, WE REFER BACK TO THAT INTERVIEW AS WE HONOR A LEGEND.

METRO FOCUS STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪ ♪ >>> THIS IS METRO FOCUS, WITH RAPHAEL RAMON.

METRO FOCUS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- >>> SO YOU CAN CALL HER WHAT YOU WILL, WHETHER IT'S THE MAN-EATING MRS. LOVETT, THE INQUISITIVE JESSICA FLETCHER, OR THE DELICIOUS AND DELIGHTFUL MRS. POTTS FROM BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

THERE ARE OVER 100 NAMES YOU CAN APPLY TO DAME ANGELA LISTENS BURY, AND YOU WOULD BE CORRECT.

DAME ANGELA HAS BEEN A STAR OF THE SILVER SCREEN, PERFORMS ON THE WORLD'S GREATEST STAGES AND ENTERTAINED AUDIENCES.

FEWER ACTRESSES HAVE HAD THE POWER AND STAYING QUALITY THAN THIS ACTOR.

AN ADOPTED NEW YORKER WHO HAS GRACED ALMOST EVERY BROADWAY STAGE AND HAS BEEN IN EACH ONE OF OUR LIVING ROOMS BY THE TV AND INTERNET.

IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE ANGELA LANSBURY ON THE EVE OF HER 90th BIRTHDAY.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND WELCOME TO YOU.

>> WELL, THANK YOU.

WHAT A LOVELY INTRODUCTION.

THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

FIRST THING I WANT TO ASK YOU IS THIS.

YOU'VE RECEIVED SO MANY HONORS.

I'M CURIOUS WHAT YOUR REACTION WAS WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THAT QUEEN ELIZABETH WAS GOING TO HONOR YOU AND YOU WOULD BECOME DAME ANGELA LANSBURY.

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

>> I WAS ABSOLUTELY FLABBERGASTED.

LET ME TELL YOU.

I NEVER EXPECTED THAT.

IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT THIS MIGHT HAPPEN.

SO BELIEVE ME, I WAS, AS THEY SAY, BLOWN AWAY AT THAT POINT.

>> WHAT HAPPENS THEN?

IS THAT -- WHEN YOU SAID DAME ANGELA LANSBURY, SO NOW DO YOU USE THAT TITLE?

>> IT'S AN HONOR.

TRUTHFULLY.

IN BRITAIN, THEY WOULD TEND TO USE IT IF THEY WERE REFERRING TO YOU, THEY WOULD REFER TO YOU AS DAME ANGELA LANSBURY.

I CERTAINLY DON'T USE IT IN MY ADOPTED HOME, WHICH IS THE USA.

BUT THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN THE KNOW ARE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT INDEED I HAVE THAT TITLE.

>> I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS FUN TO SAY, TO SAY DAME ANGELA LANSBURY.

>> IT IS FUN.

I'M A DAME.

>> IT'S NO FRANK SINATRA TERMINOLOGY.

A DAME.

>> I KIND OF THE PUT THE TWO TOGETHER IN A FUNNY WAY BECAUSE ONE WOULD ALWAYS WANT TO BE A GOOD DAME IN THE U.S. YOU KNOW, SHE'S A NICE DAME.

>> IT'S A DELIGHTFUL TITLE.

LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS MARVELOUS CAREER YOU'VE HAD.

I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING.

YOUR MOTHER WAS A VERY ACCOMPLISHED ACTRESS.

SHE HAD A GREAT DEAL OF EXPERIENCE ON THE STAGE.

SO WERE YOU THAT YOUNG GIRL GROWING UP WHO LOOKED AT YOUR MOM AND SAID, I WANT TO DO THAT, I WANT TO BE THAT.

DID IT START THAT EARLY FOR YOU?

>> I WISH I COULD SAY THAT WAS THE CASE.

IT WAS NOT.

IT REALLY WASN'T BECAUSE MY MOTHER WAS A GREAT MOM.

YOU KNOW, AND SHE DIDN'T ALLOW HER THEATRICAL LIFE TO INTERFERE WITH HER FAMILY LIFE.

AND SO I, AS A KID, REALLY WAS HARDLY AWARE THAT SHE HAD BEEN THIS GREAT, GREAT ACTRESS.

ALTHOUGH, WHEN I WAS A TINY BABY, APPARENTLY, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME BACKSTAGE.

I DON'T REMEMBER THAT.

OBVIOUSLY I DID.

STARS ME GOING -- OBVIOUSLY, I TOOK FOOTSTEPS IN GOING INTO THEATER.

NO.

THE FACT THAT I BECAME AN ACTRESS IS A MYSTERY TO ME EXCEPT THAT MY SISTER WHO WAS ALSO AN ACTRESS AND JUST A TERRIFIC PERSON SORT OF TOOK ME ALONG WITH HER.

AND SHE WAS VERY AMBITIOUS.

SHE WANTED TO BE AN ACTRESS.

MY MOTHER NEVER PUSHED EITHER HER OR ME.

AND THEREFORE, BY BECOMING AN ACTRESS WAS REALLY DUE TO MY SISTER'S INFLUENCE WHICH IS AS ANYTHING.

WE USED TO PUT ON SHOWS, THE OLD ROUTINE WHERE YOU PUT ON A SHOW AT CHRISTMAS TIME TO ENTERTAIN YOUR GRANDMOTHER AND ALL YOUR RELATIVES WHO ARE SITTING AROUND.

AND IF YOU MAKE THEM LAUGH, YOU THINK, OH, GOSH, YOU KNOW.

SO I WAS KIND OF INTERESTED.

I DID IMITATIONS OF PEOPLE AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.

BECOMING AN ACTRESS WAS SOMETHING I JUST DRIFTED INTO.

MY MOTHER, BLESS HER, SHE R RECOGNIZED THE FACT THAT I HAD THIS LITTLE TALENT TO AMUSE.

BETWEEN THE LOT OF US, SHE PUSHED ME -- SHE DIDN'T PUSH ME -- SHE JUST ALLOWED ME TO BE TRAINED, AND THAT'S -- AND ALSO WORLD WAR II HAD A GREAT DEAL TO DO WITH ME STARTING AT SUCH AN EARLY AGE.

I MEAN, I LEFT SCHOOL WHEN I WAS 12.

>> WHY IS THAT?

>> BECAUSE MY SCHOOL I ATTENDED IN LONDON WAS SENT OUT OF THE CITY, AND IT WAS A QUESTION OF ME EITHER GOING AND BECOMING A BOARDER IN THIS FAR DISTANT PLACE AT MY SCHOOL OR STAYING IN LONDON, HAVING LESSONS IN THE HOUSE, AND THEN TAKING CLASSES IN DANCING AND SINGING AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT GO WITH BECOMING AN ACTRESS, WHICH MY MOTHER ENCOURAGED ME TO DO.

AND I ALLOWED MYSELF TO BE PUSHED ALONG.

I REALLY WAS LIKE A LOOSE CANNON IN THOSE DAYS.

BUT THANK GOD I HAD A TALENT.

I HAD A TALENT.

IT WAS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.

AND IT'S GOTTEN ME UP ALL THESE YEARS.

>> MOST PEOPLE WILL POINT TO YOUR FIRST BIG SUCCESS AS YOUR ROLE IN "GASLIGHT" IT WAS ACTUALLY A REMAKE OF A BRITISH FILM A FEW YEARS BEFORE.

YOU WERE ONLY 17 YEARS OLD.

YOU HAD TRAINED AS A STAGE ACTRESS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'RE IN A FILM AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

>> IT WAS A FLUKE I WAS TAKEN TO MGM AND INTRODUCED TO THE CASTING DIRECTOR.

MY MOTHER HAD TO GO WITH ME BECAUSE I WAS UNDERAGE.

SO I WAS INTRODUCED TO THE DIRECTOR AND ALSO THE WRITER, AND MY MOTHER HAD TO GO WITH ME.

IT TURNED OUT THAT MY MOTHER KNEW THE WRITER, WHO WAS A VERY FAMOUS WRITER.

I CAN'T THINK OF HIS NAME RIGHT NOW.

BUT NEVERTHELESS, IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT INTRODUCTION, REALLY, WHO SERIOUSLY LOOKED AT ME AND THOUGHT, THIS GIRL IS MUCH TOO YOUNG.

HE WAS INTERESTED, AND HE THOUGHT, WELL, I'LL MAKE A TEST OF HER, SO HE DID.

HE SENT ME HOME WITH A SCRIPT.

I CAME BACK A WEEK LATER AND I READ THE SCRIPT, READ THE PART, READ NANCY.

IT WAS DUE TO THAT -- I THINK HE ALWAYS THOUGHT I WAS TOO YOUNG.

NEVERTHELESS, IT WORKED OUT 100% OKAY.

I GOT THE TEST.

>> YOU GOT THE TEST, YOU GOT THE PART.

YOU GOT AN ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION FOR YOUR ROLE.

>> CRAZY, REALLY CRAZY HONESTLY.

>> DID YOU THINK, AT THAT POINT -- HERE YOU ARE EMBARKING ON A CAREER, YOU'RE ONLY 17 YEARS OLD, 18 YEARS OLD.

DID YOU SAY TO YOURSELF, THIS SEEMS PRETTY EASY.

THERE'S NO STRUGGLING ACTRESS GOING ON HERE.

I WALK IN HERE, I GET THE PART, MY FIRST ROLE, A NOMINATION.

DID YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY?

>> NOT AT ALL.

IT WAS A HUGE HONOR TO BE IN THAT MOVIE, AND I RECOGNIZED THAT.

I KNEW THAT I WAS WORKING WITH THIS GREAT ACTRESS.

INGRID BURTON, THIS DELIGHTFUL MAN, MOST ATTRACTIVE, CHARMING, CAREFUL.

THE TWO OF THEM WERE SO INDULGING OF ME.

THEY REALLY WERE, WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT.

JOE COTTON, SAME THING.

THESE WERE GREAT ACTORS OF THEIR TIME.

FOR ME AS A YOUNG KID, BELIEVE YOU ME, I WAS WELL AWARE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION I FOUND MYSELF IN.

AND I WAS VERY ANXIOUS TO DO WELL.

I REALLY WORKED VERY, VERY HARD.

AND CONSEQUENTLY, FROM THAT, I WENT INTO OTHER THINGS AS YOU KNOW.

SOME OF THEM WEREN'T THE RIGHT THINGS AT ALL, AND I WAS SORT OF MESSED AROUND WITH AT MGM ACTUALLY.

>> LET ME TALK ABOUT THAT.

BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT SYSTEM WAS BACK THEN.

THE NOTION OF THE CONTRACT PLAYER WITH THE PROGRAM.

I SEE YOU'VE DESCRIBED YOUR CAREER AS SORT OF THREE BRACKETS.

YOU TALKED ABOUT MGM, THEATER, AND MUSICAL THEATER.

TALK ABOUT THAT TIME YOU SPENT WITH MGM AND THAT NOTION OF A CONTRACT PLAYER AND THE CONTROL BASICALLY THAT THEY HAD OVER YOUR LIFE.

>> THEY HAD A VERY, VERY STRICT REGIMEN THERE THAT YOU WORKED, YOU WERE EMPLOYED, HOW IS IT, 52 WEEKS OF THE YEAR.

AND YOU EARNED THE MONEY THAT YOU MADE.

SO THEY USED YOU ALMOST IN A UTILITY WAY AND NEVER -- >> SO YOU'RE SORT OF AN EMPLOYEE OF MGM?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

WE ALL WERE.

SOME OF THE MUSICAL KIDS, THEY HAD MORE FUN BECAUSE THERE WERE GREAT MANY MUSICALS, IF YOU REMEMBER, IN THOSE DAYS.

AND I FOUND MYSELF PUT INTO ONE OF THOSE, WHICH WAS THE HARDY GIRLS WITH JUDY GARLAND.

THEREFORE, AGAIN, I FOUND MYSELF HAVING TO SING, ALTHOUGH, THEY DIDN'T USE MY VOICE BECAUSE I WAS PLAYING THIS 40-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, PROBABLY.

YOU KNOW, EM, WHO WAS THE MAIN GIRL OF THE NAUGHTY ONES.

[ LAUGHTER ] >> YOU SAY THAT WITH SUCH LOVELY, THE NAUGHTY ONES.

SOUNDS LOVELY COMING FROM YOU.

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, OH, YOU, KID.

I HAD TO LEARN TO DO ALL THAT.

YOU KNOW, BUT I WAS GOOD AT COPYING.

IF I SAW SOMETHING, THEN I WOULD LEARN TO COPY IT.

AND THAT IS -- THAT STOOD ME IN GOOD STATE ALL THESE MANY YEARS TO DO A TAKEOFF OF OTHER PEOPLE AND HOW THEY ACT AND SO ON.

THAT'S WHAT ACTING IS, ISN'T IT?

REALLY.

>> DOING SOME RESEARCH, I SAW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU TELL ASPIRING ACTORS AND ACTRESSES -- AND IN SOME WAYS THIS KOUNDS COUNTERINTUITIVE TO ME, BUT I THINK I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

YOU TELL THEM, LEAVE WHO YOU ARE AT HOME, AND SHOW UP AND DO WHATEVER THE ROLE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IS.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> AND I GUESS SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY, WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT?

WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE WHO YOU ARE AT HOME?

WHAT'S THE VALUE TO THAT AS AN ACTOR?

>> WELL, I FEEL IF I BRING ALONG ALL OF THE STUFF THAT IS PART OF MY LIFE AND MY DAYS AND MY EXPERIENCE, HOW CAN I ABSORB WHAT I BELIEVE MAKES UP THIS INDIVIDUAL THAT I'M GOING TO BE ASKED TO PLAY.

I WANT TO BE ABLE TO FILL ALL OF THOSE CAVITIES IN ME WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF THAT PERSON THAT I'M GOING TO BE ON STAGE OR ON THE SCREEN.

AND IF I ALLOW MY EXPERIENCE TO ENCROACH UPON THAT CHARACTER'S LIFE AND EXPERIENCE, I'M PUTTING A STUMBLING BLOCK, AND IT WILL PREVENT ME FROM ALLOWING MYSELF TO BECOME SOMETHING THAT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE INDIVIDUAL THAT I AM AS A PERSON.

AND THEREFORE, I SAY, DON'T BE SELF CONSCIOUS.

YOU WILL BE SELF CONSCIOUS IF YOU BRING YOURSELF INTO THE MIX.

AND TO BECOME SOMEBODY TOTALLY DIFFERENT, YOU HAVE TO LEAVE YOURSELF OUT OF THE MIX.

>> GOOD ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ACTORS AND ACTRESSES.

>> IT'S A LITTLE COMPLEX WHAT I'M SAYING, BUT I THINK AN ACTOR WOULD UNDERSTAND.

>> SO YOU SPENT ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AT MGM AS A CONTRACT PLAYER AND TAKING ALL OF THOSE ROLES, THAT BASICALLY YOU WERE TOLD TO TAKE.

YOU WERE TRAINED AS A STAGE ACTRESS.

THEN AFTER MGM, YOU SORT OF GOT TO GET YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE ON STAGE.

TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE EARLY ROLES THERE AND THE ONES THAT YOU MOST ENJOYED ON STAGE.

>> I HAD NO THEATER EXPERIENCE AT ALL BECAUSE I CAME STRAIGHT OUT OF DRAMA SCHOOL AND WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE MOVIES.

AND IT WASN'T UNTIL I WAS ASKED TO COME TO BROADWAY IN 1957 TO APPEAR ON STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE ON STAGE IN A PLAY CALLED "HOTEL PARADISO", WHICH IT REQUIRED ME TO PLAY THIS KIND OF HEDGE WOMAN, NOT WITH AN ACCENT INCIDENTALLY.

BUT NEVERTHELESS, THIS IS A COSTUME PIECE TO PLAY A WOMAN MUCH OLDER THAN MYSELF AGAIN.

AND THIS IS MY FIRST STAGE APPEARANCE.

>> THAT'S FASCINATING TO THINK OF.

GIVE ALL WORK YOU'VE DONE, THAT THE FIRST TIME YOU APPEARED ON STAGE WAS IN BROADWAY.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> MIGHT AS WELL START AT THE TOP, HUH?

>> YEAH, WELL.

THAT'S THEATER.

>> WAS THAT DAUNTING FOR YOU?

YOU TRAINED, BUT HADN'T BEEN ON STAGE.

EIGHT YEARS IN FRONT OF A CAMERA DOING FILMS, MOVIES, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU SHOWED UP ON BROADWAY.

HOW DAUNTING WAS THAT?

>> IT WAS DAUNTING, IT WAS CHALLENGING, I WAS PUSHED WAY BEYOND WHAT I HAD EXPERIENCED OR BEEN ABLE TO DO UP UNTIL THAT POINT.

THE DIRECTOR SAID, WE'VE GOT TO BRING YOUR VOICE DOWN.

YOUR VOICE IS TOO HIGH.

YOU NEED TO HAVE A MUCH MORE STUFF IN YOUR VOICE.

SO I DID.

I WORKED ON THAT, AND IT WAS A COSTUME PLAY.

IT REQUIRED ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT I HADN'T REALLY -- WELL, I HAD IN MOVIES, BUT MOVIES ARE DIFFERENT.

MY GOODNESS.

IT'S ALL MAKE BELIEVE IN MOVIES.

ON STAGE IT'S DIFFERENT.

YOU'VE GOT TO ENTERTAIN THAT AUDIENCE.

YOU'VE GOT TO SHUT UP WHEN BURT IS MAKING A FUNNY MOE AS WE SAY, WORD.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD.

THE THEATER, OH, I LOVE THE THEATER.

I MEAN, I WOULD RATHER BE IN THEATER THAN ANYWHERE.

IT'S THE BEST.

WHY?

BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT AN AUDIENCE RIGHT THERE, SITTING RIGHT ALONG THE FRONT ROW.

THEY'RE WITH YOU.

>> IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE EVEN TODAY, WE'LL SEE SO MANY HOLLYWOOD ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WHEN HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE SO MANY OF THEM SAY, YES, BUT I WANT TO BE ON STAGE.

I WANT TO BE IN THE THEATER.

IT'S ALMOST AS IF IT'S A VALIDATION THAT IF YOU'RE REALLY AN ACTOR THAT YOU'VE GOT TO BE ON STAGE.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?

>> CERTAINLY.

YOU'VE GOT TO HOLD AN AUDIENCE WRAPPED.

YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP THEIR ATTENTION.

YOU'VE GOT TO WORK AS A CHARACTER FOR A SPACE OF THREE HOURS, MAYBE, TWO 1/2 HOURS, WHATEVER.

AND IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.

AND I DO UNDERSTAND.

MANY MOVIE ACTRESSES AND ACTORS, PARTICULARLY ACTORS, I THINK, ARE FINDING THEY HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN TESTED UNTIL THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE, AND THEY'VE GOT TO KEEP THAT AUDIENCE INVOLVED AND LISTENING.

>> THEN YOU HAD THE NEXT SORT OF TRANSITION IN YOUR CAREER INTO MUSICAL THEATER.

NOW, WHEN YOU WERE IN DRAMA SCHOOL, DID YOU EVER ANTICIPATE DOING MUSICAL THEATER?

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU EVER WANTED TO DO?

>> NO, NEVER OCCURRED TO ME.

>> HOW DID THAT HAPPEN THEN THAT YOU END UP BEING SUCH A BIG STAR IN MUSICAL THEATER?

>> I HAD A VOICE, I DID HAVE A VOICE.

ALTHOUGH, NOBODY REALLY STILL LISTENED OR THOUGHT ABOUT IT PARTICULARLY.

NEVERTHELESS, I DID.

THERE'S SO MUCH HISTORY WE'RE GLASSING OVER HERE.

I MUST TELL YOU THAT WHILE I'M AT MGM, I GOT TO TALK AND TO LISTEN AND TO WORK WITH SOME OF THE BEST MUSICAL TALENTED AT MGM.

PEOPLE LIKE THAT.

THE GREAT WOMAN.

KAY THOMPSON.

I WENT AND LISTENED TO THEM.

I WENT TO THE ORCHESTRA REHEARSALS.

I WAS AROUND WHEN THESE GREAT, GREAT MGM MUSICALS WERE BEING MADE.

GENE KELLY, FRANK SINATRA, THEY WERE ALL WORKING AT THAT TIME.

WHAT AN EDUCATION FOR A KID.

I WAS RIGHT THERE AND I WAS LISTENING AND NOTING AND PICKING UP, ABSORBING -- I WAS LIKE A SPONGE, NOT IN A STUPID WAY, BUT I JUST WAS THERE.

I THOUGHT, THIS WAS WONDERFUL, I LOVED THIS.

I LOVED MUSICALS.

I LOVED MUSICAL THEATER.

SO WHEN I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO INTO MUSICAL THEATER, I GRABBED AT THE OPPORTUNITY.

I REALLY DID.

AND I NEVER REGRETTED IT FOR A MINUTE.

>> OFTEN TIMES, THIS QUESTION, I'M SURE IT'S BEEN POSED TO YOU BEFORE.

AND SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO ANSWER.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE WHEN YOU SAY TO SOMEONE, WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE CHILD.

BUT WITH ALL YOU'VE DONE, DO YOU HAVE A VENUE THAT YOU PREFER A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE OTHERS?

>> YEAH, THEATER.

ABSOLUTELY.

THEATER HAS FILLED MY LIFE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS, AND I'M EXTRAORDINARILY GRATEFUL TO HAVE HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY GET INTO IT AGAIN.

I MEAN, MY CAREER IS SO COMPARTMENTALIZED.

LET'S FACE IT.

IT STARTED WITH MOVIES.

IT WENT TO THEATER, WENT BACK TO MOVIES.

AND THEN SUDDENLY, I FELT LIKE A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, YOU KNOW.

I REALLY WAS.

I FILLED ALL THOSE EARLY YEARS OF A LIFE IN THE THEATER AND THE MOVIES WITH SOME RATHER MEDIOCRE FILMS AND MOVIES.

SOME GOOD, SOME NOT.

I KNEW THAT.

A COUPLE OF THE BEST WERE THE ANIMATED MOVIES, ODDLY ENOUGH.

BED KNOBS AND BROOM STICKS WAS A HUGE BREAK THROUGH FOR ME.

THANK GOD I DID IT WHEN I DID, 1970, I THINK IT WAS.

>> YOU MENTIONED HOW YOUR LIFE HAD BEEN COMPARTMENTALIZED, AND THEN YOU GOT INTO TELEVISION.

AND "MURDER, SHE WROTE" BECOMES AN ICONIC FIGURE.

MY LIFE AND I HAVE WATCHED EVERY EPISODE OF IT WHEN IT WAS AIRING BACK THEN.

MY DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND, SHE'S 33, THEY'VE EVEN EVERY EPISODE OF IT.

SO IT'S BECOME GENERATIONAL, THE SUCCESS AND INTEREST.

"MURDER, SHE WROTE," WHEN YOU FIRST GOT THAT SCRIPT AND TOOK A LOOK AT IT, DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SUCCESSFUL THAT SHOW WAS GOING TO BE?

>> ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I KNEW IT WAS PRETTY IFFY.

THIS WAS SOMETHING I NEVER ATTEMPTED.

I WANT TO REMIND MYSELF, AND I'VE REMINDED MYSELF AND I'M REMINDING YOU AND THE AUDIENCE THAT I WAS 59 WHEN I STARTED "MURDER, SHE WROTE."

I MEAN, I HAD A FULL TILT OF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND HAD FINISHED OFF WITH THE DEMON BOBBER POLICE TREE, SWEENEY TODD.

I HAD JUST FINISHED SWEENEY TODD, AND I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO GO TO TELEVISION BECAUSE I NEEDED AN ANNUITY.

I HAD TO MAKE SOME MONEY.

I'M KIDDING YOU.

IT WASN'T THAT BAD.

NEVERTHELESS, WE MADE A CONCERTED DECISION, MY HUSBAND AND I.

WE SAID, IT'S TIME TO GO TO TELEVISION.

IT'S TIME TO DO IT.

AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED LISTENING AND READING SCRIPTS AND GOING TO VARIOUS WRITERS, PRODUCERS, AND SO ON.

THAT'S WHEN "MURDER, SHE WROTE" WAS ON THE HORIZON.

>> WILL PEOPLE COME UP TO YOU ON THE STREET EVEN TODAY AND CALL YOU JESSICA?

>> OH, YEAH.

I'M JESSICA.

>> HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT?

>> I SAY, I'M JESSICA.

>> AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING AND REMEMBERING ME.

>> OH, MY GOODNESS, YES.

AND IT'S VERY EXCITING TODAY TO FIND PEOPLE AND YOUNG PEOPLE WATCHING IT AGAIN, YOU KNOW.

>> YOU ARE RECEIVING AN AWARD IN NOVEMBER.

IT'S FROM THE YORK THEATER COMPANY.

IT'S THE 2015 OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND MUSIC AWARD.

THIS AWARD IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE ITS PURPOSE IS TO FOSTER NEW BROADWAY AND TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF BROADWAY, THOSE GREAT OLDER SHOWS THERE.

SO IT'S VERY DIFFERENT.

DOES THAT MAKE THIS AWARD MORE MEANINGFUL TO YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT THEIR FUNCTION AND PURPOSE IS?

>> VERY MUCH SO.

AFTER ALL, AS THE YEARS GO BY, WE'VE ALL SEEN SO MANY MUSICALS.

SO ANYTHING NEW, ORIGINAL, INNOVATIVE, AND MARVELOUS, IS GOING TO BE GIVEN A HEARING AT A COMPANY LIKE THE YORK THEATER COMPANY.

AND THE FACT THAT THEY WILL GIVE AN AUTHOR, A COMPOSER AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE HIS WORK SEEN AND PUT UP THE MONEY SO A CAST CAN BE BROUGHT IN AND THE SHOW IS SHOWN TO AN AUDIENCE, THIS IS A TREMENDOUS THING.

AND I THINK THAT -- I'M VERY PROUD INDEED TO BE HONORED BY THEM.

I HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A WOMAN WHO STARTED THE YORK THEATER COMPANY, AND ISN'T IT AWFUL, I HAVEN'T GOT HER NAME IN MY HEAD AT THE MOMENT.

BUT SHE DIED, BLESS HER HEART, BUT SHE WAS RESPONSIBLE.

SHE WAS IN A MUSICAL, MY FIRST MUSICAL THAT I DID, WHICH WAS CALLED "ANYONE CAN WHISTLE."

SHE HAD A ROLE IN THAT.

SO THERE'S A TIE-IN BETWEEN HER AND ME AND THAT PARTICULAR PRODUCTION, WHICH WAS MY FIRST MUSICAL, AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT MUSICAL THAT I GOT "MAIM" AND SUDDENLY I HAD THIS BIG BROADWAY CAREER AS A SINGER AND DANCER AND CARRIER ONNER.

SO I FEEL VERY INDEBTED TO HER.

>> NICE CLOSING OF THE CIRCLE FOR YOU.

>> IT IS A NICE CLOSING OF THE CIRCLE, ABSOLUTELY.

>> BEFORE WE LET YOU LEAVE, WE HAVE SOMETHING WE WANT TO PRESENT TO YOU HERE IN HONOR OF THIS UPCOMING BIRTHDAY, DOMINIC HERE HAS -- >> OH!

OH, ISN'T THAT -- >> A HAPPY 90th TO YOU FROM NOT ONLY ALL OF US HERE BUT ALL YOUR FANS OUT THERE.

>> HOW LOVELY.

>> THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM.

IT'S BEEN A DELIGHT TO CHAT WITH YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> IT'S BEEN SUCH A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU, JACK.

HONESTLY.

>>> METRO FOCUS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY --