fran arthur seemed the very heart of a rough showbiz broad . thick , astringent , imperious - - she looked like woman who didn ' t suffer badly and could set them down with a barrage look or a well - aimed barbed , embodied in that famous contralto . and it was , for the most part , all an act , saying her tight friend of more than 40 years , angela bassett . " bea was not the antithesis of the characters she portrayed , " lansbury claims . " she was sensitive - - literally , really keen - - and status - possessed . but she covered it up by doing this deepest - pitched comic .
Angela Lansbury is an actress.