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Her daughter was briefly in Manson's cult.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Oct 12, 2022
Following the death of actress Angela Lansbury, a resurfaced interview reveals Lansbury's bizarre connection with late cult leader Charles Manson.
In a 2014 interview with MailOnline, via The Independent, Lansbury shared an incident that ended with her freeing her daughter from the clutches of Manson, the notorious serial killer, who conspired to murder Sharon Tate and six others in 1969.
How Angela Lansbury saved her teen daughter, Deidre, from Charles Manson.
In the interview, Lansbury detailed how her daughter, Deidre, now 69, became "fascinated" by Manson and fell under his spell following Deidre's involvement with drugs as a young teen.
“It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin. There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits,” Lansbury said.
The "Murder, She Wrote" actress said she began noticing changes in Deidre and her son, Anthony, while they were "barely teenagers."
It wasn't long before Angela Lansbury and her husband, Peter Shaw, realized they needed to help their children.
The parents started to notice bizarre behavior from the children, and they quickly realized they needed to step in and help.
“It pains me to say it but, at one stage, Deidre was in with a crowd led by Charles Manson," she said. "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.”
In the 2013 book "Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson," Deidre had been stealing from Lansbury, including taking her credit cards, which Manson would use when he took the young girl on shopping excursions around Los Angeles.
Manson even picked up Deidre from school on multiple occasions.
While Manson hadn't been labeled as a killer at the time, he was actively starting to gather people for his cult, "The Manson Family."
Lansbury noted that there were "factions in the hills dedicated to deadly pursuits," and Deidre was beginning to associate with the group of people that were being led by Manson himself.
Angela Lansbury decided to act fast to find a solution.
After discovering that Deidre was falling into Manson's dangerous world, the actress and her husband decided to move their entire family out of Los Angeles for good.
“We upped sticks and moved the family to a house I found in County Cork,” Lansbury said of the move to Ireland.
“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. So I refused all work for a year and simply kept house.”
After Lansbury moved her daughter away from Manson, she revealed that "it took Deidre a little longer" to break her bad habits.
"She finally got married and she and her husband now live in Los Angeles, where they run their own Italian restaurant," Lansbury concluded.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.