Murder, She Wrote star Dame Angela Lansbury dies aged 96
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John Waters shared the poignant moment in his 2019 memoir and revisited the anecdote following Angela Lansbury’s death. The Hollywood star left fans heartbroken as she died on October 11 at the age of 96.
The sensational filmmaker recounted his meeting with Dame Angela decades ago in the most bizarre of places.
The Hellfire Club was notorious for its salacious activities and attendees, and has since reportedly closed.
John previously highlighted that Angela was there to simply spend time with friends and not to participate in any scandalous ventures.
Speaking to Page Six following Angela’s death, John shared the significant impact this seemingly trivial meeting had on him and the club.
He said: “It may have been the only night she was ever there, but just her presence made Hellfire a little more welcoming.”
John described Angela as “pure class even forty years ago”, elevating Hellfire’s atmosphere with just her presence.
Angela wasn’t the only famous face to frequent the club, according to John, as he also recalled the likes of Andy Warhol and Truman Capote being spotted at Hellfire.
The 76-year-old reflected on the moment from the eighties in his book Mr Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder.
In the book, he described Hellfire as a “dungeon-like sex club” that catered to “gay and straight perverts alike”.
The original Hairspray director said the club was “all the rage for a while” in the eighties, with some attendees simply “mixing together” alongside “happy sex tourists”.
While promoting the book of essays, the filmmaker shared that spotting Dame Angela “stopped me in my tracks” according to LGBTQ Nation.
He laughingly recalled: “Everybody went. She wasn’t doing anything. Hellfire was a straight gay bar.
“You would be standing there talking about the new novel of Alain Robbe-Grillet, and a (penis) would come through a glory hole and then you just move down.
“It was a bar that you can’t imagine.”
John also noted that he didn’t mention the Hellfire meeting the next time he ran into the Murder, She Wrote star.
Angela tragically died last week, five days before she would have turned 97.
The actress was notorious for her variety of roles from the iconic Murder, She Wrote, to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Her career spanned past Hollywood and into Broadway, where she dominated screens and stages for eight decades.
In recognition of her incredible contributions to the industry, Dame Angela received the Honorary Academy Award in 2013.
John’s book Mr Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder is available to purchase here.
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