It's an awards mystery worthy of TV's Jessica Fletcher! And Angela Lansbury finally gets to the bottom of it! On the eve of this Sunday's Tony Awards where she competes as best actress in "Deuce," Lansbury invited The Envelope to her Manhattan home to discuss the oddity of how she may soon become the Tonys' biggest winner while remaining the Emmys' biggest loser.

"It's a big joke among insiders — It's a huge joke!" she roars with good humor. "I think there certainly is a bit of irony there. It sort of says to me, 'You belong in the theater, kiddo!'"

But she adds, seriously, too, "I understood" why the snubs occurred at the Emmys, which is a juried award that pitted her formula TV detective series against "great dramatic shows" like "Picket Fences" and "China Beach" that "gave those actresses wonderful opportunities to play complex, difficult roles."

She also shares intimate memories about Tony Awards, which she's won four times and hosted more often than anyone else.

"The Tony I got for 'Mame' was not a big deal at all," she recalls about her first victory in 1966. "We just went and had dinner in a big hotel. We all got our Tonys sitting around a table and going up to a small podium. It was very low key. Of course, the next time it got a little bit more exotic. Then in 1987, '88 and '89 I was hosting the Tonys and suddenly it was huge! Everybody was excited. We got all dressed up and there was a red carpet. It was great! It was a whole big affair! I've experienced many different kinds of Tonys."

Watch the videos -- in two parts (total length is 13 minutes)

PART ONE: CLICK HERE to Download Windows Media Version

PART ONE: CLICK HERE to Download Quicktime Version

PART TWO: CLICK HERE to Download Windows Media Version

PART TWO: CLICK HERE to Download Quicktime Version

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(Camerawork by Nick Burghelea)