Dame Maggie Smith : Rest in Peace

Beloved actress Dame Maggie Smith

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbg9TovX38/?igsh=Mjc0aTFxcDkyZnI0

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbVXWRRxnS/?igsh=MWpxbWpjYnU1cWFiZQ==

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbSMB-oK8F/?igsh=c2hzdGQzbGc4NjVl

Iconic Lady. Love her. Will be missed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbO6Wcyxs9/?igsh=MTRva3F0NXA3Mnhsag==

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbj6q0ypTf/?igsh=aTAyNzljbDFiY3Rw

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbD7K8sIE8/?igsh=MWFmN3JsNGo3dzlk

Tea and Boiling water scene

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAbTD54IzQb/?igsh=Mzduajl3djRhNHF3

She's one of my all-time favorite actresses. I've seen 49 of her films/shows and it's still not enough. I thought I would have the rest of her lifetime to see more. Last movie of hers I saw was The Miracle Club with Kathy Bates and Laura Linney.

Woke up this morning and when I saw her image on the news, I was crestfallen because I knew there was only one reason she could be trending. I really hoped we'd have her for at least another decade.

I'm worried about Judi Dench now who was Maggie's best friend and the exact same age. Vanessa Redgrave is also 87 whereas Glenda Jackson also recently passed away. The dames are leaving us one by one :(

Going back to Maggie, one of my all-time favorite films is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, for which she won her first Oscar. While Dame Maggie may no longer be with us, she will forever be in her prime. What an extraordinary role this was for an even more extraordinary actress.

Also l loved her in A Room with a View, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, The Secret Garden, Ladies in Lavender, Gosford Park, My House in Umbria (I think her best TV movie), and Tea with Mussolini. She was the only one worth watching in Washington Square. And from her classic 60s movies, I adore The V.I.P.s and The Honey Pot.

I won't speak about her marvelous legacy as Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter, the role that introduced me to her, because I'm sure others will talk about that instead.

Same with Downton Abbey, a show I watched just for her. She was hilarious but I can understand why as an actress, she felt the role was just a bunch of witty wisecracks and didn't give her anything to do beyond that. Gosford Park was a much better showcase for her talents, as it was more or less the Downton Abbey unofficial prequel, right down to Dame Maggie more or less playing the exact same character. A well-deserved Oscar nomination.

The Downton Abbey movies will be very hard to rewatch in the future now, as seeing Lady Violet Crawley dying and slowly pass away will be a truth rather than fiction. I will need some time.

This is goodbye but hopefully not adieu. She filmed "A German Life" during COVID, where she played Nazi Joseph Goebbels' secretary, a role she first played on stage. I'm hoping the final film will still release sometime soon so we can cherish her presence once more.

OMG I forgot one of my other favorite films with Maggie. Death on the Nile (far superior to the recent version with maybe the most problematic cast of all time) with an all-star cast including Maggie Smith, Bette Davis, and Angela Lansbury, three of the greatest screen legends.

What a shame that Maggie and Angela didn't share any scenes together besides this one panning shot of all three icons in a row (and also a baleful reminder that even Angela Lansbury passed away recently)

But thankfully Bette and Maggie get basically all their scenes together and they're a hoot as mistress and servant. I hope in heaven, Bette will be there to welcome Maggie, even if it's with a cigarette and a wry remark.

May her soul rest in peace

An era has come to an end...

Rest in Peace, Ma'm..

https://x.com/TheDailyHPotter/status/1839673513881358634

Status for her passing