“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Prime of Miss Maggie Smith…
Manny P. here… 
“`Dame Margaret Natalie Smith was a personal favorite actress of mine. I loved her in great cinema, such as in The V. I. P.’s, Death on the Nile, A Room with a View, Gosford Park, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and her Oscar-winning turn in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I fancied her comedies, such as Sister Act, Quartet and particularly, Murder by Death. I watched her on television each week on Downtown Abbey and I never missed an episode. I even supported her exemplary performances in inferior productions, including in The First Wives Club and her Oscar-winning role in California Suite. MAGGIE SMITH ->
“`At the Oxford University Dramatic Society, Smith began her stage career in 1952 as Viola in Twelfth Night. In 1956, she made her Broadway debut. Laurence Olivier invited Smith to become part of his new National Theatre Company, soon after it was formed at The Old Vic in 1962. Alongside Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon, she was a fixture at the Royal National Theatre in the 1960s. Hollywood came calling and she never looked back.
“`A young generation of viewers emerged after Smith was cast in the Harry Potter series of movies. After co-starring in every episode of Downtown Abbey, she continued her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in two big screen productions.
“`She received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Baftas, four Emmys, three Golden Globes and a Tony Award. Smith was one of the few film performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting.
“`It would be easy to include Maggie Smith in the Top Ten of all-time great British Actresses, alongside Wendy Hiller, Vivien Leigh, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, Elizabeth Taylor, Vanessa Redgrave, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren and Judi Dench. Some might include Judith Anderson and Margaret Rutherford as well.
“`My first choice from such a treasured list remains Maggie Smith. She was eighty-nine.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Friday, September 27th, 2024 at 7:37 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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