[HN Gopher] Maggie Smith has died
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Maggie Smith has died
        
       Author : asix66
       Score  : 346 points
       Date   : 2024-09-27 13:49 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (variety.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (variety.com)
        
       | gennarro wrote:
       | Sorry to see this, she's been an absolute legend over the years.
       | She was always great even when I didn't think I would love the
       | show or movie.
        
       | gumboshoes wrote:
       | Peace to a good one.
        
       | workingdog wrote:
       | I don't think you can understand the 1960s without seeing her
       | glorious movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
       | 
       | It captures the tension of social norms and rebellion and, if one
       | pays attention, the natural consequences of unbridled enthusiasm.
       | 
       | Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXA0N55c3iw
        
         | whamlastxmas wrote:
         | Lovely, thank you for sharing!
        
         | udkl wrote:
         | > I don't think you can understand the 1960s
         | 
         | I think the same of "The Graduate (1967)" -
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKafIqhEvk
         | 
         | Note - this is not a movie she is in.
        
         | frereubu wrote:
         | Showing my age a bit here, but when I think of her this film is
         | always what I'm reminded of. That phrase "I am Miss Jean
         | Brodie... and I am in my prime" in her frightfully posh
         | Scottish accent rattles around my head quite a bit for some
         | reason.
         | 
         | I've always thought of her as being well-known, but apparently
         | it was Downton Abbey that really made her properly famous,
         | which she didn't really like:
         | https://x.com/lewispringle/status/1839680373774581849
        
         | cafard wrote:
         | But the book and movie are set in the 1930s, though I guess
         | 1930s through a 1960s sensibility.
        
         | jonjacky wrote:
         | I think her character Prof. McGonagall in the Harry Potter
         | movies drew heavily on her much earlier role as that other
         | Scottish school teacher, Jean Brodie.
        
       | dmd wrote:
       | I saw a black cat this morning I'm pretty sure was her.
        
         | alex1138 wrote:
         | <3
        
       | piltdownman wrote:
       | A towering presence of British stage and screen, with Dame Judi
       | Dench being about the last of that golden generation since the
       | passing of Diana Riggs (Olenna Tyrell).
       | 
       | Time for a rewatch of Gosford Park while archly sipping gin out
       | of a china teacup with a raised pinkie.
        
         | jszymborski wrote:
         | I didn't know Diana Riggs died :( She really brought the Queen
         | of Thorns to life.
        
           | piltdownman wrote:
           | Yeah she was a big loss, a 60s bond girl and all-round sex
           | symbol who went on to completely transcend that label and
           | developed into a serious thespian and RSC/Old Vic stalwart.
           | She absolutely holds her own as the Wife of Olivier's Lear.
           | 
           | I'm delighted she got to work with Edgar Wright before her
           | death and put in a great turn in Last Night in Soho; I'd a
           | big fear she'd peter out with a few Dr.Who episodes in a
           | fairly unceremonious end to a glittering and exremely
           | accomplished career.
        
             | kitd wrote:
             | One of her last roles was in the fantastic BBC comedy
             | "Detectorists" where she played the mother of Rachael
             | Stirling, her daughter in real life.
             | 
             | There was definitely a big hole when series 2 came out
             | without her.
        
           | Angostura wrote:
           | One of her last pieces of work was in the excellent BBC
           | series The Detectorists, where she played a character who was
           | mother to her real-life daughter
        
             | jszymborski wrote:
             | Oh I love that series!
        
       | jimbokun wrote:
       | Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery were brilliant in Downton
       | Abbey. Their characters always seemed two to three steps ahead of
       | everyone with their wit. And were hilarious to boot.
       | 
       | Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was
       | clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through
       | their understanding of how the social contracts really worked.
       | And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the
       | future of the estate to Mary.
        
         | piltdownman wrote:
         | If you haven't already make sure you watch Brideshead
         | revisited.
         | 
         | You have Phoebe Nicholls (who played Lady Rose's mother) and
         | Diana Quick (Polina Molotova in The Death of Stalin and the
         | Queen in the eponymous BBC series) doing some similar social
         | machinations in the background of an absolutely stacked period-
         | drama with a cast including Jeremy Irons, Laurence Olivier, and
         | John Gielgud.
        
         | astr0n0m3r wrote:
         | In Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith is playing a toned-down version
         | of the character she played in Gosford Park.
        
           | jimbokun wrote:
           | Well maybe I'll have to watch that now.
        
             | raffraffraff wrote:
             | Gosford Park? Omg, that's the only one worth watching! It
             | has a plot. I period drama but couldn't get past two
             | episodes of Downton Abbey. Too sugary and boring.
        
           | kitd wrote:
           | Written by the same person, so kind of expected.
        
           | ttepasse wrote:
           | One of my favourite movies. As an ensemble movie it get's
           | better with multiple viewings.
        
       | vr46 wrote:
       | Excellent on stage in A German Life, even when the writing wasn't
       | up to her acting. And the Lady In The Van!
       | 
       | RIP Maggie Smith
        
       | throw0101d wrote:
       | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Smith
        
       | ilrwbwrkhv wrote:
       | One of the best artists of stage and cinema. Will miss her.
        
       | saucymew wrote:
       | Maggie Smith's character in both Abbey and HP brooked no BS.
       | We're reaching the time now when more of the Harry Potter
       | teachers are leaving this world, I am not looking forward to the
       | students.
        
       | noefingway wrote:
       | Truly one of the greatest actors of all time. For those of you
       | that haven't seen this, I strongly recommend watching this show.
       | Just a group of ladies having tea and a chat.
       | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7363336/
        
       | IanKerr wrote:
       | She was excellent at whatever she was in. An absolute icon of
       | cinema. RIP Maggie Smith.
        
       | simonbarker87 wrote:
       | For her passing to make the front page of HN when she has no
       | presence in the tech world really speaks to her impact. I imagine
       | very few people would reach that level. Wonderful actress, she
       | was the best character in Downton.
        
         | jedberg wrote:
         | This is a really good point. Unless there is some tech angle
         | these things don't usually make HN.
         | 
         | I wonder how much of it has to do with the overlap between tech
         | nerds and Harry Potter nerds.
        
         | tsujamin wrote:
         | Don't forget The First Wives Club! RIP
        
       | dcuthbertson wrote:
       | She was an absolutely wonderful actress. The Washington Post also
       | has an article announcing her death [0]. It goes into a lot of
       | depth about her work and who she was.
       | 
       | [0]:
       | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/09/27/maggie-...
        
       | jl6 wrote:
       | Big boots to fill if they go ahead with the Harry Potter TV
       | series.
        
       | mandibles wrote:
       | Rest in peace to one of the true greats.
       | 
       | My favorite line from Downtown Abby: "What's a week end?"
        
       | thoughtpalette wrote:
       | I'll never forget her in the Hook VHS I had growing up. RIP
        
       | penguin_booze wrote:
       | The Lady in the Van cuts a lot of onion for me. RIP.
        
       | junon wrote:
       | If you haven't seen it already, check out "Tea with the Dames".
       | It's great, and I'd assume one of the last things Dame Maggie
       | Smith was in.
        
       | killingtime74 wrote:
       | What a life well lived. 89 is a great age
        
       | asix66 wrote:
       | I will add "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" to another good movie
       | she was in, along with an excellent cast.
        
       | TMWNN wrote:
       | The only person in history to win an Oscar while portraying an
       | Oscar nominee. <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-
       | entertainment/films/news/...>
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2024-09-27 23:01 UTC)