RIP Dame Maggie
She could make you laugh and cry in the space of five minutes. She could portray intimacy while projecting emotional distance. Laurence Olivier admired her so much he slapped her across the face during Othello, and could hold her in physical comedy against Carol Burnett.
Dame Maggie Smith has left the building at age 89.
Margaret Smith Natile Smith was born in 1934 to Scottish Secretary and an English Pathologist who worked in Oxford. When she was seventeen she took to the boards in a local theater company. Four years later she would be making her Broadway debut in the Faces of ‘56.
She was primarily a comedic actress. At first anyway. In 1962 she won her first major award for Private Ear and the Public Eye. That landed her a job that changed the course of career, The Double Dealer was where Sir Laurence Olivier took note of this obvious new talent. “Anyone who can play comedy that well can also play tragedy.” He immediately recruited her for his National Theater company where she became a staple of the Royal National Theater alongside Michael Gambon, Judi Dench and Derrick Jacobi.
The thing was that in hiring Maggie Smith, Olivier had recruited his best frenemy. She had no trouble holding her own against the Giant of the Stage. “He offered her the likes of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello. But having got her into the company they became not enemies, but professional rivals. Never before had anyone on stage been quicker than him and now, it seemed, there was a contest.”
You could see echoes of their rivalry in Clash of the Titans decades later. Oliver’s scenes with Maggie Smith were the only ones where it didn’t look like the aging king was phoning it.
Her turn as Desdemona in Othello got Maggie her first Oscar nomination in 1965. Four years later she would have her first win for the Prime of Miss Jean Brody.
She had more than enough talent to make the transition from Ingénue to established actress in the 1970s. She was always in demand in theater but was still being sought after for film work as well. She made frequent appearances on the Carol Burnett show and stole the show from Peter Ustinov in Death on the Nile.
When she wasn’t in film she was always on the stage. Her last her youthful roles was with Michael Palin in The Missionary. She played Helena Bonham Carter’s mother in Merchant Ivory’s A Room With a View and did the first of her Old Lady Roles as Granny Wendy in Hook. She was only 56 at the time but I guess she was trying to stay ahead of her next career curve. The less said of the Sister Act films the better so lets just skip the 1990s.
In 2001 she introduced herself to Millennials, in what would in a normal career be the last thing she would be remembered for, as Professor Minerva McGonagall. “Smith brought depth, gravitas, and occasional humor to the role, creating a character that resonated deeply with audiences of all ages. Throughout the series, Smith’s McGonagall served as a pillar of strength and wisdom. Her performance was characterized by nuanced delivery and an ability to convey complex emotions with subtle gestures. Smith’s McGonagall stood as a testament to her extraordinary skill as an actor, bringing to life a character that was both formidable and deeply caring.”
It turned out that Dame Maggie had one last transformation in her, the aging dowager Countess Grantham. A role she was still playing in 2022.
Her last performance was in the Miracle Club in 2023.
In her career she was awarded a CBE, a knighthood, was only the 3rd actress to become a member of the Companions of Honor. Six Oscar nominations and two wins. A Tony, four BAFTAs and that’s only the regular awards. The special awards she’s recieved would need their own article just to get the names right.
She passed in a hospital after a brief illness. Dame Maggie is survived by her two sons and five grandchildren.
Maggie Smith
1934 – 2024
