Maggie Smith: the magisterial star of Harry Potter and Downton had the courage and talent to do absolutely everything

The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the agesDame Maggie Smith’s trophy cabinet reflected her extraordinary achievements across theatre, film and television – and in the biggest arenas of British and US culture, from the BBC to Hollywood, the West End to Broadway. A measure of her versatility and durability is that, in the 1960s, she played nine major roles in the formative years of the National Theatre, but also, from the start of the 2000s, appeared in five series of Downton Abbey, the ITV Sunday night series that became one of the biggest popular hits of the new millennium.Her role in that show was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who lived in such a bubble of exclusive comfort that, in trademark one-liners, she would drawl in mystification, for example: “What is a ‘weekend’?” That acerbic superiority was a signature throughout Smith’s career, including the part that brought her first Academy award in 1970, against a shortlist also featuring Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, for the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted from Muriel Spark’s novel about a maverick, arrogant schoolteacher in Edinburgh. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-27 13:37:47 UTC ]

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Google Assistant has a morning routine for schoolchildren

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[ Engadget | 2021-08-11 16:00:47 UTC ]
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The boy who lived and lived and lived

In every skirmish in the ‘culture war’, be it fought in universities, Twitter or Parliament, there’s an inevitable reference to Harry Potter. The Potter references can seem like a joke; the perpetual furore around the politics of a ‘mere’ children’s author more so. But it is no laughing matter.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-10 22:19:40 UTC ]
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Richard Robinson Dies at 84; Turned Scholastic Into an Empire

With help from Harry Potter, the Magic School Bus and the Baby-Sitters Club, he created the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:45:51 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury profits jump as ‘joy of reading rediscovered’ in lockdown

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[ The Guardian | 2021-06-02 08:20:05 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury to release illustrated Harry Potter gift book

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-28 20:34:58 UTC ]
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Helen McCrory, star of Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter, dies aged 52

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[ The Guardian | 2021-04-16 17:01:51 UTC ]
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Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury issues another profit upgrade

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[ The Guardian | 2021-03-24 12:22:49 UTC ]
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Enough With the Boring Magic Duels! Here’s How to Fix Them.

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[ Slate | 2021-03-08 20:35:26 UTC ]
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Deep Nostalgia AI brings your photos to life just like in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies

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[ Fast Company | 2021-03-05 06:24:58 UTC ]
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Vancouver environmentalist wins $3M Climate Breakthrough Award

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[ CBC | 2021-02-04 02:30:09 UTC ]
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Christopher Little, Who Built an Empire Around a Boy Wizard, Dies at 79

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[ The New York Times | 2021-01-27 22:39:44 UTC ]
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[ Advertising Age | 2021-01-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The magic question: can a Harry Potter TV show work?

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[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 21:19:03 UTC ]
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Reputation Reparo! A Harry Potter TV series is in early development at HBO Max.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 18:25:26 UTC ]
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'Hogwarts Legacy' has been delayed to 2022

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[ Engadget | 2021-01-13 17:44:36 UTC ]
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Pottermore sales and profits rise with 'strong' Harry Potter sales

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 12:26:57 UTC ]
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Help! My Son Is Trans. Is It Wrong to Read the Harry Potter Series to His Younger Brother?

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[ Slate | 2020-12-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Rupert Grint breaks Sir David Attenborough's Instagram record

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[ BBC World | 2020-11-17 16:59:20 UTC ]
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Johnny Depp says he has been asked to resign from Fantastic Beasts franchise

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[ The Guardian | 2020-11-06 16:53:04 UTC ]
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