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 ]
News tagged with:
#extraordinary achievements
#biggest arenas
#west end
#major roles
#formative years
#violet crawley
#dowager countess
#exclusive comfort
#trademark one-liners
#acerbic superiority
#academy award
#jane fonda
#muriel spark
#arrogant schoolteacher
#harry potter
Crime writer Peter James, Chinese author and screenwriter Bi Feiyu and children’s writer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#chinese author
W H Smith is to promote cross- over young adult (YA) titles more directly to adults via a new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wh smith
W H Smith says it increased its market share over the Christmas period, with retail analysts... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#christmas period
#market share
Transworld has confirmed the publication date of Joanne Harris' next novel, to be called... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#joanne harris
W H Smith has reported “resilient” trading over the Christmas period, with total... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#christmas trading
#christmas period
W H Smith will branch out into Qatar after entering a franchise agreement with Al Meera Holding... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
W H Smith Travel’s trading controller for books Julie Wright has left the business and is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#smith travel
In a move likely to inflame critics of the Man Booker prize judging process, actor Dan Stevens... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#downton abbey
W H Smith has backed rival retailer Asda's move to join WHS in selling Kobo e-readers. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 10/11/2011 - 09:44 Total group sales at W H Smith have dropped by 3% in the last 10 weeks, with like-for-like sales down by 6% in comparison to last year. This morning (10th November) the company reported in its interim financial results for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sales fall
#wh smith
#travel business
#total sales
#early autumn
#company reported
#1st september
#high street
The opportunity to put a value on content and services should be harnessed and not feared by publishers, a panel at the AOP Digital Publishing Summit 2011 has argued. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 15:26 Library campaigner Lauren Smith has been elected as vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Smith, a learning and teaching support officer at the University of Leeds, will serve for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#chartered institute
#information professionals
Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 14:09 Ali Smith, Jeanette Winterson and film director John Waters have all been longlisted for the Green Carnation Prize, now in its second year. The prize, open to all LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) writers celebrates the best of modern gay... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#jeanette winterson
#ali smith
#role models
Tess Macleod Smith, group publishing director of Hearst Magazines' luxury magazine titles, has resigned from her position. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hearst magazines
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 13/09/2011 - 16:07 W H Smith said it is delighted to have a new branch in Westfield Stratford City as the £1.45bn complex opened its doors for the first time to customers today (13th September). The branch is based on the lower ground floor of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wh smith
#shopping complex
#east london
#early november
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 08:20 Orion has made a series of promotions within its fiction and non-fiction teams, appointing new publishing directors in both departments. Orion Fiction has promoted Kate Mills to the role of publishing director, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#orion fiction
#senior role
#kate mosse
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 08:54 Bloomsbury has acquired independent food list Absolute Press, set up by publisher Jon Croft in 1979. Absolute Press specialises in high-end cookery titles, publishing Keith Floyd's first title in 1981. Its titles include... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#absolute press
#print titles
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 08:25 Simon Marinker, managing director of W H Smith's travel shops, is to retire from the business at the end of this year. He will be replaced by Simon Smith, chief operating officer of the travel business, who will report... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#travel business
#travel shops
#report directly
Smiths News, the newspaper and magazine wholesaler, has completed the purchase of the remaining assets of Dawson Holdings, which include its ebook unit and its newspaper and magazine airline distribution business. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ebook business
#smiths news
#dawson holdings
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 15:00 Simon & Schuster US has signed a deal to publish the physical editions of John Locke's Donovan Creed novels in North America. In June, Locke became the first self-published author to sell more than one million ebooks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#john locke
#physical editions
#self-published author
#million ebooks