28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024

I saw Maggie Smith star with her then-husband Robert Stephens in Noel Coward’s Private Lives when I was a stage-struck student studying in London in 1972, and secured both their autographs after the performance. When in 1974 at Furman University I was cast as Lady Bracknell, Algernon’s Aunt Augusta in Oscar Wilde’s impeccably hilarious The Importance of Being Earnest, our director Pete Smith’s most frequent note for me was “more Maggie Smith!”

An actor of astounding range and unparalleled comic timing, Maggie Smith’s infinite variety captured in memory and on film remains a legacy of delight for all time.

Thank you, Dame Smith. Rest in peace.