Dame Maggie Smith was laid to rest in an intimate funeral service on Monday.
Smith died on September 27 at the age of 89.
According to The Daily MailOn November 4, a celebration of the life of the legendary actress was held at Mortlake Crematorium in Richmond, London.
“Such a beautiful goodbye to Maggie Smith today,” one guest told the outlet.
“It was warm and funny and full of love and wonderful compliments, with great hymns from everyone. It was warm but not sad because his life was so full.
Mortlake was also the burial place of many other famous British figures, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, her husband Dennis and comedian Tommy Cooper.
Smith is survived by her grandson and her two grown sons who are both actors — “Black Sails” star Toby Stephens, 55, and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” star Chris Larkin, 57.
His sons announced his death in a statement on September 27.
“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” he wrote at the time.
He added: “An extremely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.
Smith, who was born in Ilford, England, on December 28, 1934, won Tony and Oscar awards and enjoyed a career spanning seven decades on both stage and screen, but was best known for her roles later in life. . Professor McGonagall in the eight “Harry Potter” films and the acerbic Dowager County of Grantham on “Downton Abbey.”
Following his death, many of his former co-stars paid tribute.
“When I first met Maggie Smith, I was 9 and we were reading scenes from David Copperfield, which was my first job,” Daniel Radcliffe, 35, told The Post in a statement.
“I knew practically nothing about him other than my parents were surprised by the fact that I would work with him.”
The “Harry Potter” star recalled, “The second thing I knew about her was that she was a dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was, ‘Would you like me to call you a dame?’ ” ™ to which she laughed and said something like “Don’t be ridiculous!”.
He added, “She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to work with her on the ‘Harry Potter’ films for another 10 years. She was a great genius, a “Was brilliantly sharp-tongued, at once intimidating and charming and, as anyone will tell you, extremely funny.”
“I will always feel incredibly lucky to have been able to work with him, and spend time around him on set.”
Smith talked about retiring in 2022 with her “Downton Abbey: A New Era” co-star Dominic West.
“I sat next to him around that famous table for two or three days just talking to him and hearing his witty jokes and witty remarks.” The 55-year-old West recalled at a press conference that year in The Independent. “She said at one point she was going to throw in the towel. She said: That’s it. I won’t do it anymore.” And I said: “What? Acting?” And she said: “Yes. “No more acting.”
“I said: ‘Even the theater?'” West continued. “And she said: “No, I’m not even doing theatre, and this will be my last job.” And it was incredibly emotional.
However, Smith quickly changed his tune.
“And then I went back the next week, and I said: ‘That’s so sad, Maggie,'” she recalled. “And she said: ‘Nonsense!'” She’s booked another movie. She starts next week.
Credit : nypost.com
