London News Theater News United Kingdom 

Dame Maggie Smith takes her Final Bow, Passes Away at 89.

Drew Janine,
Dame Maggie Smith takes her Final Bow, Passes Away at 89
An acting legend has given her final bow. As of today, Dame Maggie Smith has passed away and left fans world wide too soon. Margaret Smith, better known as Maggie Smith, had one of the most impressive careers in acting ever. She began her career on stage early on in her life spanning over seven decades and continued to act until her final days reprising a role she originated in London. Though many fans will know her from time on the silver screen, her acting career began long before books of witches and spells were flying off the shelves.

At only 17 years of age, Dame Maggie Smith began her career at the Oxford Playhouse in the early 1950s. She was quickly recognised for her talent and starred in several plays during her time with Oxford’s Dramatic Society. Less than 5 years later, she made her debut on Broadway in New York inNew Faces of ‘56.Her impressive career was just getting started. Only 10 years after starting her acting career, she won her first award for Best Actress from the Evening Standard Awards.

Dame Maggie Smith takes her Final Bow, Passes Away at 89

The King of Great Britain declared a public message of condolence to send his regards to the great Dame Maggie Smith. He stated:

“My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dame Maggie Smith. As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all of those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances and her warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage.”

 

The same year as her first Best Actress Award, she became a regular performer at the Royal National Theatre from the early 1960s onwards. It was there that she met several influential people that would help her along in her budding career on the stage. She would go on to become a patron of the same theatre that rocketted her career so far forward. Later in her life she would give back to those in need of assistance in performing by becoming the Vice President of the Royal Theatrical Fund- a non-profit organisation that gives support and aid for those in entertainment that cannot work due to illness or injury.

 

Dame Maggie Smith never forgot her acting roots through any adversity she faced. During the pandemic, she joined several former co-stars of hers for a meeting over Zoom that was titled For One Knight Only where she and her fellow actors joined together to raise profits for the charity Acting for Others while they recounted their long running careers and everything that happened within them. 

 

Dame Maggie Smith takes her Final Bow, Passes Away at 89

Over her lengthy career she earned dozens of awards including The Society of London Special Award, Evening Standard Icon Award, a Tony Award, six Best Actress Actress Awards, the Shakespeare Prize, and the Bodley Medal for her outstanding contributions to the performing arts.

 

The curtain came down for this fantastic legend for the final time on 27 September in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. The hospital is only 4 miles from where her time on stage began and where she continued to dedicate so much of her life to.

 

Photo credit: wiki Common

Drew Janine
Live Sound Engineer -EUROPE
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive as working behind the scenes in theatre as a live sound engineer. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020 and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending time on tour across the North American continent and Europe. Drew’s favourite by far though has been the chance to work on Broadway and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry and hopes to inspire others to continue working in theatre.

Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.

🎧 Join us on the StageLync Podcast for inspiring stories from the world of performing arts! Tune in to hear from the creative minds who bring magic to life, both onstage and behind the scenes. 🎙️ 👉 Listen now!

Drew Janine

Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive as working behind the scenes in theatre as a live sound engineer. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020 and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending time on tour across the North American continent and Europe. Drew’s favourite by far though has been the chance to work on Broadway and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry and hopes to inspire others to continue working in theatre.