ACTING ROYALTY

This Gay Man Is Already Missing Maggie Smith

Sarcastic and snippy quips will never be done better

Maggie Smith in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Okay, I’ll be honest — this one hurts.

I’ve been such a fan. For 40 years. Always mesmerized, always entertained.

I mean, I guess I knew it was coming someday. In fact, didn’t we all assume actress Maggie Smith had to be 95 or 100 years old by now? Wasn’t she playing 80-year-olds back in the 1990s? Butter me flabbergasted to discover our dear Maggie was “only” age 89 at the time of her passing the other day.

Dammit, we could’ve gotten ten additional years of her sardonic comments from the geriatric peanut gallery.

But alas, one of the true greats, one of the giants of theater and film has left us. Even if you weren’t an ardent fan, even if you didn’t exactly know her name, chances are you’ve encountered and thus remember Maggie Smith.

Oh yeah, you mean that funny old snobby lady on Downton Abbey?

Ohhhh, Professor McGonagall in all eight Harry Potter movies?

Wait, that old-broad Mother Superior battling it out with Whoopi in Sister Act?

Yes, that’s her! Here’s your honorary pin, welcome to the fan club.