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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 17, 2009 21:36:38 GMT -5
Lovely pictures, dear! Thank you so much for posting them!
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 18, 2009 8:46:11 GMT -5
Today's picture is from the 1969 Chichester Festival production of "The Country Wife", starring Maggie as Margery Pinchwife. (Sorry about the watermark)  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 18, 2009 16:08:38 GMT -5
She's cute.
The Irish spam was cool.
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 18, 2009 20:22:27 GMT -5
I love the picture!!! Thank you!
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 19, 2009 9:35:11 GMT -5
Today's picture is in honour of the late, great Natasha Richardson. In 1993, she, Maggie, and Rob Lowe starred in Tennessee Williams' play Suddenly Last Summer. Natasha played Catherine Holly, Maggie played Violet Venable, and Rob Lowe was Doctor Cukrowicz. Rest in Peace, Natasha.  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 19, 2009 11:08:33 GMT -5
Yes Rest in Peace. My mom told me about Natasha...that was really sad
It's a good tv movie!
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 20, 2009 9:44:33 GMT -5
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 20, 2009 14:07:03 GMT -5
coolsville
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Post by kissofdeath on Mar 20, 2009 19:17:11 GMT -5
I loved the Othello pic!
But man, she smoked like crazy back then! You could make a pic spam on all the photos that her smoking!
And yes, Robert did look like a smug son-of-a-bitch in that one pic, lol!
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Post by phantomgirl on Mar 20, 2009 23:21:02 GMT -5
All of the pics were awesome, but the Othello pic really stood out.
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 21, 2009 9:03:14 GMT -5
Today's picture is from Maggie's 1973 appearance on The Michael Parkinson Show. The other guests were Kenneth Williams and Sir John Betjeman. Don't forget that tomorrow begins our "National Theatre" theme week! If you have any pictures you'd like me to post, please drop me a line!  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 21, 2009 16:16:17 GMT -5
I have an expert from this interview on the Maggie Smith BBC DVD pack.
Black is slimming and with her being so willowy and thin back then she was like a stick.
But even so I am hopelessly in love with Maggie.
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 21, 2009 18:20:59 GMT -5
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 22, 2009 10:19:03 GMT -5
Today's the first day of our second theme week, focussing on Maggie's performances at the National Theatre. She was offered a place after Joan Plowright (Laurence Olivier's lover at the time, later Lady Olivier) suggested her. Sir Laurence had also worked with her in Rhinoceros. Maggie originally turned the offer down but was told by Beverley Cross, her unofficial fiance at the time, to accept it. Thus began Maggie's dramatic career. The first production of Maggie's career at the National Theatre was The Recruiting Officer in 1963. According to Robert Stephens, they fell in love when rehearsing this play.  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 22, 2009 14:14:11 GMT -5
Maggie's life is something we know so very little of the truth. I wonder if she'll ever write her bio with someone?
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 22, 2009 21:10:17 GMT -5
Maggie's life is something we know so very little of the truth. I wonder if she'll ever write her bio with someone? Oh! I do hope so! |
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 22, 2009 21:30:05 GMT -5
Maggie's life is something we know so very little of the truth. I wonder if she'll ever write her bio with someone? Oh! I do hope so! I doubt she will. She hasn't even read her biography (written by Michael Coveney). |
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 23, 2009 0:52:48 GMT -5
Really it is her decision and hers alone. I for one would hate it if someone wrote a biography on me. She deserves to keep her life private if she wants.
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 23, 2009 9:57:22 GMT -5
Maggie's next performance at the National Theatre is available on DVD - thank goodness, for it is one of her best. In 1964, she played Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier as Othello. Olivier's Othello has been described as "the best of the time", and Maggie's Desdemona is equally as good, if not better. The film version of the play netted every main actor a much-deserved Oscar nomination (Larry Olivier, Maggie, Frank Finlay as Iago, Derek Jacobi as Cassio, and Joyce Redman as Emilia).  |
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 23, 2009 20:33:22 GMT -5
Oh the picture is wonderful!
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 24, 2009 9:15:19 GMT -5
Great pic!
How long did it take Olivier to paint himself for that every ngiht?
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 24, 2009 9:20:18 GMT -5
Great pic! How long did it take Olivier to paint himself for that every ngiht? It took him three hours every night to paint himself - one hour for each layer of makeup, and then he was sprayed with mineral water and rubbed down so his skin looked natural. |
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 24, 2009 10:07:39 GMT -5
Today's picture is from the 1964 production of Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder. A scene from this performance is on the Maggie Smith at the BBC DVDs. Originally starring Michael Redgrave as Master Builder Solness, he was suffering from Parkinson's disease and was quickly replaced by Laurence Olivier, who had to divide his time between two productions of The Master Builder - the other starring his wife, Joan Plowright. According to one reviewer, Maggie 'acted him [Larry Olivier] off the stage', and Larry then retaliated by telling her that he 'almost fell asleep, she was so slow.' The next night she picked up her cues so fast that he 'fluffed and dried all over the place'. She was the only person who made him look like a fool and got away with it (according to Robert Stephens' autobiography). Despite these spats, Maggie's Hilde Wangel was declared "a creature of fire and ice", and it was easy to see how the ending played out the way it did (I won't give away the ending - go and read it!)  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 24, 2009 17:09:04 GMT -5
Go Mags! Not that's saucy to make a fool of Sir Olivier and get away with. Isn't she freaking awesome!?
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 24, 2009 19:15:23 GMT -5
Awesome indeed. I find it hilarious as well!
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 25, 2009 9:40:39 GMT -5
Today's picture is from the 1964 production of Noel Coward's Hay Fever. Originally written as a vehicle for Marie Tempest, it was forgotten after that. Laurence Olivier decided to revive the play with Noel Coward directing. Though the performance was fraught with problems, most originating from Dame Edith Evans (including an infamous spat with Maggie), the show was a huge success and succeeded in reviving Noel Coward's plays in London and the rest of the world. The National Theatre would later go on to present Private Lives with Maggie and Robert in the two main roles. The play starred Dame Edith Evans as Judith Bliss, David Nicholls as David Bliss, Louise Purnell as Sorel Bliss, Derek Jacobi as Simon Bliss, Robert Stephens as Sandy Tyrell, Maggie as Myra Arundel, Robert Lang as Richard Greatham, Lynn Redgrave as Jackie Coryton (the role Maggie played in a television production of Hay Fever), and Barbara Hicks as Clara, the maid.  |
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Post by harmonydumbledore on Mar 25, 2009 14:21:28 GMT -5
Interesting. I wonder what the spat was about? I love stories like that.
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Post by dianahawthorne on Mar 25, 2009 14:25:08 GMT -5
Interesting. I wonder what the spat was about? I love stories like that. Dame Edith was jealous of Maggie's talent and was very mean to her in particular, especially after Maggie substituted for her as Judith Bliss during one of the rehearsals. As she was absolutely brilliant, Edith was naturally upset. She wouldn't refer to Maggie by name, calling her "that little Smith girl" instead. Maggie retaliated by blasting music (most of the time it was "Baby Love" by the Supremes) so that Edith couldn't take her afternoon nap and would thus be too tired to make trouble during the evening performance. |
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Post by mercifulheavens on Mar 25, 2009 19:51:56 GMT -5
Lovely picture! Thanks for sharing the story with us.
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Post by phantomgirl on Mar 26, 2009 0:01:15 GMT -5
Awesome pic!
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