Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89 – Fans startled by her final public appearance

Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89 – Fans startled by her final public appearance

Dame Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey and Harry Potter star, died aged 89, her family confirms.

A two time Oscar winner and a legend of the stage and screen, Smith was regarded one of the greatest actors of her time. She started her acting career on stage at the Oxford Playhouse and went on to make a name for herself and remained under the limelight for a stunning number of years.

The news of her sudden passing was shared by her two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.
“She died quietly this morning, Friday, September 27, in the hospital. A deeply private individual, she passed away surrounded by loved ones,” their joint statement read.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days,” it continued.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time,” Smith’s sons concluded.

Throughout her long and rich career, Smith appeared in feature films such as Sister Act, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and more recently Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s The Miracle Club.

Back in 2009, Smith disclosed with the public that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She opened up about receiving treatments and filming scenes as Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the same time.

“I used to go to treatment on my own, and nearly everybody else was with somebody,” she told Tim Teeman. “I wouldn’t have liked that. Why would you want to make anybody sit in those places?”

She had also opened up about her own mortality. “I was relieved to be the age I was because by now you feel like it’s all over anyway.

“That’s why I hated seeing young people receiving treatment [at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London]. I couldn’t bear that, it didn’t seem fair. To be honest, you feel so ghastly you wouldn’t mind dying a lot of the time.”

Smith was married twice. Her second husband, screenwriter Beverley Cross, whom she considered the great love of her life, passed away in 1998, leaving her mourning his loss until her own passing.

She wasn’t known as someone who was spotted in public often, so her last public appearance left her fans startled.
It was at the Wimbledon men’s singles final that Smith was spotted in public. Dressed elegantly, in a navy blue shirtdress with a stylish dot pattern on it accessorized with a blue jacket and black leather heels, she stunned many.

The photos of her and her stunning choice of outfit, which she had completed with a pink lipstick, received plenty of comments. “So elegant!” one person commented. “You [look] so beautiful,” another added.

Following her passing, tributes came pouring in. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the first to share his condolences, saying Smith “was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come.”

Hugh Bonneville, fellow Downtown Abbey co-star, said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Smith’s passing represents an immense loss for the acting world. May she rest in peace.

ABANDONED STRAWBERRY HOUSE

The house was built in the late twenties of the twentieth century for banker Dimitar Ivanov and his wife Nadezhda Stankovic. Inside, the accent falls on the red marble fireplace located in the reception hall. There is a podium for musicians as well as crystal glasses on the interior doors. Several bedrooms, beautiful terraces, a large study room and service rooms. Nothing of the furniture is preserved, but it is known that high-class Sofia citizens at that time preferred furniture from Central and Western Europe.

The exterior is a large front yard facing the street, separated from the sidewalk by a beautiful wrought iron fence. Triple staircase to the entrance of the house, but it is always very impressive that the special portals for carriages and carriages on both sides of the yard. Even today I imagine a cabin with the members of the invited family entering the yard of the house through one portal, the horseshoes and the carriage staying in the space behind the house, specially tailored for that while waiting for the reception to end and go out again from the yard, but through the other portal.
 

Banker Ivanov’s family lived happily in the house, at least until 1944. After the war the property was nationalized and originally housed the Romanian embassy. Later in the year, the house was a commercial representation of the USSR in Bulgaria, as well as the headquarters of the administration of various communist structures of unclear purpose.
In the 90’s the house was restituted and returned to the heir of the first owner-banker Dimitar Ivanov. Since 2004 the property is the property of the director of Lukoil-Valentin Zlatev, who has not yet shown any relation to this monument of culture. The beautiful house once ruined for decades and is now sadly sad.