‘NO ONE LIKE HER’

Maggie Smith Jokingly Told Off Some Teenagers at Lunch Days Before Passing

Smith “slipped into character”—approximating her roles as intimidating authority figures—“and ticked off some teenagers who were laughing noisily,” according to a report.

Tributes to the beloved actor Dame Maggie Smith have poured in from around the world since her death at age 89 was announced last week, variously focused on her comedic brilliance on screen and dramatic power on stage. But no tribute is as fitting as Smith herself, who into her final days remained witty and playful among her fellow Londoners. The Daily Mail reported that, days before her passing, Smith jokingly “slipped into character”—vaguely approximating her well-known roles as intimidating authority figures like Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series or Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey—“and ticked off some teenagers who were laughing noisily” outside a Primrose Hill restaurant where she and others were having lunch outdoors. “Dame Maggie asked them be quiet and be more respectful whilst people were eating,” one witness told the newspaper. “She was very much in character.” Actor Tom Felton, who worked with Smith on the Potter films, put it best: “There quite simply was no one like her.”