SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Although Maggie Smith has died she will still be on screen in two Harry Potter movies Sunday at the State Theatre in Sioux Falls.
Smith, the iconic British actress, was famous for many roles including Professor Minerva McGonagall of the Harry Potter movie series. Smith’s character is based on the character from the Harry Potter books, which is the foundation for the movie series.
“Now, when I read the book, the face I imagine of (Professor McGonagall), is her face,” said fan Luke Latza of Sioux Falls.
Millions of Harry Potter fans may feel like Latza: Smith was McGonagall.
Smith was 89 when she died Friday. Her fame transcended several generations. So much so that Allison Weiland’s eight-year-old daughter knew who Smith was. Weiland is the executive director of the State Theatre.
Smith won her first Oscar in 1970 for playing the main character in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. That was long before many Harry Potter fans were born.
But the parents, or grandparents, may have been fans of Smith’s work in the movies Gosford Park or A Room With A View from the 1980s. In 1992 she starred alongside Whoopie Goldberg in the first Sister Act movie. Smith was Mother Superior.
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Weiland said of Smith’s career.
“In the Sister Act movies she was so fantastic,” Weiland said. Smith had an “amazing way” to play comedy, Weiland said. “…even though she plays a stern role, by a simple facial expression, she shows a lot of heart and more…,” Weiland said.
To Emily Beehler, a fan of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, a British TV series in which Smith plays Violet Crawley, Smith’s face helps make her a memorable actress.
“I think she has a unique facial structure compared to today’s look,” Beehler said. “It’s a unique look and you can distinguish her.”
Weiland said because of Smith’s talent and her roles in the movies and TV series that many are attached to, the actress has a place in people’s lives.
Smith played roles that were first characters in beloved books like Harry Potter or The Secret Garden or Gosford Park. She had roles in dozens of movies, stage plays and TV series.
“My mom loves Downton Abbey,” Latza said. “The only way I could get her to watch Harry Potter was to tell her Maggie Smith was in it.”
Beehler said she was introduced to Smith through Downton Abbey and Harry Potter but said when a person turns on a TV, they can likely find a production that includes Smith.
To Weiland, Smith has come to represent for many a firm, but fair teacher, or the wise one in which to confide or even the one to provide the dry, comedic relief when needed. Something that can happen through a career that spans seven decades.
