Dame Maggie Smith is being remembered by The View hosts as a “brilliant” actor whose screen credits are so extensive it would “take you all day to read [through them].”
Smith, who died aged 89 on Friday (September 27), starred alongside The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992) and its 1993 sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
While Goldberg – who led the film series as the undercover nun Deloris Van Cartier – didn’t appear on the Friday episode of the morning talk show, her fellow hosts stepped in to pay tribute to her former co-star.
“Maggie Smith died today,” Joy Behar announced. “Maggie Smith, the great actress from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, one of the great movies. And she was also in Downton Abbey – you probably know her from that, and Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg.
“She was really brilliant. If you read her resumé, it’ll take you all day to read her resumé,” Behar said.
Goldberg, meanwhile, shared a tribute of her own on Instagram on Friday.
“Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind,’ My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP,” she wrote, alongside a photo of her and Smith in their Sister Act costumes.
Smith’s death was announced by her two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, who said in a statement: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning.
“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” it continued.
“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.”
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The news of her death has been met by an extensive outpouring of tributes from fans and other colleagues, including her Suddenly, Last Summer co-star Rob Lowe.
“Saddened to hear Dame Maggie Smith has passed. I had the unforgettable experience of working with her; sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion,” the Parks and Recreation star tweeted.
“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools. We will never see another. God speed, Ms Smith!”