LW “Downton” Story Explodes Online
Yesterday, I noted that Julian Fellowes, the creator of “Downton Abbey,” had been hired by NBC to create a program called “The Gilded Age,” about rich Americans in the late 19th century. If “Gilded” had a dowager figure like Maggie Smith, I asked readers which actress should play her. People had definite opinions, even though a lot of them misread the item and thought Fellowes was doing an American version of “Downton Abbey.” Anyway, when my friend Kevin Sessums posted my parlor game on Facebook, people had lots of opinions on who should essay a dowager. Marian Seldes was a favorite, as well as Angela Lansbury. I must veto Angie: she is nominally British, in spite of all her yeoman years on “Murder, She Wrote.” I stand by my original choice: Dianne Wiest. Read the Facebook feed here. Go to the wall on the left.
