Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Dame Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine on set.

 

She swears, she sings, she wears an inordinate amount of feathers and jewels in her hair, and she is willing to discuss finances.  Ahh, the British interpretation of a dominant American female.  Naturally, it was lovely to find a character who gets under the skin of the Dowager Countess.  It leads to lines such as:

Violet: "I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again. When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English."

Matthew: "But isn't she American?"

Violet: "Exactly."

According to Parade, it was Shirley MacLaine's idea to sing the love song "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to Dame Maggie Smith, and Julian Fellowes ran with it.  Apparently the idea of the American serenading a lady who doesn't know what a week-end is amused him to no ends.  To read the full details, visit the Parade's website.

Welcoming Martha Levinson

Shirley MacLaine knows the beauty of pearls.

Tuesday, January 31st, USA Today released a statement that Shirley MacLaine, the Virginia native, would be joining Downton Abbey for the third season as Martha Levinson, Lady Grantham's mother.  IMDB does not have her role listed either under Shirley MacLaine's page (as of today) nor under the Season Three page for Downton Abbey.  I knew there was a reason why I read the Life section of USA Today and used the rest of the newspaper for paper mache.  Rumors are that Season Three will begin filming next month and thus we may finally know more.