Grand Dame

Bravo to you and brava to Dame Judi (“Command Performer,” by Patrick Pacheco, April 11)! I would certainly love to see her on the stage! She is such a treasure and to think she is getting all this much-deserved attention as a 64-year-old! Wow!

Whatever will happen next--do you suppose it will be contagious? That other women with talent and gray hair and time-featured faces will be honored? Wouldn’t that be a switch?

Please give us more stories like hers--one a week would be just fine and much appreciated!

CAROL MARSHALL

Orange

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I first “met” Judi Dench on KCET-TV in the delightful comedy “As Time Goes By.” It is one of my favorite shows and one that most of my friends, male and female, watch. It is hard to believe that there might be stagehands and cameras and extras in that kitchen or living room. I prefer to believe it is happening even as we watch.

How could we have not known of her before? I think she is a wonderful actress and a charming lady and I might have to fly to New York to see her new play.

JEAN SHINER

Pasadena

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Pacheco writes, “Few in this country had ever heard of [Dench] until 1997, when her emotionally complex performance as Queen Victoria in the film ‘Mrs. Brown’ earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress.”

It should be pointed out that American audiences were better introduced to her in 1995 when she gave a steel-spined performance as James Bond’s chief in the film “GoldenEye.” Whatever the relative artistic merits of the two films may be, “GoldenEye” was seen by more than 10 times the number of people who saw “Mrs. Brown,” and Dench was widely recognized for helping to reignite the 33-year-old Bond series.

JOHN CORK

Burbank