Glynis Johns has died at the age of 100. The actress, best known for her role as the mother of the children in Mary Poppins, passed away on Thursday, January 4th, due to natural causes at a nursing home in Los Angeles. 'It's a sad day. We mourn not only the death of our dear Glynis, but also the end of Hollywood's golden age,' said her manager Mitch Clem.
In the classic 1964 Disney film, she played Winifred Banks, wife of George Banks (David Tomlinson), a London banker who needs a nanny (Julie Andrews) to take care of his two children, Jane (Karen Doctrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber). In 'Mary Poppins', the actress memorably performed the song 'Sister Suffragette'.
Who was Glynis Johns?
Also a talented dancer, pianist and singer, Glynis Johns had a transatlantic career spanning more than 60 years, in theatre, film and television. She won a Tony Award for her role in 'A Little Night Music', giving a husky and emotional voice to the show's most memorable number, 'Send In the Clowns', and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the widowed owner of a saloon and hotel in Fred Zinnemann's Australian-set film 'The Sundowners' (1960). Johns was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as an elderly and scatterbrained socialite who is charmed by a young stud she meets on the beach in a then-controversial film about sex, 'The Chapman Report' (original title), directed in 1962 by George Cukor.
Her Career
Of Welsh origins, Glynis Johns was born on October 5, 1923 in Pretoria, South Africa, while her mother, pianist Alys Steele, was on tour; her father was actor Mervyn Johns (best known for the role of fearful Bob Cratchit in 'A Christmas Carol 1951'). The actress, who debuted at a young age, left her mark in light British fantasy films. In 'Miranda' (1948), 'Helter Skelter' (1949) and 'Mad About Men' (1954) she played a flirtatious mermaid, Miranda Trewella, who gets involved in real love stories. Thanks to her popularity, Glynis Johns moved to Hollywood, where she played Mary Tudor in 'The Sword and the Rose' and the wife of a Scottish freedom fighter in 'Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue', two Disney films also starring Richard Todd and released in 1953. She also played Maid Jean, Danny Kaye's love interest, in 'The Court Jester' (1955), with Angela Lansbury and Basil Rathbone. Since then, she has also appeared in many episodes of popular TV series. Johns was also co-starred with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole in 'Under Milk Wood' (1972), an adaptation of Dylan Thomas' fanciful story about the village of Llareggub. Glynis Johns made her Broadway debut in 1952 in 'Gertie'; she acted alongside Charles Laughton in a 1956 revival of George Bernard Shaw's 'Major Barbara' and appeared with Rex Harrison in a revival of W. Somerset Maugham's 'The Circle' in 1989. Johns also played Desiree's mother in several revivals of 'A Little Night Music'.
In 1988-89 Johns played an elderly woman living in a retirement community in Arizona in the sitcom 'Coming of Age'. More recently, she stood out in the role of a grumpy grandmother in 'The Ref' (1994) with Denis Leary and had similar roles in 'While You Were Sleeping' (1995) and 'Superstar' (1999).
Personal Life
Married four times, Johns had a son, the late actor Gareth Forwood, during her marriage to Anthony Forwood. Her agent Mitch Clem stated that the actress leaves no heirs. She was first married to actor Anthony Forwood from 1942 to 1948, then to David Ramsay Foster from 1952 to 1956. After her second divorce, she married Cecil Peter Lamont Henderson, but their union lasted only from 1960 to 1962. Her fourth marriage was to actor Elliott Arnold in 1964 and ended in divorce in 1973.
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