(DailyDig.com) – Glynis Johns, well known for her role as Winifred Banks in the film “Mary Poppins,” died on January 4. The South African-born British actress was one hundred years old.
Reported by her manager, Mitch Clem, Johns died in a Los Angeles assisted care home from natural causes. He said that she came into his life at a pivotal point during his career, then taught him how to handle himself with honesty, dignity, and poise in their industry. For one hundred years, her brilliance shone brightly.
Johns, an onstage and cinema sensation, is best known for her role in the 1964 musical film starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. She played the independent suffragette Mrs. Banks, a role for which Walt Disney personally cast her.
Her role as Mrs. Firth, a widowed bar owner in the western “The Sundowners,” garnered her an Oscar nod for best supporting actress before “Mary Poppins.” She went on to sing a famous song, “Send in the Clowns,” for the first time in the 1973 original production of “A Little Night Music,” where she won a Tony for her portrayal as Desiree Armfeldt. She portrayed the character’s mother, Madame Armfeldt, in a revival of the same musical that took place in Los Angeles eighteen years after her first performance.
Over the course of eight decades, Johns, who was born on October 5, 1943, has appeared in more than 30 stage productions and 60 films. During her early career as a child actress, she debuted in a drama called “South Riding” at the age of thirteen. Playing the lead in “Peter Pan” when she was just 19 years old brought her even more fame.
Among Johns’ many television credits are appearances in “Batman” and “Murder, She Wrote.” In her last role in the 1999 comedy “Superstar,” she played Grandma Gallagher.
In October 2023, the actress had a short TV interview to mark her one hundredth birthday. Asking Johns how being 100 felt, she answered that it didn’t matter to her as long as she looked nice, no matter her age.
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