‘Mary Poppins’ actress Glynis Johns dies at 100
(CNN) — Glynis Johns, the British actress known for her role as feminist icon Mrs. Banks in 1964’s “Mary Poppins,” has died. She was 100.
Johns’ longtime manager Mitch Clem told CNN on Thursday that she died “peacefully” Thursday morning in Los Angeles at an assisted living home, where she’s lived for the past several years. She is survived by her grandson Thomas and her three great-grandchildren, Clem said.
A cause of death has not yet been determined.
“Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives,” Clem said in a statement on Thursday. “She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth.”
Johns’ career as a film, TV and stage actor spans nearly nine decades.
As a teenager, Johns scored her first film role in the 1938 romantic drama “South Riding.” She went on to appear in a number of movies throughout the 1940s, including the war-era drama “49th Parallel” in 1941, for which she earned a best acting award from the National Board of Review.
Born in South Africa and raised in the United Kingdom, Johns starred in a number of Hollywood films and TV shows throughout the 1950s until her big break in 1960, when she starred alongside Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum in the family-driven drama “The Sundowners” as Mrs. Firth. The film earned five Oscar nominations, including one for Johns in the best supporting actress category.
In 1963, Johns starred in her self-titled TV series “Glynis,” a comedy about a mystery writer who delves into amateur detective work with her lawyer husband (Keith Andes), before landing her best-known role as Mrs. Banks in Disney’s 1964 classic “Mary Poppins.”
Starring alongside Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson in “Mary Poppins,” Johns played Mrs. Banks, a vibrant and upbeat feminist character who sang “Sister Suffragette” in the Oscar-winning film.
She is also known for originating the role of Desiree Armfeldt in the 1973 Broadway play “A Little Night Music,” a character later portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1977 cinematic adaptation. Johns won a Tony Award for her work in the stage version, where her distinctively guttural vocal styling shined while singing the famous Stephen Sondheim-composed ballad “Send In the Clowns.”
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Johns appeared in various TV series, including 1988’s “Coming of Age” and the 1994 dramedy “The Ref,” alongside Denis Leary and Judy Davis. Other credits include 1995’s “While You Were Sleeping” and the 1999 comedy “Superstar.”
In October, Johns celebrated her 100th birthday and told ABC7 at the time that her age “doesn’t make any difference to me.” Still quick-witted, the Hollywood veteran went on to joke that, “I looked very good at every age.”
“Her light shined very brightly for 100 years,” Clem said in his statement Thursday. “She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely.”
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