'Mary Poppins' Star Glynis Johns Has Passed Away At The Age Of 100
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Glynis Johns, best known for her work in Mary Poppins, passed away on January 4th at 100 years old. She was the daughter of renowned Welsh actor Mervyn Johns (The Day of The Triffids). Father and daughter managed to make the same playbill on The Sundowners, for which Glynis received an Oscar nomination.
Glynis Johns grew up in the theatre. She had reportedly been taken on stage at only three weeks old, and had found it difficult to leave ever since. The actress even performed at London’s Phoenix Theatre in the middle of The Blitz, despite German bombers flying overhead. Glynis Johns has appeared on stage with some of the biggest names in the business, including James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Alec Guinness and Lana Turner. She originated the role of Desiree in A Little Night Music, and Sondheim reportedly wrote “Send In the Clowns” to fit her unique vocals. It’s no surprise that it earned her a Tony.
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Glynis Johns’ comedic timing remained a constant right through her sixty-year career in movies, her first at the tender age of fourteen. One of her final projects was Sandra Bullock’s romantic comedy, While You Were Sleeping. Elsie, the quirky grandmother played by Glynis, stole every scene.
Most know her as the feisty blonde suffragette Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins, but this wasn’t her first Disney film. She’d played major parts in The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue eleven years before putting on the sash. Glynis Johns will also be remembered for the atmospheric film adaption of Dylan Thomas’ radio play Under Milk Wood with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
On television, Glynis had a habit of picking up cult parts, such as the camp villainess Lady Penelope Peasoup in the original Batman television series and Shelley Long’s mother in hit sit-com Cheers.
Glynis John’s grandson, Thomas Forwood, has continued the family tradition and entered the arts, taking up the director’s chair. In a 2023 interview about his grandmother, he revealed how she got nervous, despite her prolific resumé: “Of course, she came across as supremely confident, but in private she suffered quite crippling stage fright that she never really got over – only managed – so that makes her career even more remarkable.”
She will be sorely missed.
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Source(s): NBC Wiki IMDB The Guardian
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