British actress Glynis Johns, best known for her role in Disney’s 1964 classic Mary Poppins, has died aged 100.
Johns died in Los Angeles, where she had been living in an assisted living home for the past few years, according to her manager Mitch Clem.
Born in South Africa while her parents – her mother was a concert pianist and her father the Welsh actor Mervyn Johns – were on tour, Johns’ grew up in the UK. In the 1940s and early fifties she appeared in a string of British films, including 49th Parallel (for which she won a National Board of Review award), An Ideal Husband and The Magic Box.
In the early sixties Johns’ began appearing in Hollywood films, including The Sundowners, for which she was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar. Her performance as the mother of the title character’s wards in Mary Poppins was followed by roles in The Chapman Report, Under Milk Wood and other projects. Her most recent feature credit was for 1999 comedy Superstar.
Johns’ appeared in US TV series including Batman, Cheers, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. On the Broadway stage she won a Tony Award for the 1973 production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, in which she became the first person to sing Send in the Clowns.
In a post on Facebook, Clem, Johns’ manager of 25 years, wrote: “My heart is heavy today with the passing of my beloved client Glynis Johns. Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives.”
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