Glynis Johns, best known to audiences as Mrs. Winifred Banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins, has died in Los Angeles. Her publicist confirmed the news to Eyewitness News, citing old age. Johns was 100 years old.
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Considered one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age Of Hollywood, Johns appeared in dozens of films starting in 1938, earning an Academy Award nomination for her role in 1961's The Sundowners. She went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her role in 1963's The Chapman Report, and in 1998, she was deemed a “Disney Legend,” a hall of fame recognition from the studio.
Johns was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1923. Her mother was a concert pianist, per The Hollywood Reporter, and gave birth to Glynis while touring. The family moved to England—the country both her parents called home—a few months after her birth. She made her film debut at just 13 years old in South Riding, and Johns worked steadily on and off screen for the next 60 years.
On stage, Johns is best remembered for originating the role of Desirée Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 musical A Little Night Music. Johns received a Tony Award for her leading role. The song “Send In The Clowns”—quite possibly Sondheim’s best-known tune outside of theater circles—was written to suit Johns’ voice. “Glynis had a lovely, crystal voice, but sustaining notes was not her thing. I wanted to write short phrases, so I wrote a song full of questions,” Sondheim toldThe New York Times
Johns also briefly had a sitcom in 1963, titled Glynis, which ran for 13 episodes on CBS. Her final roles came in the 1990s, playing Sandra Bullock’s grandmother in the 1995 film While You Were Sleeping and as the grandmother to Molly Shannon’s character in 1999's Superstar. When Eyewitness News