Mary Poppins Star Dead At 100
Glynis Johns, best known for her role as Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, has passed away at the age of 100. Her manager, Mitch Clem, revealed to CNN that she died “peacefully” on Thursday morning at her assisted living home in Los Angeles. Johns is survived by her grandson and her three great-grandchildren.
Glynis Johns would get immense praise for her performance as Mrs. Banks, who is known as an early feminist icon in cinema.
Glynis Johns was born in South Africa and was raised in the United Kingdom. She started her career as a teen, eventually getting her breakthrough role in 1960 in The Sundowners as Mrs. Firth. The Sundowners, which also starred Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum, received five Oscar nominations. Johns was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.
Glynis Johns carved her path through Hollywood in film, TV, and on the stage for nearly 90 years. Johns’ career started early, nabbing a role in the 1938 film South Riding when she was just a teenager. She starred in numerous films in the following decade and won an acting award from the National Board of Review for her performance in 1941’s 49th Parallel.
Some of her other TV appearances in the 80s include roles on Cheers, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, and The Cavanaughs.
Glynis Johns would also star in her own TV show titled Glynis in 1963, where she starred as a mystery writer who becomes an amateur detective. The following year, Johns would get the role that made her an icon as Mrs. Banks in Disney’s 1964 version of Mary Poppins. The classic film also starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and David Tomlinson.
Glynis Johns would get immense praise for her performance as Mrs. Banks, who is known as an early feminist icon in cinema. She performed the song “Sister Suffragette” in the film and brought her typical warmth and grace to the role. Johns would take her vocal talents to the stage in the Broadway play A Little Night Music, where she earned a Tony Award for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt.
Glynis Johns carved her path through Hollywood in film, TV, and on the stage for nearly 90 years.
Johns also starred in numerous roles throughout the 80s, including 15 episodes in the TV series Coming of Age as Trudie Pepper. Some of her other TV appearances in the 80s include roles on Cheers, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, and The Cavanaughs. Glynis Johns would continue her career into the 1990s, where she played some other roles she’s well known for in the 1994 film The Ref and the 1995 film While You Were Sleeping.
The Ref followed a burglar who must deal with a dysfunctional family after breaking into their house on Christmas Eve. While You Were Sleeping follows a CTA ticket booth operator who is mistaken for the fiancee of a coma patient. Johns would finish her film career with the 1999 film Superstar before retiring from acting in her 70s.
Glynis Johns celebrated her 100th birthday in October of 2023. She leaves behind an indelible legacy of iconic performances, and she’ll be remembered for the many great roles she brought us over the years. Make sure to watch Mary Poppins in her honor this weekend if you want to revisit her most iconic performance.
Source: CNN
