British actress Glynis Johns, best known for her portrayal of Mrs. Winifred Banks in the 1964 classic “Mary Poppins,” on January 4 died at the age of 100 of natural causes in an assisted living center in Los Angeles, ABC News reported.
Her manager Mitch Clem described Johns as “the last of the last of old Hollywood.”
A Tony Award-winning actress, Johns first introduced to the world the ballad “Send in the Clowns” when she starred in Stephen Sondheim’s musical “A Little Night Music” on Broadway in the early 1970s. According to the Associated Press, Sondheim composed the song specifically to suit Johns’ distinctive voice.
But the role that made Johns a familiar face to American audiences came in 1964 when she starred with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the Oscar-winning Disney classic “Mary Poppins,” playing the role of the suffragette mother Winifred Banks.
In total, Johns appeared in more than 60 films both in the US and UK, including “The Sundowners,” for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.
In her 80-year career on stage and screen, Johns was the winner of a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Her television credits include guest appearances on “Murder, She Wrote,” “Cheers,” and “The Love Boat.” Johns also played the villain Lady Penelope Peasoup in the 1960s television series “Batman.”
Glynis Johns was born in Pretoria, South Africa on October 5, 1923. Her stage career began at the early age of 12 in London’s West End where she performed as both a dancer and actor. She made her film debut at 15 in the British film “South Riding.” Johns went on to appear in several films, including “Vacation from Marriage” and “49th Parallel.”
Before starring in “Mary Poppins,” Johns also appeared in the 1953 Disney film “The Sword and the Rose,” playing the role of Princess Mary Tudor.
In 1963, Johns starred in the self-titled TV series “Glynis” in which she played a mystery writer.
Johns was married four times and had only one son, the late actor Gareth Forwood who died in 2007.