British actress Glynis Johns, known for her role as Winifred Banks in ‘Mary Poppins,’ dies at 100

The woman who played Mrs. Winifred Banks in the comedy “Mary Poppins” died Thursday in Los Angeles. The actress, singer and dancer born in 1923 in South Africa began her career in cinema in 1938.

“She’s the last of the last of old Hollywood.” Glynis Johns’ manager announces that the British and South African actress died Thursday, January 4, of natural causes in a Los Angeles retirement home. Also a singer and dancer, she was best known for the role In the comedy Mary Poppins by Disney, released in 1964.

Alongside Julie Andrews, she played Mrs. Winifred Banks, a committed suffragist and mother of Jane and Michael, the children looked after by the surprising nanny. Also starring in two other company films, Walt Disney honored her with the title of “Disney legend” in 1988.

In 61 years of career, Glynis Johns, born October 5, 1923 in Pretoria, South Africa, from a Welsh family, has appeared in 35 films and series. Daughter of an actor father, obtaining her first role in the cinema at the age of fifteen, she is a figure of the golden age of Hollywood and enjoys great success from the post-war period, a period which becomes a glamorous icon. Glynis Johns was notably nominated for an Oscar in the best actress category for a supporting role in the film Horizons without borders by Fred Zinnemann. Released in 1960, she then starred opposite actor Robert Mitchum. Over the years, her success waned and the actress was increasingly offered roles for television, among others in series Arabesques And The cruise is fun.

Dean of Hollywood

Coming from cinema, it is however the theater which gave her her greatest success. The role of Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music earned him a Tony Award in 1973, the most prestigious American drama award. Glynis Johns, who was also a singer, performed in this musical the title Send In The Clowns that composer Stephen Sondheim had written especially for the actress’s hoarse voice. She considered this song to be “the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given him at the theater”.

During the celebration of her 40 years of career, the actress explained to the journalists present that she was unable to realize the duration of her career. “It’s really weird. I don’t feel like 40 years have passed, I would rather count four years, or even four months.” She died at the dawn of her 101st year, she was the doyenne of Hollywood cinema.