Entertainment

Mary Poppins actress Glynis Johns dies aged 100

Mary Poppins actress Glynis Johns dies aged 100
Actress Glynis Johns, © PA Archive/PA Images

Actress Glynis Johns, most known for her role as Mrs Banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins, has died at the age of 100, her manager confirmed.

Johns, who won a Tony Award in 1973 for playing Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music on Broadway, starred opposite Dame Julie Andrews in the classic movie where she played Winifred Banks, the suffragette mother of the children in need of a nanny.

Mitch Clem, her manager, said Johns had died “peacefully” on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Film – ‘The Magic Box’ Premiere – Odeon, Leicester Square, London
Glynis Johns arrives for the premiere of the Festival film The Magic Box at the Odeon in Leicester Square in 1951 (PA)
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In a statement he said: “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.

“She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth. Your own truth. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years.

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“She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely.

“Today is a sombre day for Hollywood. Not only do we mourn the passing of our dear Glynis, but we mourn the end of the golden age of Hollywood.”

Pictured on location in Monte Carlo for Loser Takes All in 1955 (
Pictured on location in Monte Carlo for Loser Takes All in 1955 (PA)

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Johns was known to be a perfectionist about her profession, telling the Associated Press in 1990: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in playing the role on only one level.

“The whole point of first-class acting is to make a reality of it. To be real.

“And I have to make sense of it in my own mind in order to be real.”

Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter

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