Glynis Johns, Mrs. Banks in 'Mary Poppins,' Dead at 100

Jones had a career that spans about 60 films and 30 plays.

By Ashley Turner

Glynis Johns, who played Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins, has died at the age of 100. Her manager, Mitch Clem, told The Hollywood Reporter that she died of natural causes in an assisted living facility in West Hollywood on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In Fred Zinnemann's 1960 film The Sundowners, Johns earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her portrayal of widowed saloon proprietress Mrs. Firth. In A Little Night Music, she sang the song Stephen Sondheim composed for her, specifically, "Send in the Clowns," in the Tony Award-winning role of Desiree Armfeldt.

In addition, Johns has also been nominated for a Golden Globe for portraying the role of an older socialite attracted to a young man she meets at the beach in 1962's The Chapman Report.

The following year, she starred in a short-lived CBS sitcom titled Glynis in which she played a mystery writer and amateur detective, and, on the last season of ABC's The Batman, she played Lady Penelope Peasoup, paired with Rudy Vallee as Lord Marmaduke Ffogg.

Recruited by Walt Disney himself, Johns played Mrs. Banks, who needs a nanny, portrayed by Julie Andrews, to take care of her two children in the 1964 movie Mary Poppins.

Glynis Johns was born in Pretoria, South Africa, on Oct. 5, 1923. As the daughter of concert pianist Alys Steele, her mother gave birth to her while she was on tour.

By the age of 10, Johns had won over two dozen gold medals in dancing competitions throughout England and earned a degree as a ballet teacher. She made her English movie debut in 1938 with the drama South Riding, and at only 19, she played the lead in Peter Pan onstage.

The CBS sitcom Coming of Age was a series that Johns starred in from 1988 to 1989. In it, he played a senior citizen living in an Arizona retirement community. In the recent past, she has starred in Denis Leary's The Ref (1994) as an energetic grandmother and in While You Were Sleeping (1995) and Superstar (1999) in similar roles.

Jones had four marriages during her life and had one son, Clem said, during her marriage to Anthony Forwood. She does not have any survivors, Clem said.

In an interview with KABC-TV, the actress, who was once famous for her husky voice, said she didn't notice much difference after turning 100. She felt the same way throughout her ten decades on Earth, during which she was able to work on 60 films and 30 plays. She added, "Well, I looked very good for every age." 

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