Actress Glynis Johns, 'Mary Poppins' star, dies at 100

Glynis Johns, the esteemed actress known for her Tony Award-winning performance on stage, her iconic role as the mother in the classic film "Mary Poppins," and for introducing the heart-wrenching song "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim to the world, has passed away at 100. Her manager, Mitch Clem, revealed that she died of natural causes at an assisted living home in Los Angeles on Thursday. “Today is a melancholic day for Hollywood. She represents the end of an era in Hollywood," remarked Clem. Johns had a reputation for being meticulous in her craft, displaying precision, analysis and strong convictions. Each of her roles had to possess depth and complexity; she wouldn't settle for less. “First class acting is about making it real, humanizing the characters I play. The role needs to make sense to me in my mind for it to be authentic,” she expressed to The Associated Press in 1990. Johns' crowning achievement was her portrayal of Desiree Armfeldt in “A Little Night Music,” which earned her a Tony in 1973. Sondheim composed the hit song "Send in the Clowns" specifically for her distinctive husky voice. However, the role was taken up by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1977 film adaptation. Johns considered the song to be the most significant gift she received in her theatrical career. Others who have performed this enduring song by Sondheim include Frank Sinatra, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, and Olivia Newton John. The song also featured in the second season of “Yellowjackets” in 2023, performed by Elijah Wood. Born into the fourth generation of an English theatrical family, Johns kicked off her career as a dancer at 12, and an actor at 14 in London's West End. Her breakthrough came with the 1948 comedy hit “Miranda,” where she played a flirtatious mermaid. She was nominated for best supporting actress at the Oscars for her role in “The Sundowners" in 1960 but lost to Shirley Jones’s performance in “Elmer Gantry.” Among her other notable performances was the role of the mother in "Mary Poppins," which helped launch the career of Julie Andrews and where she sang the empowering song “Sister Suffragette.” Other significant roles include her performance in the 1989 Broadway revival of W. Somerset Maugham's romantic comedy "The Circle," alongside Rex Harrison and Stewart Granger. Johns, who was married four times and had lived in different parts of the world, was the mother of one child, Gareth Forwood, also an actor, who died in 2007.