GME Remembers Celebrated Star of Stage and Screen Glynis Johns

GLYNIS JOHNS, PHOTOGRAPHED BY JACK MITCHELL IN 1973. © ESTATE OF JACK MITCHELL.

GME remembers celebrated star of stage and screen Glynis Johns, who passed away last week, on January 4th, 2024, at the age of 100. Among her many accolades, Johns was an Oscar nominee, and the recipient of a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award. She is perhaps best known to modern audiences for her portrayal of Winifred Banks in the Disney classic MARY POPPINS (1964). In the video below, you can view Johns performing “Sister Suffragette” in the film:

The still photo at the top of the article, culled from the Jack Mitchell photo collection, captures Johns during the original 1973 Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. For her performance as Desiree Armfeldt, Johns won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and introduced the world to the song, “Send in the Clowns,” which Sondheim had written specifically to suit the “breathy quality of her husky voice.” Below, you can view Johns performing her signature tune on The Johnny Carson Show in 1973:

Johns appeared in over 60 films and 30 plays in a career that spanned eight decades. While she mostly appeared in British film productions, Johns also worked extensively in Hollywood, and received her sole Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actress) for her role in the British-American co-production THE SUNDOWNERS (1960), a Western dramedy co-starring Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum. Other notable films in which she appeared include AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956), THE CHAPMAN REPORT (1962), and WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (1995).

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