Glynis Johns

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Glynis Johns

Glynis Johns (born October 5, 1923 in Pretoria , South Africa ) is a Welsh actress , pianist , singer and dancer . Her best-known role is Winifred Banks in the film musical Mary Poppins (1964).

Life

Glynis Johns was born in Pretoria in 1923 as the daughter of the Welsh actor and author Mervyn Johns (1899-1992) and the concert pianist Alys Steele (1901-1970). Her family was traveling in South Africa at the time of her birth . Her career-conscious parents trained as a "complete actress", which also included singing, dancing and playing the piano. She made her stage debut at the age of 12 and played, among other things, in the first English production of Lillian Hellman's play The Children's Hour in 1936 .

Her film career began in 1938 with South Riding , directed by Victor Saville . Her breakthrough came in 1948 in the title role of Miranda , where she played a mermaid on the side of David Tomlinson and Margaret Rutherford . It was also the feature film debut of the previous documentary director Ken Annakin . 1954 was followed by a sequel under the title Mad About Men , in which Johns was in front of the camera as Miranda and her human cousin. The Journey into the Unknown (1951) with James Stewart and The Irresistible (1952) with Alec Guinness cemented their reputation. Walt Disney then gave her in two of its UK manufactured movies the female lead, both times at the side of Richard Todd : When Mary Tudor in the staged also by Annakin A Sword and the Rose ( The Sword and the Rose , 1953) and in Rob Roy - The Royal Rebel ( Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue , 1953).

Her best-known role is probably that of suffragette and mother "Winifred Banks" in the Disney film adaptation of PL Travers ' Mary Poppins (1964), one of the most successful film musicals of all time. Walt Disney countered her disappointment with the low presence of her role by commissioning the Sherman brothers to write an additional solo for Johns. The song became known under the title Sister Suffragette . As the only member of the cast, Johns was smart enough to secure a share of the movie song royalties, which continues to earn her money to this day. Other highlights of her career include the female lead in the humorous Musical The Court Jester ( The Court Jester , 1955) with Danny Kaye and that of Fred Zinnemann directed The Sundowners ( The Sundowners , 1960) with Deborah Kerr , Robert Mitchum and Peter Ustinov , for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress .

In addition, Glynis Johns was often on the theater stage and in front of the camera for television productions. In 1963 she was the leading actress in the television series Glynis , in which she played the crime novelist "Glynis Granville". The series was discontinued after only 13 episodes. Johns has guest roles in television series such as Batman , Love Boat and Murder Is Her Hobby . On Broadway , she played the role of the aging actress Desiree Armfeldt in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's successful musical A Little Night Music , based on the Ingmar Bergman film The Smile of a Summer Night . For this, Johns was awarded a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1973 .

The actress played one of her last major roles as the good-natured grandmother "Elsie Callaghan" in Jon Turteltaub's 1995 when you slept with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman . After appearing as the grandmother of Molly Shannons character in Superstar - Dare to Dream , she retired in 1999.

Private

Johns was married a total of four times, but all marriages were divorced . From her first marriage to Anthony Forwood between 1942 and 1948, her son Gareth Forwood (1945-2007) emerged, who also became an actor. Her future husbands were David Foster (marriage 1952-1956), Cecil Henderson (marriage 1960-1962) and Elliott Arnold (marriage 1964-1973). Glynis Johns now lives in a retirement home in Los Angeles.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Web links

Commons : Glynis Johns  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biographical data of Glynis Johns in: Scott Palmer: British film actors' credits, 1895–1987. McFarland, 1988, ISBN 1-55862-166-0 , p. 404.
  2. ^ Glynis Johns | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved October 10, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Pat Williams, James Denney: How To Be Like Walt. Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life. Health Communications, Deerfield Beach 2004, ISBN 978-0-7573-0231-2 .
  4. ↑ Laura E. Nym Mayhall: Domesticating Emmeline. Representing the Suffragette, 1930-1993. In: NWSA Journal. Volume 11, No. 2, 1999, p. 12.
  5. ^ Glynis Johns | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved October 10, 2018 .
  6. ^ Glynis Johns - Belmont Village . In: Belmont Village . ( belmontvillage.com [accessed October 10, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Johns, Glynis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress, pianist, singer and dancer
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Pretoria , South Africa