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Famous television, film, and stage actor Glynis Johns died at the age of 100 on January 4, 2024, merely three months after her 100th birthday. She spent her last days in an assisted living facility in Los Angeles, California. Her manager of 25 years, Mitch Clem, stated that Johns died "peacefully" in her sleep due to natural causes.
According to BBC, Clem said her death was a "sombre day for Hollywood."
"Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years. 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," he continued.
Born on October 5, 1923, in South Africa, Johns had a career that spanned for decades. She was most famous for her role as Desiree Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical A Little Night Music and her portrayal of the suffragette mother Winifred Banks in the 1964 Oscar-winning Disney musical Mary Poppins.
Glynis Johns was married four times, with each marriage ending in a divorce. At 100 years, she outlived all her four husbands and her only son, Gareth Forwood.
Glynis Johns was married four times, and each marriage ended in a divorce
Glynis Johns was born into showbiz. Her mother, Alice Steele-Wareham, was an Australian-born concert pianist and often toured the world with her husband, Mervin. The two had been touring in South Africa when Glynis Johns was born.
According to The Sun, the family moved to England soon after Johns' birth. Her grandmother, who was also an actress, introduced Johns to theatre when she was just three weeks old. Glynis Johns is the fourth generation of actors on her mother's side.
Soon, Johns started acting on stage and consequently moved to film and television, where she met her first husband, Anthony Forwood, in 1941 while rehearsing for Quiet Wedding. The two married in 1942 and had a son, Gareth Forwood, in 1945. However, they got divorced just three years later due to "adultery."
She then met Antony Darnborough in 1951 while working on an anthology film called Encore. The pair dated for a while and were engaged, but the wedding was called off for reasons unknown.
In 1952, she married her second husband, David Foster, a Royal Navy officer and businessman. The Sun reported that the wedding took place in New York, but the couple divorced after four years in 1956.
Her third marriage to Cecil Henderson, a businessman, lasted from 1960 - 1962. The pair divorced after Henderson accused her of having an affair.
Her fourth and final marriage was to writer and United States Air Force captain Elliott Arnold. They married in 1964 in Los Angeles. It was this year that Mary Poppins was released, and Johns became a household name. Her portrayal of Winifred Banks bankrolled her success, and she soon reached stardom.
Johns and Arnold filed for divorce in 1973. Amid her divorce, Glynis Johns took on the role of Desiree Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music, winning a Tony Award for her performance.
Sondheim specifically wrote the song Send In The Clowns to suit Johns' unique "silvery voice." According to the Mirror, Sondenhaim said in a 2005 interview:
"I wrote it for her voice, because she couldn’t sustain notes. Wasn’t that kind of singing voice. I wouldn’t have written a song so quickly if I hadn’t known the actress."
When asked if she would ever consider marrying again in an interview with Robert Berkvist in 1973, Glynis Johns said:
"I'd tread very softly in that area. Very softly. I certainly wouldn't rush into anything again, and I'd have to have an awful lot in common with anyone I'd consider marrying next time."
Tributes pour in as Mary Poppins actor Glynis Johns dies at 100
Glynis Johns was a part of several people's childhoods through her work in Mary Poppins. Tributes poured in on X (formerly Twitter) as people mourned the acting legend.
Ahead of her 100th birthday in October 2023, Labour MP Chris Bryant had called for Johns to be made a dame. Following her death, he tweeted:
"So sad. One of the great British actors who should have been given a damehood."
According to The Mirror, Glynis Johns was the oldest living Oscar nominee and unofficially held the title of the “world’s oldest living screen star” till her death. Johns retired from acting in 1999 and moved to America, where she lived in California till her death.
She will be buried beside her father, actor Mervyn Johns, in the UK, as per BBC. She is survived by her grandson, Thomas Forwood, a Paris-based screenwriter, and her three grandchildren.
