Glynis Johns

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Glynis Johns

Born 5 October 1923 (1923-10-05) (age 84)
Flag of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa
Years active 1939–1999
Spouse(s) 1) Anthony Forwood (divorced) (one son);
2) David Foster (divorced);
3) Cecil Henderson (1960–divorced 1962);
4) Elliott Arnold (1964–divorced)

Glynis Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a Tony Award-winning British stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer (notably of "Send in the Clowns" in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music). With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer. She is also an accomplished dancer, and was qualified to teach ballet by age ten.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Johns was born in Pretoria, South Africa, the daughter of Alys Maude (née Steele-Payne), a pianist, and Mervyn Johns (1899-1992), the well known British stage and film actor.[1] Her roots are in West Wales, and she was born in Pretoria while her parents were performing on tour there.

Johns has been married four times. One of her husbands was Anthony Forwood (1915–1988), with whom she had her only child, Gareth Forwood (1945–2007), who was a British actor. (Anthony Forwood was later manager of Sir Dirk Bogarde). She once remarked that she was wed so often because she married all of her lovers, Johns also married David Foster, who at the time was chairman of Colgate Palmolive International.

[edit] Career

Johns made her 1938 film debut in the movie version of Winifred Holtby's novel, South Riding. In 1944, she appeared opposite her father in Halfway House, and in 1948 starred as a mermaid in Miranda (Johns later reprised the role in a 1954 sequel, Mad About Men). In 1952 she co-starred in the movie version of Arnold Bennett's novel The Card. She made a successful transition to Hollywood, appearing in Personal Affair (1953) starring Gene Tierney and in The Court Jester (1956) as Danny Kaye's love interest. One of her best known film roles was that of Winifred Banks, the children's mother, a suffragette, in Mary Poppins (1964). Her last film appearance was in the 1999 film Superstar.

Johns has also appeared on television and on stage, most memorably in Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music. The song "Send in the Clowns" was written with her in mind, and in 1973, she won a Tony award for her role in the musical. She later appeared in London in Cause Celebre by Terence Rattigan. She briefly had an American television series called Glynis.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Glynis Johns Biography (1923-)

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Alexis Smith
in Follies		 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
1973
for A Little Night Music		 Succeeded by
Virginia Capers
in Raisin
Persondata
NAME Johns, Glynis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION British stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer
DATE OF BIRTH 5 October 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Pretoria, South Africa
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH