In some ways the term "legend" seems insufficient to describe Glynis Johns. She had success in motion pictures, on Broadway, and on television. She appeared in such movies as Miranda (1948), The Court Jester (1955),. The Sundowners (1960), and Mary Poppins (1964). On Broadway she originated the song "Send in the Clowns" in the production A Little Night Music, a song that Stephen Sondheim wrote specifically for her. On television she made numerous guest appearances, and starred on the shows Glynis and Coming of Age. Glynis Johns was nothing if not prolific and she had a particularly long career. Miss Johns died yesterday, January 4 2024, at the age of 100.
Glynis Johns was born on October 5 1923 in Pretoria, Union of South Africa to acting royalty. Her father was legendary Welsh actor Mervyn Jones, now known for such movies as Jamaica Inn (1939), Dead of Night (1945), and Scrooge (1951). Her mother was concert pianist Alice Steele-Wareham. Glynis Johns's mother gave birth to her while she was on tour. Glynis Johns took to entertainment while she was still very young. She was five years old when she enrolled in the London Ballet School. By the time she was ten years old she had already earned over two dozen gold medals in dance from competitions throughout England. In addition to being a trained dancer, Glynis Johns was also a skilled pianist and singer.
Glynis Johns was only 13 years old when she made her film debut in South Riding in 1938. In the late Thirties she also appeared in the films Murder in the Family (1938), Prison Without Bars (1938), On the Night of the Fire (1939), Under Your Hat (1940), The Briggs Family (1940), and The Thief of Bagdad (1940). It was in the Forties that she achieved stardom. She appeared with her father, Mervyn Johns, playing his daughter, in the movie The Halfway House (1944). In 1948 she starred as the mermaid of the title in the enormously popular movie Miranda. Glynis Johns would play Miranda twice more, in a cameo in the movie Helter Skelter (1949) and in the film Mad About Men (1951), which Rank Films insisted was not a sequel despite the fact that Glynis Johns played the same character as in Miranda. During the Forties she also appeared in the movies The Prime Minister (1941), 49th Parallel (1941), The Adventures of Tartu (1943), Perfect Strangers (1945), This Man is Mine (1946), Frieda (1947), An Ideal Husband (1947), Third Time Lucky (1949), Dear Mr. Prohack (1949), and State Secret (1950).
By the Fifties Glynis Johns was an established star. She appeared in two swashbucklers made by Disney, The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953). She was the female lead in the classic comedy The Court Jester (1955). She also appeared with her father in The Magic Box (1951) and The Sundowners (1960), for which she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in such films as Flesh and Blood (1951), No Highway in the Sky (1951), Appointment with Venus (1951), Encore (1951), The Card (1952), Personal Affair (1953), The Weak and the Wicked (1954), The Seekers (1954), The Beachcomber (1954), Josephine and Men (1955), Loser Takes All (1956), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), All Mine to Give (1957), Another Time, Another Place (1958), Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), and The Spider's Web (1960).
In the Sixties Glynis Johns played what may be her best known role, that of suffragette Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964). She also appeared in the controversial movie The Chapman Report (1962) and the comedy Dear Brigette (1965). She also appeared in the movies The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), Papa's Delicate Condition (1963), Don't Just Stand There (1968), and Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969). In the Seventies Glynis Johns appeared in the movies Under Milk Wood (1971), The Vault of Horror (1973), and Three Dangerous Ladies (1977). She provided the voice of Swallow in the animated short "The Happy Prince" (1974). From the Eighties through the Nineties, she appeared in the movies Nukie (1987), Zelly and Me (1988), The Ref (1994), While You Were Sleeping (1995), and Superstar (1999).
As mentioned earlier, Glynis Johns also had a career on the stage, and she appeared on stage while she was still a child. She was eight years old when she appeared in the play Judgement Day at the Phoenix Theatre in London. In the Thirties she also appeared on the British stages in the short play St. Helena at The Old Vic in London, as well as The Children's Hour, The Melody That Got Lost, and Quiet Wedding.
In the Forties Glynis Johns appeared on stage in the play Quiet Weekend at the Wyndham Theatre in London and once more in Judgement Day (this time in an older role) at the Phoenix Theatre. She was only played the title character in a production of the play Peter Pan a the Cambridge Theatre in London. She also appeared in the plays I'll See You Again in 1944 and Fools Rush In in 1946.
Glynis Johns made her debut on Broadway in the title role in Gertie in 1952. She also appeared on Broadway in Major Barbara from 1956 to 1957. In the Sixties she appeared on the West End in he King's Mare at the Garrick Theatre. In 1963 she appeared on Broadway in Too Good to Be True. In the Seventies she appeared on Broadway in A Little Night Music and The Circle. In London she appeared in Come as You Are and 13 Rue de l'Amour. She also appeared in various productions elsewhere.
Glynis Johns also had an extensive television career. She made her television debut in 1952 in an episode of Studio One. In the Fifties she made guest appearances on Lux Video Theatre, The Errol Flynn Theatre, and The Frank Sinatra Show. In the Sixties she had her own short-lived sitcom on CBS, Glynis. She played Glynis Granville, a mystery writer who solves mysteries with the help of her husband, defence attorney Keith Granville (Keith Andes). Glynis Johns played the villain Lady Penlope Peasoup in a multi-part episode of Batman, with with Rudy Vallée as her brother Lord Marmaduke Ffogg. She also guest starred on the shows Adventures in Paradise, The Roarings 20's, General Electric Theatre, Naked City, The Dick Powell Show, Dr. Kildare, The Beachcomber, Saints and Sinners, The DuPont Show of the Week, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Burke's Law,The Defenders, 12 O' Clock High, and ITV Playhouse.
In the Eighties Glynis Johns was a regular on the show Coming of Age. She guest starred in an episode of Cheers as the mother of Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). She also guest starred on The Love Boat; Murder, She Wrote; and The Cavanaughs, She appeared in the mini-series She provided a voice for the animated TV movie Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. Glynis Johns appeared in the mini-series Little Gloria...Happy at Last and Le crime d'Ovide Plouffe. In the Nineties she played the voice of Darjeeng in an ABC Weekend Special adaptation of The Secret Garden.
Glynis Johns was that rarest of people, a true multi-talent. She could act. She could dance. She could sing. And she could play piano. Chances are good that Glynis Johns will always be best remembered as Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, the easy-distracted wife and mother who is at the same time a devoted suffragette. While this may be the case, she played a wide variety of roles. She will also be remembered as the flirtatious mermaid Miranda in the movie of the same name and the film Mad for Men. In contrast, she played the femme fatale Joan Burns in Third Time Luck, who finds herself caught between two gamblers. In The Chapman Report she played housewife Teresa Harnish, who finds herself lusting after a younger football player (Ty Hardin). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Sundowners for good reason. As Mrs. Firth, the loud, overly talkative, and flirtatious owner of the local pub, she is easily one of the best parts of the film. She also shined as Maid Jean, easily described as a female Robin Hood, in The Court Jester.
Glynis Johns also did well in her many television roles. She was one of the best villains on Batman, playing the diabolical Penelope Peasoup. In the Naked City episode "The Hot Minerva" she played a museum curator whose museum has been the victim of theft. In The Defenders episode "The Thief," Glynis Johns played Catherine Collins, a kleptomaniac facing life imprisonment. Of course, Glynis Johns also had a very successful stage career, and won the Tony Award for Best Actress of a Musical for her role as Desiree Armfeldt.
Glynis Johns was a singular talent who played a wide variety of roles over the years. If she was so prolific and her career was so long, it was because of her enormous presence as an actress and her ability to transform herself into a wide variety of characters. It's not many actors who played everything from a mermaid to a suffragette to femme fatales.
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