‘Mary Poppins’ star Glynis Johns, who sang Sondheim’s ‘Send in the Clowns,’ dead at 100
nypost.com“Mary Poppins,” has died. She was 100. After a career spanning eight decades, Johns died Thursday of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Hollywood, her manager, Mitch Clem, told the Hollywood Reporter.Born in South Africa in 1923, Johns had a theatrical family – her father, Mervyn Johns, was a Welsh actor, and her mother, Alyce Steele-Wareham, was an Australian-born concert pianist. “My father taught me to listen to what the other actors are saying,” she told the New York Times in 1973.
She grew up in England, where she became a dancer, singer, pianist and actress. By 10, she’d won more than 24 gold medals in dance competitions, and earned a degree to teach ballet. “I’ve been working at something ever since I was born, I think,” Johns told ABC7 in October.
Her film debut was in the 1938 movie “South Riding,” when she was 13. She also played Peter Pan onstage when she was 19. Some of her early credits include 1948’s “Miranda” and 1949’s “Helter Skelter.” Johns also co-starred in 1955’s “The Court Jester” with Angela Lansbury.
Stephen Sondheim wrote “Send in the Clowns,” for her to sing, and she won a Tony for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt in the 1973 production of “A Little Night Music.”“They didn’t say yes right there and then,” she told the New York Times, about nabbing the famous role. “So I flew to London and went about my business until I heard they’d decided on me for the part of Desiree.
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