Glynis Johns

Infobox actor
name = Glynis Johns


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1923|10|5|df=y
birthplace = Pretoria, South Africa
yearsactive = 1939–1999
spouse = Anthony Forwood (1942-1948)
David Foster (m. 1952)
Cecil Henderson (1960-1962)
Elliott Arnold (m. 1964)
tonyawards = Best Leading Actress in a Musical
1973 "A Little Night Music"

Glynis Johns (born 5 October, 1923) is a 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.

Biography

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. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/70/Glynis-Johns.html Glynis Johns Biography (1923-) ] ] 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.

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".

Filmography

* "Murder in the Family" (1938)
* "South Riding" (1938)
* "Prison Without Bars" (1938)
* "Under Your Hat" (1940)
* "On the Night of the Fire" (1940)
* "The Briggs Family" (1940)
* "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940) (uncredited)
* "The Prime Minister" (1941) (uncredited)
* "49th Parallel" (1941)
* "Sabotage Agent" (1943)
* "The Halfway House" (1944)
* "Perfect Strangers" (1945)
* "This Man Is Mine" (1946)
* "Frieda" (1947)
* "An Ideal Husband" (1947)
* "Third Time Lucky" (1948)
* "Miranda" (1948)
* "Dear Mr. Prohack" (1949)
* "The Blue Lamp" (1950) (uncredited)
* "State Secret" (1950)
* "Flesh & Blood" (1951)
* "No Highway", released in the U.S. as "No Highway in the Sky" (1951)
* "The Magic Box" (1951)
* "Appointment with Venus" (1951)
* "Encore" (1951)
* "The Card" (1952)
* "The Sword and the Rose" (1953)
* "Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue" (1953)
* "Personal Affair" (1953)
* "The Weak and the Wicked" (1954)
* "The Seekers" (1954)
* "The Beachcomber" (1954)
* "Mad About Men" (1954)
* "Josephine and Men" (1955)
* "The Court Jester" (1956)
* "Loser Takes All" (1956)
* "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956)
* "All Mine to Give" (1957)
* "Another Time, Another Place (1958 film)" (1958)
* "Last of the Few" (1959)
* "Shake Hands with the Devil" (1959)
* "The Spider's Web" (1960)
* "The Sundowners" (1960)
* "The Cabinet of Caligari" (1962)
* "The Chapman Report" (1962)
* "Papa's Delicate Condition" (1963)
* "Mary Poppins" (1964)
* "Dear Brigitte" (1965)
* "Don't Just Stand There!" (1968)
* "Lock Up Your Daughters!" (1969)
* "Under Milk Wood" (1972)
* "The Vault of Horror" (1973)
* "The Happy Prince" (1974) (voice)
* "Mrs. Amworth" (1975)
* "Three Dangerous Ladies" (1977)
* "Little Gloria... Happy at Last" (1982) (TV)
* "Murder in the Family" (1985) (Miniseries)
* "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School" (1988) (TV) (voice)
* "Zelly and Me" (1988)
* "Nukie" (1993)
* "The Ref" (1994)
* "While You Were Sleeping" (1995)
* "Superstar" (1999)

References

External links

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* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=2671 Glynis Johns images]

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=