Glynis Johns
Encyclopedia
Glynis Johns is a South African
-born Welsh
stage and film actress, dancer, pianist
and singer (notably of "Send in the Clowns
", which she originated 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 the age of ten.
, South Africa
, the daughter of Alys Maude (née
Steele-Payne), a pianist, and Mervyn Johns
(1899–1992), the British stage and film actor. Her roots are in West Wales
, and she was born in Pretoria while her parents were performing on tour there.
's novel, South Riding
. In 1944, she appeared with 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. The following year, she starred in the especially sad Christmas film All Mine to Give. Johns received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the 1960 film The Sundowners
. 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 Célèbre
by Terence Rattigan
. In the 1962-1963 television season, Johns guest starred in the CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show
. She played opposite Sir Rex Harrison in his final stage production W. Somerset Maugham
's The Circle in 1990. She also starred in the premiere of Horton Foote
's A Coffin in Egypt in 1998 at the Bay Street Theatre as Myrtle Bledsoe.
In the fall of 1963, she and Keith Andes
starred as a married couple in her sitcom-drama
television series called Glynis
. In the story, Glynis is a mystery writer, and Andes is a criminal defense attorney. The program was cancelled after thirteen weeks. From 1988-89 she played Trudie Pepper, a senior citizen living in an Arizona retirement community in the sitcom, Coming Of Age
.
(1942–1948), with whom she had her only child, Gareth Forwood (1945–2007), who was a British actor. (Anthony Forwood was later Sir Dirk Bogarde
's life companion and manager.) She once remarked that she was wed so often because she married all of her lovers, although she never married the film director Antony Darnborough to whom she was engaged for a time in the early 1950s. Johns was also married to David Foster
, who at the time was chairman of Colgate Palmolive International.
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
-born Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
stage and film actress, dancer, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and singer (notably of "Send in the Clowns
Send in the Clowns
"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she...
", which she originated in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
). 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
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
by the age of ten.
Early life
Johns was born in PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the daughter of Alys Maude (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Steele-Payne), a pianist, and Mervyn Johns
Mervyn Johns
Mervyn Johns was a Welsh film and television character actor. He was a mainstay of Ealing Studios.Among his dozens of film roles were Walter Craig in Dead of Night , the Church Warden in Went the Day Well? and Bob Cratchit in Scrooge...
(1899–1992), the British stage and film actor. Her roots are in West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
, and she was born in Pretoria while her parents were performing on tour there.
Career
Johns made her first stage appearance in Buckie’s Bears as a child ballerina at the Garrick Theatre in 1935. She made her 1938 film debut in the movie version of Winifred HoltbyWinifred Holtby
Winifred Holtby was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding.-Life and writings:...
's novel, South Riding
South Riding (novel)
South Riding is a novel by Winifred Holtby, published posthumously in 1936.The book is set in the fictional South Riding of Yorkshire: the inspiration being the East Riding rather than South Yorkshire...
. In 1944, she appeared with her father in Halfway House, and in 1948 starred as a mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
in Miranda
Miranda (1948 film)
Miranda is a 1948 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the play of the same name from which the film was adapted. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. A light comedy, the film is about a beautiful and playful mermaid played by Glynis...
(Johns later reprised the role in a 1954 sequel, Mad About Men
Mad About Men
Mad About Men is a British comedy film, made in 1954. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the 1948 film Miranda which preceded Mad About Men...
). In 1952, she co-starred in the movie version of Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
's novel The Card
The Card
The Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911, . It was later made into a 1952 movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. It chronicles the rise of Edward Henry Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley...
. She made a successful transition to Hollywood, appearing in Personal Affair
Personal Affair
Personal Affair is a 1953 British drama film directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Gene Tierney, Leo Genn, and Glynis Johns.-Plot summary:...
(1953) starring Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
and in The Court Jester
The Court Jester
The Court Jester is a 1956 musical-comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. The movie was co-written, co-directed, and co-produced by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama...
(1956) as Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
's love interest. The following year, she starred in the especially sad Christmas film All Mine to Give. Johns received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the 1960 film The Sundowners
The Sundowners
The Sundowners is a 1960 film that tells the story of an Australian outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic sheep-herding ways and the wife's and son's desire to settle down in one place...
. One of her best known film roles was that of Winifred Banks, the children's mother, a suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
, in Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
(1964). Her last film appearance was in the 1999 film Superstar
Superstar (film)
Superstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
.
Johns has also appeared on television and on stage, most memorably in Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's musical A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
. The song "Send in the Clowns
Send in the Clowns
"Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she...
" was written with her in mind, and in 1973, she won a Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
award for her role in the musical. She later appeared in London in Cause Célèbre
Cause Célèbre (play)
Cause Célèbre or A Woman of Principle is a 1975 radio play by the English author Terence Rattigan. It was inspired by the trial of Alma Rattenbury and her teenage lover in 1935 for the murder of her third husband Francis Rattenbury and first broadcast on the BBC on 27 October 1975...
by Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
. In the 1962-1963 television season, Johns guest starred in the CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show
The Lloyd Bridges Show
The Lloyd Bridges Show is an American anthology drama series produced by Aaron Spelling, which aired on CBS from September 11, 1962 to May 28, 1963, starring and hosted by Lloyd Bridges.-Synopsis:...
. She played opposite Sir Rex Harrison in his final stage production W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
's The Circle in 1990. She also starred in the premiere of Horton Foote
Horton Foote
Albert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television...
's A Coffin in Egypt in 1998 at the Bay Street Theatre as Myrtle Bledsoe.
In the fall of 1963, she and Keith Andes
Keith Andes
Keith Andes was an American film, radio, musical theatre, stage and television actor.-Early life:John Charles Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey on July 12, 1920. By the age of 12, he was featured on the radio....
starred as a married couple in her sitcom-drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series called Glynis
Glynis
Glynis is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 18, 1963.-Synopsis:The series stars Welsh actress Glynis Johns as Glynis Granville, a mystery writer. Keith Andes appeared as Keith Granville, Glynis' husband who works as a successful criminal defense attorney....
. In the story, Glynis is a mystery writer, and Andes is a criminal defense attorney. The program was cancelled after thirteen weeks. From 1988-89 she played Trudie Pepper, a senior citizen living in an Arizona retirement community in the sitcom, Coming Of Age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
.
Personal life
Johns has been married four times. One of her husbands was Anthony ForwoodAnthony Forwood
Anthony Forwood was an English actor.- Career :In 1949 Forwood gained his first acting role when he starred in Ralph Thomas' Traveller's Joy. That same year he appeared in the thriller Man in Black with Sid James...
(1942–1948), with whom she had her only child, Gareth Forwood (1945–2007), who was a British actor. (Anthony Forwood was later Sir Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
's life companion and manager.) She once remarked that she was wed so often because she married all of her lovers, although she never married the film director Antony Darnborough to whom she was engaged for a time in the early 1950s. Johns was also married to David Foster
David Foster (pilot)
David Foster DSO, DSC and bar, was a decorated pilot in the British Royal Navy during World War II and a business executive.- Career :...
, who at the time was chairman of Colgate Palmolive International.
Filmography
- Murder in the FamilyMurder in the FamilyMurder in the Family is a 1938 British crime film directed by Albert Parker and starring Barry Jones, Jessica Tandy and Evelyn Ankers. It was adapted from a novel by James Ronald...
(1938) - South RidingSouth Riding (film)South Riding is a 1938 British drama film directed by Victor Saville and produced by Alexander Korda, starring Edna Best, Ralph Richardson, Edmund Gwenn and Ann Todd. A squire becomes involved in local politics. It is based on the novel South Riding by Winifred Holtby...
(1938) - Prison Without BarsPrison Without BarsPrison Without Bars is a 1938 British black-and-white, crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ronald Shiner as a gendarme. It was produced by Alexander Korda Film Productions.-Synopsis:...
(1938) - On the Night of the FireOn the Night of the FireOn the Night of the Fire is a 1939 British thriller, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard. The film is based on the novel of the same name by F. L. Green. It was shot on location in Newcastle upon Tyne and was released shortly after the outbreak of World...
(1939) - Under Your HatUnder Your HatUnder Your Hat is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Austin Trevor, Leonora Corbett and Cecil Parker. The film is set in pre-Second World War England where a leading film star and his wife attempt to recover a secret carburettor...
(1940) - The Briggs FamilyThe Briggs FamilyThe Briggs Family is a 1940 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Edward Chapman, Felix Aylmer, Jane Baxter, Oliver Wakefield and Austin Trevor. During the Second World War, a special constable and former solicitor is called upon to defend his son who is accused of the theft of...
(1940) - The Thief of BagdadThe Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
(1940) (uncredited) - The Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister (film)The Prime Minister is a British film from 1941 directed by Thorold Dickinson. It details the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and stars John Gielgud, Diana Wynyard, Fay Compton and Stephen Murray.-Plot:...
(1941) (uncredited) - 49th Parallel49th Parallel (film)49th Parallel is the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as The Invaders. Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the U.S.-Canadian border...
(1941) - The Adventures of TartuThe Adventures of TartuThe Adventures of Tartu is a 1943 British Second World War spy film starring Robert Donat.-Plot:...
(1943) - The Halfway HouseThe Halfway HouseThe Halfway House is a 1944 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Tom Walls, Mervyn Johns and Glynis Johns. It also features the French actress Françoise Rosay...
(1944) - Perfect StrangersPerfect Strangers (1945 film)Perfect Strangers , is a 1945 British drama film made by London Films. It stars Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr as a married couple whose relationship is shaken by their service in the Second World War. The supporting cast includes Glynis Johns, Ann Todd, Roland Culver, and Roger Moore in his...
(1945) - This Man Is MineThis Man Is Mine (1946 film)This Man Is Mine is a 1946 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Tom Walls, Glynis Johns and Jeanne De Casalis. A Canadian soldier is billeted with a British family for the Christmas holidays to the delight of the two unmarried daughters...
(1946) - FriedaFrieda (film)Frieda is a 1947 British film, directed by Basil Dearden, screenplay by Angus MacPhail and Ronald Millar and was produced by Michael Balcon. Frieda is a German woman who helps an English airman, Robert , to escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in April 1945...
(1947) - An Ideal HusbandAn Ideal Husband (1947 film)An Ideal Husband, also known as Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, is a 1947 film adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. It was made by London Film Productions and distributed by British Lion Films and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation . It was produced and directed by Alexander Korda from a...
(1947) - Third Time Lucky (1948)
- MirandaMiranda (1948 film)Miranda is a 1948 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the play of the same name from which the film was adapted. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. A light comedy, the film is about a beautiful and playful mermaid played by Glynis...
(1948) - Dear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. Prohack is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde.-Plot:...
(1949) - The Blue LampThe Blue LampThe Blue Lamp is a British crime film released in early 1950 by Ealing Studios, directed by Basil Dearden and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Jack Warner as police constable George Dixon, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde in an early role...
(1950) (uncredited) - State SecretState SecretState Secret is a 1950 British drama film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns and Herbert Lom. It was released in the United States under the title The Great Manhunt.-Cast:...
(1950) - Flesh & Blood (1951)
- No HighwayNo Highway in the SkyNo Highway in the Sky is a 1951 British disaster film directed by Henry Koster and starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich...
, released in the U.S. as No Highway in the Sky (1951) - The Magic BoxThe Magic Box (film)The Magic Box is a 1951 British, Technicolor, biographical drama film, directed by John Boulting and starring Ronald Shiner as the Fairground Barker, Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Charles Victor. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation...
(1951) - Appointment with VenusAppointment with Venus (film)Appointment with Venus is a 1951 film adaptation of the Jerrard Tickell novel of the same name. It was directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E. Box and its screenplay was written by the novelist Nicholas Phipps...
(1951) - EncoreEncore (1951 film)Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:*"The Ant and the Grasshopper", directed by Pat Jackson and adapted by T. E. B...
(1951) - The CardThe CardThe Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911, . It was later made into a 1952 movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. It chronicles the rise of Edward Henry Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley...
(1952) - The Sword and the RoseThe Sword and the RoseThe Sword and the Rose, is a United States family and adventure film, produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin...
(1953) - Rob Roy, the Highland RogueRob Roy, the Highland RogueRob Roy, the Highland Rogue is a 1953 British-American action film, made by Walt Disney Productions. This film is about Robert Roy MacGregor. Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue is the final Disney film released through RKO....
(1953) - Personal AffairPersonal AffairPersonal Affair is a 1953 British drama film directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Gene Tierney, Leo Genn, and Glynis Johns.-Plot summary:...
(1953) - The Weak and the WickedThe Weak and the WickedThe Weak and the Wicked is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the book by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors....
(1954) - The Seekers (1954)
- The BeachcomberThe Beachcomber (film)The Beachcomber is a 1954 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box starring Donald Sinden, Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Paul Rogers, Donald Pleasence and Michael Hordern. The film is based on the story The Vessel of Wrath by W. Somerset Maugham and was adapted by Sydney Box. It was the...
(1954) - Mad About MenMad About MenMad About Men is a British comedy film, made in 1954. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the 1948 film Miranda which preceded Mad About Men...
(1954)
- Josephine and MenJosephine and MenJosephine and Men is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch...
(1955) - The Court JesterThe Court JesterThe Court Jester is a 1956 musical-comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. The movie was co-written, co-directed, and co-produced by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama...
(1956) - Loser Takes AllLoser Takes All (film)Loser Takes All is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Glynis Johns, Rossano Brazzi and Robert Morley. It was based on a screenplay by Graham Greene.-Cast:* Glynis Johns as Cary* Rossano Brazzi as Bertrand...
(1956) - Around the World in Eighty DaysAround the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson. It was produced by Michael Todd, with Kevin McClory and William Cameron Menzies as associate producers. The screenplay was written by James...
(1956) - All Mine to GiveAll Mine to GiveAll Mine to Give is a 1957 melodrama film starring Glynis Johns, Cameron Mitchell, and Rex Thompson. When first one parent, then the other dies, six children have to look after themselves in the American west of the mid 19th century...
(1957) - Another Time, Another Place (1958)
- Last of the Few (1959)
- Shake Hands with the DevilShake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)Shake Hands with the Devil is a 1959 film directed by the English director Michael Anderson.It is set in 1921 Dublin, where the Irish Republican Army battles the "Black and Tans," the ex-British soldiers sent to suppress the IRA with excessively harsh measures.The film stars James Cagney as Sean...
(1959) - The Spider's WebThe Spider's Web (1960 film)The Spider's Web is a 1960 British mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Glynis Johns, John Justin, Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert...
(1960) - The SundownersThe SundownersThe Sundowners is a 1960 film that tells the story of an Australian outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic sheep-herding ways and the wife's and son's desire to settle down in one place...
(1960) - The Cabinet of CaligariThe Cabinet of CaligariThe Cabinet of Caligari is a film by Roger Kay, starring Glynis Johns, Dan O'Herlihy, and Richard Davalos, and released by 20th Century Fox....
(1962) - The Chapman ReportThe Chapman ReportThe Chapman Report is a 1962 film made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Richard D. Zanuck, from a screenplay by Wyatt Cooper and Don Mankiewicz, adapted by Gene Allen and Grant Stuart from Irving...
(1962) - Papa's Delicate ConditionPapa's Delicate ConditionPapa's Delicate Condition is a 1963 comedy film starring Jackie Gleason and Glynis Johns. It was an adaptation of the Corinne Griffith memoir of the same name, about her father and growing up in Texarkana, Texas. Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Call Me...
(1963) - Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (film)Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
(1964) - Dear BrigitteDear BrigitteDear Brigitte is a 1965 American family-comedy starring James Stewart and directed by Henry Koster.-Plot:Stewart stars as an American college professor with a genius son, the precocious Erasmus . After using his skills for gambling at the horse track, Erasmus becomes infatuated with model and...
(1965) - BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
(1967) - Don't Just Stand There! (1968)
- Lock Up Your Daughters!Lock Up Your DaughtersLock Up Your Daughters is a musical based on an 18th century comedy, Rape Upon Rape, by Henry Fielding and adapted by Bernard Miles. The lyrics were written by Lionel Bart and the music by Laurie Johnson...
(1969) - Under Milk WoodUnder Milk Wood (film)Under Milk Wood is a 1972 British film directed by Andrew Sinclair and based on the radio play Under Milk Wood by the Welsh writer Dylan Thomas. It starred Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole. Like the book it portrays the inhabitants of a small Welsh village Llareggub....
(1972) - The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror (film)The Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
(1973) - The Happy Prince (1974) (voice)
- Mrs. Amworth (1975, short)
- Three Dangerous Ladies (1977)
- Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982) (TV)
- CheersCheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
(1983) (TV) Season One - Mrs. Helen Chambers - Murder in the Family (1985) (Miniseries)
- Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988) (TV) (voice)
- Zelly and Me (1988)
- Nukie (1993)
- The RefThe RefThe Ref is a 1994 American black comedy film directed by Ted Demme and starring Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey.-Plot:...
(1994) - While You Were SleepingWhile You Were SleepingWhile You Were Sleeping is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub and written by Daniel G. Sullivan and Frederic Lebow. It stars Sandra Bullock as Lucy, a Chicago Transit Authority token collector and Bill Pullman as Jack, the brother of a man whose life she saves, along with Peter...
(1995) - SuperstarSuperstar (film)Superstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
(1999)
Theatre (selected)
- 1936-36 St Helena, Old Vic
- 1937 Judgement Day, Embassy and Strand
- 1938 Quiet Wedding, Wyndham’s
- 1941 Quiet Weekend, Wyndham’s
- 1943 Peter Pan (Peter), Cambridge Theatre
- 1950 Fools Rush In, Fortune
- 1950 The Way Things Go, Phœnix
- 1952 Gertie (title role), BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
- 1956 Major Barbara (title role), Broadway
- 1963 Too True to Be GoodToo True to Be GoodToo True to Be Good is a comedy written by playwright George Bernard Shaw at the age of 76. The play was first staged at the Guild Theatre, New York, followed in the same year by a production in Malvern, Worcestershire. It has been shown at the Shaw Festival 3 times : 1982, 1994, 2006, see Shaw...
, Broadway - 1966 The King’s Mare, Garrick
- 1969-70 A Talent to Amuse, Phoenix Theatre
- 1969-70 Come As You Are, New Theatre
- 1971-72 Marquise, The Hippodrome, Bristol
- 1973 A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
(Tony Award for best musical actress), Broadway - 1975 Ring Round the Moon, Los Angeles
- 1976 13 Rue de l’Amour, Phœnix
- 1978 Cause Celebre (Best Actress Award, Variety Club), Her Majesty's Theatre
- 1980-81 Hay FeverHay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - 1980-90 The Boy Friend, Toronto
- 1989-90 The Circle, Broadway
- 1998 A Coffin in Egypt, Bay Street Theatre