Glynis Johns

Acting is my highest form of intelligence, the time when I use the best part of my brain. I was always told, by my married friends, for example, that I could apply that intelligence to something else, some other aspect of living, but I can't. I don't have the same flair in other things.

Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress working in film, stage, and television whose career spanned eight decades. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema.

Quotes

In classical theatre in Europe, everybody plays all kinds of parts. Juliets go on to play the Nurses; they don't want to play Juliet again. I think we've got to remember to grab onto our perks, whatever is the good thing about each age. Each stage of life should be a progression.

• I would sooner play in a good British picture than in the majority of American pictures I have seen.
• Relatives cannot help you in the studios. You stand or fall by your own efforts. My father and I have only ever worked in one picture together – that was Halfway House – and the producer was casting a father and daughter. Perhaps it was natural that he chose us, but my father did not get me that job, neither did I get him his.
  • As quoted in Picturegoer (28 September 1946)

• Acting is my highest form of intelligence, the time when I use the best part of my brain. I was always told, by my married friends, for example, that I could apply that intelligence to something else, some other aspect of living, but I can't. I don't have the same flair in other things.
• I'd tread very softly in that area. Very softly. I certainly wouldn't rush into anything again, and I'd have to have an awful lot in common with anyone I'd consider marrying next time. Why so many marriages? It was absolute conservatism on my part. I was brought up to feel that if you wanted to have an affair with a man, well, you married him. I have friends who, if they'd followed that rule, would have collected an awful lot of pieces of paper by now.
• I like being a woman, and it may be small‐minded of me, but I also like being given flowers, having the door opened for me, being cherished by a man. And a woman should look after a man, mother him. It's give and take. It evens out. I'm a complete romantic – and very happy to be one.
  • As quoted in Miss Johns Hits a High Note by Robert Berkvist in the The New York Times (11 March 1973)

• For me, most relationships with men have been like pregnancies – they last only nine months. One of my marriages lated only three months. It wasn't a marriage at all but a serious mistake.
  • As quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer (6 August 1977)

• There were situations that were hard for parents to turn down. It's difficult to turn down a chance to star with Laurence Olivier, to say, 'No, she has to go to school'. They had a big decision to make ... I was interested in everything. I wanted to be a scientist. I would've loved to go on and on at university. But you can't do everything in life.
• In classical theatre in Europe, everybody plays all kinds of parts. Juliets go on to play the Nurses; they don't want to play Juliet again. I think we've got to remember to grab onto our perks, whatever is the good thing about each age. Each stage of life should be a progression.
  • As quoted in A New Role in an Old Favorite: Glynis Johns returns to the stage in 'A Little Night Music' by Janice Arkatov in the Los Angeles Times (17 April 1991)

• I was quite an athlete, my muscles were strong from dancing, so the tail was just fine. I swam like a porpoise.
• I always said that 'Send In The Clowns' was the best gift I was ever given. But I've always thought before I decide I don't want to do theater anymore, I'd like to have a vehicle that gave me the scope to do something beautiful. Maybe this is it.
  • As quoted in Newsday (14 June 1998)

Quotes about Johns

• Glynis Johns is already a professional actress. She got her chance two years ago when the child principal of a children's play fell ill and she took over the part without a rehearsal. Last year she made a hit in the emotional child's part in Elmer Rice's "Judgement Day," and her naturalness in putting over the temperamental storms of Midge Carne puts her high up in rank of child character actresses. Several London critics have compared her to Bonita Granville. She has an intelligent little face which has character without prettiness and, properly handled, should do interesting work.
  • As quoted in the Dayton Daily News (6 February 1938)

• Glynis has light brown hair, blue eyes, and is five feet four inches in height. Dancing is still of great interest to her and is her favourite recreation, coupled with the collecting of good syncopated numbers: Glenn Miller's In the Mood is her favourite. Her favourite classical composers are Grieg, Mozart and Debussy. Riding, tennis and ice skating are her sports, and her ideal holiday is one spent in a mountain resort where there is plenty of night-life. Her favourite reading is autobiographies, preferably those of celebrities she knows personally.
  • As quoted in The Life Story of Glynis Johns in the The Voice (20 September 1952)

• Glynis’s CV stands up strongly when compared to fellow actors of her generation and younger like Angela Lansbury, Judi Dench, Joan Collins and Maggie Smith, who all received Damehoods – so it would be nice if the government could make the same gesture for her as she turns 100.
  • Chris Bryant, as quoted in Glynis Johns – Britain's oldest living star of stage and screen is still shining by John Sturgis in the Daily Express (14 May 2023)

• Of course, she came across as supremely confident, but in private she suffered quite crippling stage fright that she never really got over – only managed – so that makes her career even more remarkable.
  • Thomas Forwood, as quoted in Glynis Johns – Britain's oldest living star of stage and screen is still shining by John Sturgis in the Daily Express (14 May 2023)

• Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives. She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth. Your own truth. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years. She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely. Today is a somber day for Hollywood. Not only do we mourn the passing of our dear Glynis, but we mourn the end of the golden age of Hollywood.
  • Mitch Clem, as quoted in Glynis Johns, Who Played Mrs. Banks in ‘Mary Poppins,’ Dies at 100 by Carmel Dagan in Variety (4 January 2024)

External links

• Glynis Johns on IMDb