The star's family and fans advocate for the actress
30 plays, 60 films. Multiple awards and nominations. The remarkable life of Glynis Johns is as illustrious as they come – and her family hopes she can receive one more recognition: Damehood. Born on October 5, 1923, Johns turns 100 this year and her family wants her to be officially named Dame Glynis in time for the big day.
Dame, a title today equated to Knight, is a title awarded to those who have contributed a significant amount to a certain activity, most often at a national level. Their contribution is characterized by inspiration, significance, and years-long dedication. In a career spanning eight decades, Glynis Johns seems a suitable candidate – and her family is ready to argue her case as the best 100th birthday gift ever.
Johns’s closest living relative is her grandson, 48-year-old screenwriter Thomas Forwood, who argues that she more than qualifies for Damehood. “Almost everyone will have seen her work and be familiar with her face and voice – she’s in so many pieces that people hold dear,’ he argues.
For this reason, Forwood asserts, “It would be fitting on this occasion for the UK government to formally acknowledge her cultural contribution by making her a Dame.” It would be especially fitting as she and her family are in the throes of celebrating her impending 100th birthday. Forwood adds, “I am so delighted that my grandmother is set to make it to this landmark birthday and we send her many congratulations” and assures that “Everyone in the family is immensely proud of her achievements.”
Forwood refers to a precedent set by history. “I look at other actors like, for example, Dame Joan Collins or Dame Penelope Keth, Dame Maureen Lipman or Dame Joanna Lumley, who have been honored in this way,” he mused. “And while I would never seek to diminish their achievements, I do feel that in this context it’s clear that Glynis has been overlooked.”
Forwood is not the only one calling for this oversight to be corrected. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who has worked in Arts and Culture, Media and Sport, argues, “Glynis certainly deserves recognition for her stellar and incredibly enduring career on both stage and screen. She bears comparison with some of the greatest actors of her era – I’m thinking of people like Angela Lansbury, Judi Dench, Joan Collins and Maggie Smith.” He also called her “a lifetime ambassador for the creative arts.”
Johns entered the Hollywood scene with 1951’s No Highway in the Sky and gave an award-winning performance in Mary Poppins as Winifred Banks. She won Best Acting by the National Board of Review for 49th Parallel. 1973 was a very eventful year for her as Johns netted a Tony and Drama Desk Award. She was also named a Disney Legend in ’98.
Nowadays, Johns lives a quiet life she’s maintained since her nineties, living in a Beverly Hills retirement care home in contentment. She is the world’s oldest actress, although she stopped giving interviews a decade ago. But perhaps, as of this year, that place of residence will house a Dame when Glynis Johns gets her due.
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