British actress Glynis Johns, one of the stars of Mary Poppins, has died aged 100.
The Tony winner died at an assisted living home in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Johns's manager led tributes to the actress, famed for playing the suffragette-supporting family matriarch Winnifred Banks in Disney's 1964 film.
“Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives,” Mitch Clem said in a statement. “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.”
He added: “She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely. Today is a sombre 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.”
Born on October 5, 1923, in Pretoria, South Africa, Johns’s mother Alyce Steele-Wareham was a concert pianist, and her Welsh father Mervyn Johns an acclaimed stage and screen actor in the UK.
The family moved back to Britain when Johns was a baby and she quickly established herself as a dance prodigy, joining the London Ballet School aged five, becoming an instructor at the age of 10 and earning a teaching degree at 11.
She went on to attend South Hampstead High School in London along with British actress Dame Angela Lansbury, and the two would later star together in the acclaimed television miniseries Little Gloria… Happy at Last as well as Murder, She Wrote.
Starring in 58 films, Johns was already an established actress, having first appeared on screen as a teenager in the 1938 drama South Riding, before she was cast in what is arguably her most famous role as Mrs Banks.
She worked continuously throughout the 1940s, '50s and '60s, starring in 1956’s Around the World in 80 Days opposite David Niven and Shirley MacLaine. Her 1948 film Miranda, in which she played a mermaid, had alongside David Tomlinson, who would later play her onscreen husband, George Banks, in Mary Poppins.
During casting for the musical, Johns initially believed she had landed the lead role of Mary Poppins, which had gone to Dame Julie Andrews. To assuage her disappointment, Walt Disney, who had bought the rights to the book by P L Travers, asked his songwriting team to pen Johns a big number in the film, which would become the rallying Sister Suffragette.
After Mary Poppins, Johns appeared in only 10 more films, with roles opposite Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O’Toole in 1972’s Under Milk Wood, and in the 1995 Sandra Bullock rom-com, While You Were Sleeping.
Her theatrical output was almost as prolific as her filmography, racking up 30 appearances in London and on Broadway between 1931 and 1998, including turns as Peter Pan, Cinderella and Queen Elizabeth I.
Starring in her own sitcom, Glynis, which ran for a brief period on CBS in 1963, she also appeared as Lady Penelope Peasoup in the 1960s Batman television series, and as Shelley Long’s character Diane Chambers’s mother, Helen, in the hit '80s comedy show Cheers.
She was nominated for an Oscar in 1961 for Best Supporting Actress for The Sundowners, a Golden Globe in 1963 for Best Actress for The Chapman and an Olivier Award in 1977 for Actress of the Year for Cause Celebre.
She won a Tony for her role of Desiree Armfeldt in the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, in which she performed Send in the Clowns, which Sondheim had written for her.
“I always said that Send in the Clowns was the best gift I was ever given,” she previously told AP.
She married four times, to actor Anthony Forwood, producer Antony Darnborough, Royal Navy officer David Foster and US Air Force captain Elliot Arnold. She had one son with Forwood, Gareth, who died in 2007 aged 62.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
