London (PA Media/dpa) – Sally Ann Howes, who starred as Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” has died aged 91.
Her son, artist Andrew Hart Adler, confirmed the news to the PA news agency. He said he holds “so many memories” of the actress, remembering her as “a very direct person,” who was “conscious and reflective.”
The singer and actress was noted for her performances in London’s West End and Broadway in New York City during a career that spanned decades.
Howes replaced Dame Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of “My Fair Lady” in 1958, when Dame Julie returned to Britain to star in the show’s West End production.
She was also featured on the cover of US magazine Life in March that year.
In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for best lead actress in a musical for her performance in “Brigadoon.”
Howes was cast in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” as Truly Scrumptious – the daughter of a confectionery magnate – opposite showbiz veteran Dick Van Dyke, performing classic songs including “Toot Sweets” and “Hushabye Mountain,” and appearing as a wind-up figurine in “Doll On A Music Box.”
From September 2007 to January 2008 she returned to “My Fair Lady,” performing in a US tour of the show, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, appearing as Mrs Higgins.
Howes was born on July 20 1930 in St John’s Wood in west London.
She was the daughter of actress-singer Patricia Malone and British entertainer Bobby Howes, with whom she starred in Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon. Other notable performances were in stage shows “Summer Song” and “A Hatful Of Rain.”
GNA