Sally Ann Howes, the actress who starred in the 1968 musical filmChitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died. She was 91.
Howes died on Sunday at a hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, according toThe New York Times. Howes’s cause of death is unknown. She had homes in West Palm Beach and London.
The actress’s career included performing at the White House for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Some of her most high-profile performances came in the musicalsMy Fair Lady, What Makes Sammy Run?andBrigadoon.
Howes became a household name when she starred as Truly Scrumptious inChitty Chitty Bang Bangopposite Dick Van Dyke as a nutty widowed inventor.
Leonard Burt/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty
The movie was based onJames Bondcreator Ian Fleming’s children’s book of the same name. The story follows the professor, Scrumptious and his two children as they travel to the magical land of Vulgaria in his flying boat-car to battle the tyrant Baron Bomburst.
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In 1958, Howes moved to New York after marrying composer and lyricist Richard Adler. She made her Broadway debut inMy Fair Ladywhen she replaced original star Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle.
Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty
“The moment you hit 45 — now it’s 55 — your career changes,” she said at the event, per theTimes. “You have to rethink everything, and you have to adjust. I was always aware of it because of the people I was brought up with. We saw careers go up and down and be killed off.”
She added, “I’ve never prepared for anything. I’ve always jumped into the next thing, and therefore it’s been a strange career. I enjoyed experimenting.”
source: people.com
