Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actress Sally Ann Howes passes away
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and My Fair Lady star Sally Ann Howes is dead at 91: London-born actress dies three months after husband of 48 years passed away – following glittering stage and screen career spanning six decades
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes has died at the age of 91 after a career that spanned six decadesThe actress first appeared onscreen aged 12 and was put under contract with Ealing Studios Ms Howes was born in London in 1930 to actress Patricia Malone and Bobby Howes
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes has died at the age of 91 following a stage and screen career that spanned six decades.
The actress, who made her first appearance on screen aged 12, passed away on Sunday just three months after her husband of 48 years died in September.
Ms Howes, whose reason for death is unknown, was said to be inseparable from her British literary agent spouse Douglas Rae, who she married in 1973.
Ms Howes’ nephew Toby wrote on Twitter: ‘I can also confirm the passing of my beloved Aunty #SallyAnnhowes who died peacefully in her sleep yesterday. My brother & I thought Sally Ann might hold on until the #Christmas screening of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as this would have greatly appealed to her mischievous side.’
Ms Howes was born in London in 1930 to actress Patricia Malone and actor Bobby Howes. Aged 12 she appeared in the film Thursday’s Child and went on to be put under contract with Ealing Studios.
She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a musical in 1963 for her appearance in Brigadoon and starred in children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Truly Scrumptious alongside Dick Van Dyke in 1968.
But her passion was theatre, which she likened to ‘a drug’, making her first appearance in Fancy Free and going on to star in My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle.
She became a household name after replacing Julie Andrews in the production on Broadway in 1958, once saying she heard a groan when she was announced as a last-minute matinee performance replacement for Ms Andrews.
‘The audience felt cheated and I immediately felt I had been thrown to the wolves. By the end of the performance, I had turned them,’ she previously said. She would later come to know that afternoon as ‘the best I ever had’.
Sally Ann Howes married British literary agent Douglas Rae (pictured together) in 1973. They remained together for 48 years before Mr Rae died in September and were described by Ms Howe’s nephew as ‘inseparable’. Ms Howes passed away on Sunday aged 91
She starred in children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Band as Truly Scrumptious alongside Dick Van Dyke in 1968. Pictured, Ms Howes as Truly sits in her motorcar
She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a musical in 1963 for her appearance in Brigadoon. Pictured, in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as they escaped the film’s villain Baron Bomburst, who wants to steal their flying car
Tributes have poured in since the star’s death was announced, with four-time Olivier nominated actress Emma Williams describing her as ‘the epitome of class’.
She said: ‘Sad news today about Sally Ann Howes, the original and best Truly Scrumptious. She was the epitome of class, a generous and kindly soul who offered the sweetest words of advice and support to me when I met her. I will forever be grateful.’
The estate of actor Kenny Moore’s Twitter page wrote: ‘Saddened by the news of the passing of dear #SallyAnnHowes. Sally and Kenny were friends throughout their lives, as too was @ImAngelaDouglas. Sally and her late husband, #DouglasRae were later witnesses at Angela and Bill Bryden’s wedding. Our thoughts are with their families.’
In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Ms Howes performed as a wind up doll alongside Mr Dyke. She described the performance as very difficult but said the film crew gave her an applause because she got it in one take. In the film Truly was performing for Baron Bomburst, pretending to be a doll for his birthday so they could rescue the children he had captured
Ms Howes is pictured in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang alongside child stars Adrian Hall, then nine, and Heather Ripley, then eight, as they took a drive in their magic flying car
Ms Howes and Mr Dyke starred together in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Pictured is the moment the couple stood next to the toymaker as they realised the children had been taken by the child catcher
When she was asked whether she could dance during her audition for her role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, she said she could – thinking her feet would be hidden behind large Edwardian-era skirts. Pictured during a dance number at Truly’s father’s sweet factory early on in the film
The star’s passion was theatre, which she likened to ‘a drug’, making her first appearance in Fancy Free and going on to star in My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle (pictured). She became a household name after replacing Julie Andrews in the production on Broadway in 1958, once saying she heard a groan when she was announced as a last-minute matinee performance replacement for Ms Andrews
Ms Howes was taught by her parents to say yes to anything she was asked to do, and once told a casting director she smoked to secure a role. She previously said: ‘I auditioned for a role and was asked if I smoked. Naturally, I said yes’
Tributes have poured in since the star’s death was announced, with four-time Olivier nominated actress Emma Williams describing her as ‘the epitome of class’
Other theatre roles included What Makes Sammy Run?, The King and I, and Cinderella. ‘I would have liked a film career, but I didn’t pursue it – I just loved connecting with an audience,’ she previously told the Palm Beach Post. ‘The theatre is a drug. The problem is that to be remembered, you have to do films.’
Ms Howes was taught by her parents to say yes to anything she was asked to do, and once told a casting director she smoked to secure a role. She previously said: ‘I auditioned for a role and was asked if I smoked. Naturally, I said yes.
‘My father had taught me long before that when a casting director asked if you could do something, you immediately said yes, and if you couldn’t you learnt darn fast. At any rate, I learnt to smoke for that role and when I finished it, I stopped.’
Similarly, when she was asked whether she could dance during her audition for her role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, she said she could – thinking her feet would be hidden behind large Edwardian-era skirts.
She then had to perform a solo routine in front of the entire cast and crew during a pivotal scene in the film, Baron Bomburst’s birthday party – when she pretended to be a wind-up doll on a music box. She did the scene in one take and earned a large applause from the 150 extras who were watching.
Born in St John’s Wood, London, in 1930, Ms Howe spent the Second World War in the family’s home in Hertfordshire, where her father regularly entertained theatrical guests.
One, an agent, remembered Ms Howe and told her parents to bring her for a screen test when she was 12 years old. She earned glowing reviews in Thursday’s Child (1943) and was signed by Ealing Studios.
She would go on to perform in Dead of Night in 1945, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in 1947 and The History of Mr Polly in 1949.
When she was 20 she began a career in musical theatre, making her debut in Caprice in 1950.
In 1953, she appeared alongside her father in the original 18-month West End run of the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon. The same year she divorced her husband of three years, Maxwell Coker, an American actor,
Some five years later she married Broadway composer Richard Adler and moved permanently to the US, where she adopted her husband’s two sons – Christopher and Andrew – following their mother’s death. She continued to raise them even after her divorce. Christopher, a songwriter, died in 1984, while Andrew survives her.
She was engaged to the society photographer Sterling Henry Nahum, but it ended with his unexpected death in 1956.
She then had a short marriage to Andrew Maree from 1969 to 1970 and ultimately spent the rest of her life married to Mr Rae following their wedding in 1972.
