"Truly Scrumptious" stage and screen star Sally Ann Howes has died
London, UK - Sally Ann Howes, who starred as Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died at age 91.
Her son, artist Andrew Hart Adler, confirmed the news to the PA news agency, while tributes from family and friends filled Twitter on Tuesday.
He said he holds "so many memories" of the actor, remembering her as "a very direct person" who was "conscious and reflective."
The singer and actor was noted for her many 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 Life magazine in March of 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 actor-singer Patricia Malone and British entertainer Bobby Howes, with whom she starred in Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon.
Her other notable performances were in stage shows Summer Song and A Hatful Of Rain.
Posts poured out for the star across social media upon news of her passing, with many calling her a "childhood icon."
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO/Allstar & ZUMA Wire