CHITTY Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes has died at the age of 91.
The actress – who replaced Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady on Broadway – passed away on Sunday.
Sally was born in London in 1930 to actress-singer Patricia Malone and Bobby Howes.
She had a stellar career spanning more than six decades across stage, screen, and television and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1963 for her performance in Brigadoon.
In 1968, she starred in children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Truly Scrumptious alongside Dick Van Dyke.
Sally’s career was launched at just 12 years old when she appeared in the film Thursday’s Child and after glowing reviews, she went on to be put under contract with Ealing Studios.
After her breakthrough as a child film star, Sally turned back to theatre after getting a taste for stage productions at school.
In her late teens, she made her first stage appearance in Fancy Free and went on to star in several leading roles – including My Fair Lady as fiery Eliza Doolittle.
Despite the success of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the hit film didn’t relaunch her movie career and she continued almost exclusively with theatre roles – with the exception of a few TV and film parts.
“I would have liked a film career, but I didn’t pursue it – I just loved connecting with an audience,” Sally previously told the Palm Beach Post.
“The theatre is a drug. The problem is that to be remembered, you have to do films.”
Her other theatre roles included What Makes Sammy Run?, The King and I, and Cinderella.
Sally wed Broadway composer Richard Adler in 1958 and adopted his two sons after their mother died.
She was briefly married to Andrew Maree before tying the knot to British literary agent Douglas Rae in 1973.
Their marriage lasted 48 years before Rae’s death in September.
