Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes dies aged 91

RIP.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actress Sally Ann Howes has passed away at 91 years old. The star was best known for playing Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film and sadly died on December 19th. Howes quickly became a much loved star of stage and screen with a career spanning over six decades and an abundance of awards to show for it. She was nominated for a Tony Award for best lead actress in a musical back in 1963 for her starring role in Brigadoon. While her cause of death is yet to be revealed, fans have already begun to pay tribute to the actress that made an impact on their childhood with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Howes was the daughter of British comedian and actor Bobby Howes and her mother was actress and singer Patricia Malone. [caption id="attachment_543770" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Howes made the transition to musical theatre when she was 20 years old in Caprice in 1950 before taking over for Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in 1958.[/caption]

"The best afternoon I ever had was my first matinee," she previously said.

"It was the performance before Julie’s last show, and he wanted me to get a performance under my belt. Moss [Hart, the director] introduced me. He announced that “Julie Andrews will not be playing Eliza Doolittle,” and there was this audible groan."

"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." In 1962 she appeared in the revival of Brigadoon where she became the first person to be nominated for a Tony for a revival performance. It was then in 1967 that Howes began filming for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where she landed the role of Truly Scrumptious alongside Dick Van Dyke.