Sally Ann Howes, an English-born grande dame of American and British musical comedy who captivated children as Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” featuring a magic jalopy that floats and flies into fantasy adventures, died on Sunday in a hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Born into show business, the daughter of a popular London comedian and his singing-actress wife, Ms. Howes was cast in her first movie at 12 and had a stage, screen and television career that spanned six decades.
Johnson; was a frequent guest on television game and talk shows; became a Barbie doll; sang operettas; and later in life lectured, made documentaries and raised funds for AIDS research and other charities.
Critics were mixed about the Ken Hughes-Roald Dahl film, but children were ecstatic.
While it lost money initially, the film became a perennial children’s favorite and made Ms. Howes an international film star, her fame renewed every Christmas in videos and DVDs and for the nostalgia buffs.
Audiences and most critics adored her as George Bernard Shaw’s gamine.
Ms. Howes returned to Broadway in 1961 for “Kwamina,” a musical written for her by Mr. Adler.
“Sally Ann Howes has grown accustomed to Lerner and Loewe songs,” Milton Esterow said in a review for The Times.
In 1964, Ms. Howes joined Robert Alda and Steve Lawrence in Budd Schulberg’s “What Makes Sammy Run?” a Broadway musical about a ruthless young man who betrays friends and lovers to scheme his way to the top of a Hollywood studio.
Ms. Howes toured Britain in 1973 in “The King and I,” and the United States in 1978 in “The Sound of Music.” In the 1970s and 1980s, she sang operettas like “Blossom Time” and “The Merry Widow” in American regional theaters.
Sally Ann Howes was born in London on July 20, 1930, to the comedian Bobby Howes and the actress Patricia Malone.
Her acting in school plays and her family connections attracted an agent, and in 1943 she appeared with Stewart Granger in her first movie, “Thursday’s Child.” It launched her career.
Ms. Howes’ marriage in 1950 to Maxwell Coker ended in divorce in 1953.
“The moment you hit 45 — now it’s 55 — your career changes,” she said.