Matthew Garber
Encyclopedia
Matthew Adam Garber was a British
actor
best known for his role as Michael Banks in Walt Disney's
1964 film Mary Poppins
. Born in Stepney
, London
to parents who had both performed on stage, he attended St Paul's Primary School
in Winchmore Hill
and Highgate School
in Highgate
, North London.
. That same year, he and Thomasina co-star Karen Dotrice
were hired to play Michael and Jane, the children of George Banks (David Tomlinson
), who gets more than he bargained for when he hires a nanny named Mary Poppins
(Julie Andrews
). Disney's live-action/animated film
adaptation of the Mary Poppins
book series by P. L. Travers
won five Academy Awards
and made its stars world-famous
.
Garber and Dotrice paired up again in 1967 in the The Gnome-Mobile
, as the grandchildren of a rich lumber mogul (Walter Brennan
) who stumble across a gnome forest and are asked to help keep the gnomes from dying off.
in Hampstead
, London
, of hemorrhagic necrotising pancreatitis
at the age of 21. On 24 October 2004, the Mail on Sunday
ran an interview with Fergus Garber, identified as Garber's younger brother (by eight years); he told reporters that Garber had contracted hepatitis
—probably, he said, from eating "bad meat"—while traveling in India
in 1976, and it had already spread to his pancreas when their father brought Garber back to England the following year. Fergus denied any suggestion that his brother was using drugs.
Matthew and his father got back to London only about a week before he died.
Matthew was seen at Coppetts Wood Hospital and then The Royal Free Hospital.
By then, he was in a coma and never recovered.
Garber's body was later cremated
at St Marylebone Crematorium (East Finchley) London on 16 June 1977.
Garber was posthumously named a Disney Legend
in 2004; Fergus Garber accepted on his behalf.
On the Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary DVD, Karen Dotrice
admitted that she regretted not keeping in touch with Garber before his death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for his role as Michael Banks in Walt Disney's
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
1964 film Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
. Born in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to parents who had both performed on stage, he attended St Paul's Primary School
St. Paul's School, Winchmore Hill
St. Paul's School, Winchmore Hill, London, United Kingdom is a primary school in the London Borough of Enfield. It is a voluntary-aided Church of England school within the Diocese of London.-Location and catchment area:...
in Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill is a district in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district.- Location :With the Winchmore Hill conservation area as a focal point, Winchmore Hill is a ward of Enfield borough, bounded on the east by Green Lanes , Barrowell Green, Firs Lane and Fords Grove, and...
and Highgate School
Highgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, North London.
Acting career
Garber made his screen debut at age seven in Disney's The Three Lives of ThomasinaThe Three Lives of Thomasina
The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 British-American Disney fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon...
. That same year, he and Thomasina co-star Karen Dotrice
Karen Dotrice
Karen Dotrice is an English actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey to two accomplished stage actors...
were hired to play Michael and Jane, the children of George Banks (David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
), who gets more than he bargained for when he hires a nanny named Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (character)
Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the protagonist of P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books and all of its adaptations. She is a magical nanny of unknown origins who arrives at the Banks home in Cherry Tree Lane where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons...
(Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
). Disney's live-action/animated film
Live-action/animated film
A live-action/animated film is a motion picture that features a combination of real actors or elements: live-action and animated elements, typically interacting.-History:...
adaptation of the Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
book series by P. L. Travers
P. L. Travers
Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about the mystical and magical nanny Mary Poppins...
won five Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
and made its stars world-famous
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
.
Garber and Dotrice paired up again in 1967 in the The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney....
, as the grandchildren of a rich lumber mogul (Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
) who stumble across a gnome forest and are asked to help keep the gnomes from dying off.
Death
On 13 June 1977, Garber died at the Royal Free HospitalRoyal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, of hemorrhagic necrotising pancreatitis
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when pancreatic enzymes that digest food are activated in the pancreas instead of the small intestine. It may be acute – beginning suddenly and lasting a few days, or chronic – occurring over many years...
at the age of 21. On 24 October 2004, the Mail on Sunday
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
ran an interview with Fergus Garber, identified as Garber's younger brother (by eight years); he told reporters that Garber had contracted hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
—probably, he said, from eating "bad meat"—while traveling in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1976, and it had already spread to his pancreas when their father brought Garber back to England the following year. Fergus denied any suggestion that his brother was using drugs.
Matthew and his father got back to London only about a week before he died.
Matthew was seen at Coppetts Wood Hospital and then The Royal Free Hospital.
By then, he was in a coma and never recovered.
Garber's body was later cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
at St Marylebone Crematorium (East Finchley) London on 16 June 1977.
Garber was posthumously named a Disney Legend
Disney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
in 2004; Fergus Garber accepted on his behalf.
On the Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary DVD, Karen Dotrice
Karen Dotrice
Karen Dotrice is an English actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey to two accomplished stage actors...
admitted that she regretted not keeping in touch with Garber before his death.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 1963 in film The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.... |
The Three Lives of Thomasina The Three Lives of Thomasina The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 British-American Disney fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon... |
Geordie |
| 1964 1964 in film The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released.... |
Mary Poppins Mary Poppins (film) Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by... |
Michael Banks |
| 1967 1967 in film The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television.... |
The Gnome-Mobile The Gnome-Mobile The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney.... |
Rodney Winthrop |