Matthew Garber - wikipedia Matthew Garber Matthew Garber Garber with Karen Dotrice in the 1964 trailer for Mary Poppins Matthew Adam Garber ( 1956 - 03 - 25 ) 25 March 1956 Stepney, London, England 13 June 1977 ( 1977 - 06 - 13 ) ( aged 21 ) Hampstead, London, England Nationality British Education St Paul 's School, Winchmore Hill Highgate School Occupation Actor Years active 1963 -- 1967 Known for Michael Banks in Mary Poppins ( 1964 ) Matthew Adam Garber ( 25 March 1956 -- 13 June 1977 ) was a British child actor, best known for his role as Michael Banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins. He also starred in two other Disney films, The Three Lives of Thomasina and The Gnome - Mobile, all three times appearing alongside actress Karen Dotrice. Ten years after his retirement, Garber contracted hepatitis, which later affected his pancreas. He died of pancreatitis at the age of 21. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Later years and death 4 Filmography 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Early life Born in Stepney, London, to parents who had both performed on stage, Garber attended St Paul 's Primary School in Winchmore Hill and Highgate School in Highgate, North London, from September 1968 until July 1972. He had a younger brother, Fergus Garber, who was born in 1964, the year Matthew played Michael Banks. His father 's name was recorded by the school he had attended as L.L. Garber. Matthew Garber was considered a spirited and bright boy in a 1967 Disney press release that noted his enjoyment of pulling practical jokes on his friends, playing sports, and reading adventure, mythology and poetry books. Career As a friend of the Garber family, Karen Dotrice 's father, Shakespearian actor Roy Dotrice, called Garber to the attention of Disney Casting, where his use of `` artful dodges, like squinting, screwing up his nose, and brushing his hair back with one hand '' led to his screen debut at age seven in Disney 's The Three Lives of Thomasina ( 1963 ). That same year, both Garber and Thomasina co-star Dotrice were hired to play Jane and Michael, the children of Mr. George Banks ( David Tomlinson ) and Mrs. Banks ( Glynis Johns ), who get more than they bargained for when they hire 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 teamed up again in 1967 in 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. Dotrice recalled, `` He was how he looked -- an imp, and I loved being his shadow. I ca n't imagine making movies would have been half as much fun without him. He loved being naughty, finding and jumping off of small buildings on the back lot. While I was Victorian proper and would n't let myself get dirty or muddy, Matthew had a great sense of fun and danger. He was a daredevil and could have been a race car driver. And he did live a full life over his 21 years. '' Later years and death Garber had unknowingly contracted hepatitis while in India in 1976. By the time his father was able to get him home to London several months later, the disease had affected his pancreas. Garber 's brother Fergus, who was 13 at the time of Matthew 's death, denied any suggestion that Matthew was using drugs and said the hepatitis likely came from eating bad meat. On 13 June 1977, Garber died at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, of haemorrhagic necrotising pancreatitis, aged 21. Garber 's body was cremated at St. Marylebone Crematorium ( East Finchley ) London on 16 June. Fergus did not attend the funeral and did not know if any memorial had ever been erected for Matthew. Garber 's parents both died in the decade following their elder son 's death. Garber was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2004. Fergus Garber accepted on his behalf. On the Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary DVD, Karen Dotrice said she regretted not keeping in touch with Garber before his death. Filmography Year Film Role Notes 1963 The Three Lives of Thomasina Geordie McNab 1964 Mary Poppins Michael Banks 1967 The Gnome - Mobile Rodney ( final film role ) See also Biography portal Channel Islands portal Disney portal United Kingdom portal References Jump up ^ GRO Register of Births : JUN 1956 5d 746 Stepney - Matthew A Garber, mmn = Barson Jump up ^ GRO Register of Deaths : JUN 1977 12 1869 Hampstead - Matthew Adam Garber, DoB = 25 March 1956 ^ Jump up to : Elizabeth ( 27 April 1999 ). `` About Matthew Garber ( a.k.a. Michael Banks ) ''. Reelclassics.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Matthew Garber ''. Disney Insider. 2004. ^ Jump up to : `` Fergus Garber Interview ''. Mail on Sunday. 24 October 2004. pp. FB 38 -- 39. Jump up ^ Dotrice, Karen ( 2004 ). The Making of Mary Poppins. Walt Disney Pictures. I remember his mum, Margo, calling to let us know that Matthew had died. That was so unexpected... I wished I had picked up the phone over the years, I wished I had treated him more like a brother, but he 's indelibly printed in all of our minds, he 's eternal... an amazing little soul. Further reading Dye, David ( 1988 ). Child and Youth Actors : Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914 - 1985. University of Michigan Press. pp. 80 -- 82. ISBN 9780899502472 -- via McFarland & Company. External links Biography portal Matthew Garber on IMDb Matthew Garber at the TCM Movie Database Matthew Garber at Find a Grave BNE : XX1735437 BNF : cb14180117j ( data ) ISNI : 0000 0000 5945 3849 MusicBrainz : dad1f1d7 - 435d - 4feb - b92a - c3e79b49620d VIAF : 66675509 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matthew_Garber&oldid=833376826 '' Categories : 1956 births 1977 deaths 20th - century English male actors Male actors from London Deaths from pancreatitis Disease - related deaths in England Disney people English male child actors English male film actors People educated at Highgate School People educated at St Paul 's School, London People from Stepney Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from July 2013 Articles with hCards Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia تۆرکجه Deutsch Eesti Español فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Suomi Türkçe 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 31 March 2018, at 05 : 17 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played the little boy in mary poppins
Answer: Matthew Adam Garber