Matthew Garber

Matthew Garber (March 25th 1956 - June 13th 1977) was a British child actor who played Michael Banks in MARY POPPINS. He also played Geordie in The Three Lives of Thomasina and Rodney Winthrop in The Gnome-Mobile. These three films also starred his good friend Karen Dotrice. Garber died on June 13th 1977 at the age of 21 in London England from pancreatitis from eating raw meat while on a trip in India. In a later interview on MARY POPPINS Dick Van Dyke one of Garber's co-stars from the film said that when they filmed the I Love To Laugh scene Garber was afraid of going up on the wires during filming and was payed a penny everytime he had to do it. Garber was named a Disney Legend in 2004 and his younger brother Fergus Garber accepted the award on his behalf.