Matthew Adam Garber (25 March 1956 – 13 June 1977)[1][2] was a British child actor, most notable as Michael Banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins.

His other screen credits include The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963) and The Gnome-Mobile (1967), appearing alongside actress Karen Dotrice in all three films they made for Walt Disney Pictures.

[3] 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.

[4] A friend of the Garber family, Karen Dotrice's father, Shakespearean 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).

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.