David Tomlinson

Sarah Gertrude Tomlinson, David's Aunt, was married to actor Lauderdale Maitland until her untimely death of undiagnosed appendicitis in 1907. Sarah was also an actress and acted under the name of Gertrude Valentine.

During the 1930s he understudied Alec Guinness.

He began his film career in the pre-war British film Quiet Wedding (1941) and followed that with Leslie Howard's 'Pimpernel' Smith (1941). Altogether he has made over 50 films and on stage he has had long-running successes in many plays including "The Little Hut" with Robert Morley and Roger Moore as his understudy.

David's first wife, Mary Lindsay Hiddingh, committed a murder-suicide on December 2, 1943 by taking her two children Michael 8 and John Hiddingh 6 and jumping out of a hotel window in New York. Mary was 34 and had been suffering from depression by the loss of her first husband A.G. Hiddingh who was killed in action during World War II. In 1943 she was hoping to join David who had returned to England after his RAF training in Canada, but while in New York City, Mary soon learned it was extremely difficult to get to England during war time which probably led to her murder-suicide.

David narrowly survived a plane crash in 1957 flying a Tiger Moth close to his house in Buckinghamshire. Much was made of the incident and he was charged with reckless flying for which he was acquitted. Having been an RAF flying instructor in WW2 this was a huge dent to his confidence. David rarely flew again.

Walt Disney came to see David in "The Ring of Truth" at the Savoy Theatre London, England in 1959. Four years later Disney invited him to play Mr Banks in Mary Poppins (1964)".

David Tomlinson is best known for his role as George Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964). As a youth he spent a short spell in the guards. He joined the RAF in WW2 where he survived the trauma of a plane crash on his first solo flight due to engine failure, then becoming a flying instructor for the remainder of the war.

By the time he went to Hollywood to make Mary Poppins (1964) he was a veteran film and stage actor.

He also spent time with Walt Disney whilst they discussed his role in Mary Poppins (1964).

David returned to Disney to great success in The Love Bug (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). David was close friends with Errol Flynn, Robert Morley and Peter Sellers.

"Peter only behaved when David was on set". Simon Williams describing working with Peter Sellers in David's last film The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980).

Upon his death in 2000 British satirical magazine Private Eye published an uncharacteristically warm poem in tribute to him "So farewell David Tomlinson, noted British character actor...'Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height.'. Yes, that was your catchphrase. And where you are going now" .