Mary Shepard Kenneth Grahame. Shepard graduated from the Slade School of Art. She was 23 when her father was too busy to illustrate "Mary Poppins" and Travers discovered her work on a Christmas card. She married E. V. Knox, father of Penelope Fitzgerald. Mary Shepard Mary Eleanor Jessie Knox née Shepard (25 December 1909 – 4 September 2000) was an English illustrator of children's books. She is best known for the "Mary Poppins" stories written by P. L. Travers (1934 to 1988): "Mary Shepard: Putting Mary Poppins in the picture", "The Times" of London titled an obituary article. She used her married
Mary Poppins to various media. The character was first brought to life in an early television play telecast live in 1949 by CBS television, as part of their anthology series "Studio One". She was played by character actress Mary Wickes. E.G. Marshall portrayed Mr. Banks and future "Lassie" child star Tommy Rettig played Michael. David Opatoshu played Bert, who was a Match Man (a seller of matches) in this version. "Mary Poppins" was made into a film based on the first four books in the series by Walt Disney Productions in 1964. According to the 40th anniversary DVD release of the film