Thomas Andrews, Jr. is the man who was in charge of the building of the majestic ship, Titanic.

Biography:
His parents, Right Honorable Thomas Andrews, Sr. (a politician) and Eliza Pirrie, married in 1870. They had one son, John, before they had Thomas, Jr. in 1873. There family home is Ardara which is located in Comber, County Town, Ireland.

Thomas's mother, Eliza Pirrie Andrews, was the sister of Lord William James who was the owner of the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff. At 27, Pirrie already was a partner, so the later ownership wasn't a surprise. He's nephew would work just like him to get up in the ranks. In 1906, Pirrie, was made a Baron and a Viscount in 1921. He had no children though so the title ended with his death.

Then there was Thomas's older brother. He worked in Politics and became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Now, then of course there was Thomas. He left school in 1889 when he was only 16 and went to work as an apprentice at Harland and Wolffe Ltd. shipbuilders in Queen's Island. Belfast. His apprenticeship was someone who would end up high in the company.

On June 24, 1908, Thomas married Helen Reilly Barbour and moved to Winslow Avenue, Belfast. Some time in 1910 there daughter, Elizabeth, was born.

Thomas's will left his wife 10,615 and 11 shillings and 3d. Helen remarried Henry Pierson Harland. She died in 1966.

A hero:
Thomas's first heroic act was in 1910 when one of his friends climbed up 80ft to secure some loose boards during a gale. His friends name was Anthony (Archie) Frost. He became scared probably because of the tremendous height. Andrews climbed up and helped him down and then secured the boards himself.

Then of course there was his bravery on the Titanic on the fateful night of April 14, 1912. After his inspection of the ship with Captain Smith to check out the damage the iceberg had made, Andrews and the Captain returned to Thomas's cabin, A36. In his cabin, Andrews, mad his terrible announcement that the Titanic would only stay a float for an 1 and a half maybe 2. The major thing was that they were only carrying enough lifeboats for half of the passengers.

Andrews jumped right into saving as many lives as possible. First he searched the staterooms for passengers to evacuate. Even though he was telling people to put there lifejackets on and to dress warmly he wasn't wearing either. Later that evening he was walking the boat deck making people get into the boats.

After all the boats had left Thomas Andrews went to the first class smoking room just before the sinking. The last place he was seen was in front of the fireplace looking at the painting on the mantle called "Approach to the New World." He would never see this world again. Thomas Andrews Jr.'s body was never found.

Writers thoughts: I started liking this character probably before the movie came out but the full extent of what he did was brought to my attention when I saw Titanic. He was a truly heroic person and deserves all the credit he received. He was a hero!
 
 
VICTOR GARBER
Born: March 16, 1949
Place: London, Ontario, Canada
Age: 50 years old

Victor Garber played Thomas Andrews in the 1997 movie Titanic.

Biography:
Victor Garber attended London Central Secondary School until he was 16, when he quit school and moved to Toronto on his own. There he worked as a mailboy at Toronto Star and an usher at the Royal Alexandra theatre. He also did folk singing at coffee houses.

In 1967, a man by the name of Peter Mann created a group called the Sugar Shoppe. In it were 3 vocalists, Victor Garber, Lee Harris, and Peter Mann, and a piano player, Laurie Hood. They were a popular group until 1969 and had one album called "The Attitude."

Victor has very charming looks. He's a heart throb to teenagers even though he's 50. He's 6'2" tall, well proportioned, generous frame, clear and simple face, and beautiful expressive eyes.

He has a good sense of humor which he says he got from his father and good acting qualities which probably came from his mom who was a television actress while he was growing up.

Mr. Garber has been on the "Ed Sullivian Show" and "The Tonight Show". Another band he belonged to was "The Shop" and for this he was a singer and a writer. While working for this group, Garber, went to see Godspell in Los Angeles. When he returned to Toronto after that he began working with George Luscombe on workshops. He got a part in Godspell and played Jesus. A director, David Greene was there and hired him for a part in a film version of Godspell.

The work on this film launched his career in American stage. He performed Jesus Christ Superstar and so many more plays it would take me until tomorrow to tell you them all. He has appeared on shows such as "The Bobby Gentry Special" and "The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour." He has received 4 Tony nominations for performances in Damn Yankees, Lend Me a Tenor, Deathtrap, and Little Me. He received an Obie Award for a performance in 1987-88 in a play called Wenceslas Square.

He has also won the Theatre World Award for a performance in a play called Ghosts where he played Oswald. He has also nominated for a Drama Desk award in 1998 and won an Outstanding Artist Drama League Award. He has quite a career and I hope to keep seeing him in movies and TV shows.

Writers thoughts: I have a huge liking for Victor Garbers which started when the Titanic came out. He is definitely a fine actor and I love his movies. I don't think they could have picked a better person to play Thomas Andrews and his performance was breathtaking. Keep up the good work Mr. Garber.