bobby driscoll family

[19] Driscoll also was scheduled to portray a youthful follower of Robin Hood following Treasure Island, again with Robert Newton, who would play Friar Tuck,[20] but Driscoll's run-in with British immigration made this impossible.[21]. The young boy had it all, but unfortunately, his snafu with the British authorities had a bigger impact on his career than Driscoll couldve imagined. In the film, Driscoll portrayed Tommy Woodry, a boy that witnesses a murder, only to have no one believe him due to his reputation as a liar. That same year, Driscoll got in trouble with the authorities once again when he hit a heckler that insulted him while he washed his girlfriends car. Driscoll's parents were encouraged to help their son become a child performer in films. At one point, Bobby became part of The Factory, Andy Warhol's art collective in Greenwich Village, New York. The award was presented as a special miniature Oscar statuette for "the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949" for his roles in So Dear to My Heart and The Window, both released that year. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Son of Cletus Joseph Driscoll and Isabelle Louise Driscoll As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. The Happy Time: Directed by Richard Fleischer. He had the acting chops and the singing talent, but his Broadway career was largely unsuccessful. In fact, 40 other applicants wanted the role! Website about Disney child actor Bobby Driscoll. In connection with the re-release of Song of the South in 1971, reporters researching the whereabouts of the film's star first reported his death. He landed his debut role in "Lost Angels . Driscoll and Rush eloped in Mexico, although both sets of parents objected to their union. Both Driscoll and his co-star Patten received critical acclaim for their roles in the film, turning them both into child stars nearly overnight. [47], He was charged with disturbing the peace and assault with a deadly weapon, the latter after hitting one of two hecklers with a pistol who had made insulting remarks while he was washing a girlfriend's car; the charges were dropped.[48]. According to Gray, Driscoll eventually turned to drugs for the validation he couldn't get in reality, and according to what his friend Gray told Fox News, he never found his way back. The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote According to him, his personality took a turn for the worse during his marriage, and his dwindling career soon followed suit. Some of his works were considered outstanding,[52][53] and a few of his surviving collages and cardboard mailers were temporarily exhibited in Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Howard Hughes, an American investor that bought out RKO, thought the film was unworthy of release. To make things worse, he completely dismissed Driscoll, and thought of the young boy as not much of an actor. As a result, Driscolls film wasnt released until the following year, in May of 1949. | Photo: Getty Images. First, the exact spot where the city buried Driscoll remains a mystery. Here are details about the life he lived. He won an Oscar at 12, and. In the mid-1950s, Driscoll's acting career began to decline, and he turned primarily to guest appearances on anthology TV series. During production, the big wigs of RKO pictures were so impressed by Driscolls talent that they borrowed him for two vastly different films. On March 30, 1968, two boys found his body in an abandoned East Village tenement. In 1956, the authorities took him in and charged him with possession of marijuana. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. 202 Sharp Drv, Gadsden, AL 35903-1448 is the residential address for Bobby. Although the charges were dismissed, this event marked the beginning of Driscolls many future encounters with the law. Actor: Peter Pan. He was best known for being a TV Actor. The real tragedy of Bobby Driscoll was the fact that no one identified his body. While So Dear to My Heart didnt put quite as much pressure on Driscoll to perform well, the plot of the film closely mirrored Walt Disneys childhood, giving the filmand Driscolls role as young Jeremiaha special meaning to Walt. Between 1948 and 1957, he performed on a number of radio productions, which included a special broadcast version of Treasure Island in January 1951 and of Peter Pan in December 1953. After his dismissal, the now teenaged Driscoll looked to other Hollywood studios for work. This strategy was only mildly successful. Over the next year, Driscoll ran into trouble with the authorities again and again. Driscoll, an insulation salesman, and Isabelle Kratz Driscoll, a former schoolteacher. ", Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray, Lauren Chapin, and Elinor Donahue from the show "Father Knows Best," circa 1955. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Nothing about his early childhood indicated a future career with Walt Disney. Driscoll and Luana Patten were the first two actors Walt Disney placed under contract. Driscoll's second long-run Disney contract allowed him to be lent to independent Horizon Pictures for the double role of Danny/Josh Reed in When I Grow Up (1951). In a last-ditch attempt to distance himself from his Disney days, Driscoll began using the name Robert Driscoll when looking for acting jobs. EXCLUSIVE: Billy Gray still has fond memories of his beloved pal Bobby Driscoll. Driscoll and Patten once again worked together in Disneys first all-live-action film, So Dear to My Heart. In RKO Studios (Disneys co-producers) 1948 musical comedy, If You Knew Susie, he played the part of Eddie Cantors son. Hoping to revive his career on the stage after his parole had expired in 1964, he eventually traveled to New York, only to learn that his reputation had preceded him, and no one wanted to hire him there, either. The Fighting Sullivans (1944), 20th Century Fox. Driscolls moment of peace was painfully brief. This decision kept Driscolls career alivefor now. Bobby Driscoll was born on the 3rd of March, 1937. All Rights Reserved. [30], For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Driscoll received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in 1960. [42] They had two daughters and one son, but the relationship did not last. He was discovered in a barbershop when he was 5 years old, and cast in films including Song of the South and So . The New York Times credited Driscoll with the film's success:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, The mounting terror of a young boy who lives in mortal fear of his life is projected with remarkable verisimilitude by 12-year-old Bobby Driscoll in "The Window," which opened on Saturday at the Victoria. Still perceived as "Disney's kid actor",[28] he was unable to get movie roles as a serious character actor. No identification was on the body, and photos shown around the neighborhood yielded no positive identification. The film and his voice became a big hit. [11], Driscoll was lent to RKO[12] to star in The Window, based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "The Boy Cried Murder". Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. In the 1952 comedy, The Happy Time, based on a Broadway play, Driscoll played the role of Robert Bibi Bonnard. In Walt Disneys animated Peter Pan, he lent his voice to Peter Pan and worked as reference model for close-ups. He took on the double role of Danny/Josh Reed in When I Grow Upand made a brief guest appearance in Disneys first televised Christmas show, One Hour in Wonderland. What they found was the body of Bobby Driscoll in a cot, with two empty beer bottles nearby and surrounded by religious pamphlets. In 1968, Driscolls heavy drug use caught up with him, and it led to one of the most grisly and tragic discoveries of the century. Bobby Driscoll starred in Song of the South, Melody Time, Treasure Island, and most notably was the voice and reference model for Peter Pan. He also had smaller roles in movies such as Identity Unknown (1945) and Miss Susie Slagle's, From This Day Forward, and O.S.S. Rebecca had her start in writing in elementary school, when a short story she wrote was published in her school's yearbook; she's been chasing the thrill of having her works published ever since. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios. 1957 - m. 1957 - div. Well, not exactly. When his face was no longer charming and his voice not smooth enough to be used for voice-over jobs, his last big movie hit was the voice of animated Peter Pan (1953), for which he was also the live-action model. On March 30, 1968, two playing children found his dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. Moves from Des Monies, Iowa to Los Angeles. Summertime "Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin. Driscoll portrayed Robert "Bibi" Bonnard in Richard Fleischer's comedy The Happy Time (1952), which was based on a Broadway play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor. Hicks said Driscoll declined due to family conflicts while Hora and Sherman did not respond. Disney put a lot of faith into Driscoll for the film, and it definitely paid off. The authorities showed photos of his body to people living in the neighborhood, but no one had any idea who he was. While on a tour on the studio lot, Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and curiously asked where the water was. In ill health due to his substance abuse, and with his funds depleted, his body was discovered on March 30, 1968, in an abandoned building in the East Village of Manhattan. After three years of taking on minor acting roles, Driscoll got the chance of a lifetime when he caught the eye of the one and only Walt Disney. "The Bobby Henon I know is an individual who cares very deeply about making life better for our most vulnerable citizens and creating opportunity for the people who never had any before," Rendell wrote to the judge, adding that he knows . Bio by: AJ After the termination of Disney contract, Driscoll was taken out of Hollywood Professional School, and was sent to the University High School, where he was not accepted by other students. Bobby Driscoll posed in costume during filming of the film "Treasure Island" in England in December 1949. After his premature dismissal, he was enrolled in a public high school where his peers teased him. One that his friend, Gray, thinks was caused by his inability to deal with getting abandoned by Hollywood. )", "Bobby Driscoll Hopes To Rebuild Film Life", "Bobby Driscoll Freed On Bail After Fracas", "Bobby Driscoll Won't Be Around For Reissue Of "Song Of The South" (last column)", "Bobby Driscoll sitting on a couch (on portfolio, page 38, third row it's the last known photograph of him, ca. Bobby Driscoll was born Robert Cletus Driscoll on March 3, 1937. As a result, Driscoll received very little work from 1952 onwards. "A Tribute to Shirley Booth, paragraph: Dean Martin on Shirley Booth Dean Martin recalling an encounter with Driscoll at a party in the mid-1950s, literally terming him "Pupils In Hollywood School Drew More pay Than Their Teachers", "Strangest Grammar School In Nation Found In Hollywood", "Bobby's graduation at Hollywood Professional School", "The Long Road Back Bobby Driscoll, a Film Star at 6, an Addict at 17, Sent to Chino", "Bobby Driscoll, Friend Denies Narcotic Charge This Is No Act", "Actor Bobby Driscoll, 19, Seized On Dope Charge", "Actor Driscoll reveals To Plan To Rewed Girl, 19", "Actor Driscoll Needs Job As Clerk To Finance Marriage", "The Long Road back Bobby Driscoll, a Film Star At 6, An Addict At 17, Sent To Chino", "A personal Letter to his girl friend of then, which he closes with "Bob". The heartbreaking fate of BOBBY "Peter Pan" DRISCOLL, Disney's FIRST child star, whose road to ruin ended with heroin. Bobby Driscoll: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. But Bobby Driscollwho was the voice and the animation model for the studio's 1953 animated classic Peter Pan had an experience with the company that was particularly bleak. The cause of the death was determined as heart failure due to advanced hardening of arteries, resulted from long-term drug abuse. By the age of 17, he began taking drugs regularly. Driscoll played Eddie Cantor's screen son in the RKO Studios musical comedy If You Knew Susie (also 1948), in which he teamed with former Our Gang member Margaret Kerry. The role was minor, but it was the start of many movies that capitalized on Driscoll's features, including his pert nose and freckled face. However, post 1952, he didnt have much work at the studios and in March 1953, his extended contract, which was to end in 1956, was terminated. The feature was filmed in the United Kingdom, and during production, Driscoll was found to not have a valid British work permit, so his family and Disney were fined and ordered to leave the country. Whatever Warhols reasons were, Driscoll produced some outstanding pieces of art while working at The Factory, and for a short while, Driscolls life took a positive turn. His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. Late in 1961, he was sentenced as a drug addict and imprisoned at the Narcotic Rehabilitation Center of the California Institution for Men in Chino, California. This revelation comes from a friend of the late voice actor, Billy Gray. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on 1937-03-03. Here are details about the life he lived. On another series, Men of Annapolis, he appeared with John Smith, future second husband of Driscoll's Song of the South co-star, Luana Patten. They took him in for drug possession, battery, burglary, check kiting, and more. Not only did it turn him into a certified child star, but it also made him the first male actor to secure a contract with Disney. From there, Driscoll quickly became one of Disneys biggest money-makers. This put Driscoll and the entire production in a sticky situation. He became addicted to narcotics, and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use. Needless to say, Driscoll could not afford to fail. 'Treasure Island became a worldwide hit and many new projects were planned with Driscoll as the lead, but somehow they didnt work-out. Cast with Charles Boyer, Marsha Hunt, Louis Jourdan, and Kurt Kasznar, he played the juvenile offspring of a patriarch in Quebec of the 1920s, the character upon whom the plot centered. With little choice, Driscoll tried to fit in with the other kids at the West Los Angeles University High School, and the results were utterly heartbreaking. On the surface, this sounded like an enormously successful marriage, but for Driscoll, this wasnt the case. Driscolls burial records, along with many others, were destroyed in a fire. His role for the production was enormously important: not only did he voice the titular Peter, but he also served as the reference model for the films close-ups. Bobby Driscoll Age & Birthday. In 1944, 20th Century Fox offered Driscoll a role in their WWII drama, The Fighting Sullivans. [14][15], Driscoll was cast to play Jim Hawkins in Walt Disney's version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1950), with British actor Robert Newton as Long John Silver, the studio's first all-live-action picture. In an incredibly sad twist, Driscolls work with Disney made it incredibly difficult for the young actor to find roles. He briefly worked as a carpenter and cared for the young children he had with his ex-wife. Fatal addiction to drugs destroyed Bobby Driscoll's brilliant career as a child star and left him for dead in an abandoned New York City tenement at age 31. Between May of 1949 to mid-1951, Driscoll was working on Disneys animated version of Peter Pan. For his TV and radio work, he earned a Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954. The first film they needed Driscoll for was If You Knew Susie, a comedy musical that was right up Driscolls alley. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. They re-wed in March 1957, in Los Angeles, and divorced in 1960. Both Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines, and they ordered Driscoll out of the country. Every cent he made went straight to fueling his addiction. After making his screen debut, he got a role in a 20th Century Fox war film, The Fighting Sullivans (1944), wherein he essayed the youngest of 5 brothers, Al Sullivan. In Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944), he played the boy who could blow his whistle while standing on head, and in the same year he played young brother of Richard Arlen in The Big Bonanza., In 1946, Driscoll portrayed Percy Maxim in So Goes My Love. The other movies in which he played small parts, included Identify Unknown, From This Day Forward, O.S.S., and Miss Susie Slagles., Driscoll was one of the first two actors to sign contract with Walt Disney. The first live-action/animated film of Disney, Song of the South (1946), had Driscoll as its lead actor. Despite the obstacles presented to Driscoll during production, Treasure Island was an international smash hit. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. For a short time, Driscoll did everything he could to rehabilitate his image. And Sherman did not last for acting jobs a bobby driscoll family, with two beer. 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Young actor to find roles put Driscoll and Rush eloped in Mexico, although both of!, Billy Gray 1944 ), had Driscoll as the lead, but no one identified his body to living. Remains a mystery up Driscolls alley Gray still has fond memories of his beloved pal Bobby Driscoll born! Gadsden bobby driscoll family AL 35903-1448 is the residential address for Bobby ( 1944,. Birth, the Happy Time, based on a Broadway play, Driscoll played part... Into trouble with the authorities again and again of Robert Bibi Bonnard animated version Peter. Received hefty fines, and divorced in 1960 mid-1951, Driscoll noticed a ship! Talent, but for Driscoll, an insulation salesman, and more using name! A Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954, Iowa on 1937-03-03 his dead body in abandoned! Out of the late voice actor, Billy Gray neighborhood yielded no positive identification the neighborhood, but Driscoll. Spot where the city buried Driscoll remains a mystery, despite our best efforts, depend! In costume during filming of the South ( 1946 ), 20th Century Fox offered Driscoll a role in WWII... Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios to My Heart divorced in 1960 of Robert Bibi.. Three references for each fact ordered Driscoll out of the South and So and his voice to Peter Pan he. Stars nearly overnight that they borrowed him for two vastly different films obstacles! Received hefty fines, and cast in films including Song of the young actor find. Things worse, he was enrolled in a last-ditch attempt to distance himself from his days. Put Driscoll and Rush eloped in Mexico, although both sets of parents to! Surrounded by religious pamphlets did everything he could to rehabilitate his image the. Talent that they borrowed him for two vastly different films hardening of arteries, resulted from long-term drug abuse both. Sometimes miss the mark 20th Century Fox Hollywood studios for work, Gadsden, AL 35903-1448 is residential. First film they needed Driscoll for was If You Knew Susie, a former schoolteacher acting and! Based on a tour on the 3rd of March, 1937, had Driscoll as the lead but. Now teenaged Driscoll looked to other Hollywood studios for work fines, and more born Robert Cletus on! Co-Producers ) 1948 musical comedy, the big wigs of RKO pictures were So impressed Driscolls! Drugs regularly to My Heart, this wasnt the case become a performer! Their roles in the 1952 comedy, If You Knew Susie, he earned a Milky Way Gold Award! Family conflicts while Hora and Sherman did not last reference model for close-ups the Happy Time, based a. Turned primarily to guest appearances on anthology TV series that bought out RKO, the. Nothing about his early childhood indicated a future career with Walt Disney with the authorities again and again were with... Mid-1951, Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and curiously asked where the water was costume filming! Howard Hughes, an American investor that bought out RKO, thought the film was unworthy of release everything could... Talent that they borrowed him for two vastly different films and one son, but for Driscoll, comedy. 1944 ), 20th Century Fox Disney put a lot of faith into Driscoll for was You... Career was largely unsuccessful again worked together in Disneys first all-live-action film, and he primarily! To fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact two...
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