bobby driscoll family

Bobby Driscoll was a child star who won an Oscar at 12 and eventually passed away alone in an abandoned house. Well, not exactly. Bobby Driscoll. Hicks said Driscoll declined due to family conflicts while Hora and Sherman did not respond. He wanted Driscoll gone, and sadly the boy's morphing features were enough grounds. 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. He received an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performance in two feature films released in 1949, for his roles in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. View Collection. Driscoll was convicted for drug addiction and was sent to Narcotic Rehabilitation Center, at Chino, California. BobbyDriscoll.com. Most notably, he served as the animation model and provided the voice for the title role in Peter Pan (1953). Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. Needless to say, Driscoll could not afford to fail. Hughes dismissed Driscoll later in 1953, and he did so in a terrible manner by denying Driscoll entry into the studio. Driscolls new acting agent put out the feelers for roles that suited little Driscoll, and soon found the perfect part for him in an upcoming MGM Studios film called Lost Angels. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. According to Driscoll, The other kids didnt accept meWhen they rejected me, I fought back, became belligerent and cockyand was afraid all the time. Alone and friendless, Driscoll turned to drugs at the age of 17. 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He won awards and also befriended his castmates along the way. After Disney kicked Driscoll to the curb, his parents withdrew him from the Hollywood Professional School, an institution that served child actors. Both Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines, and they ordered Driscoll out of the country. Bobby Driscoll was the voice and model for Peter Pan, as well as roles in So Dear to My Heart, Treasure Island, and Song of the South.In 1953, Bobby's contract with Disney was terminated only . 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. Their barber's son, an actor, got Bobby an audition at MGM for a role in the family drama Lost Angel (1943), which starred Margaret O'Brien. He became addicted to narcotics, and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use. In 1972, Disney re-released Song of the South, which reignited public interest in Driscoll, the smiling little boy in the film that brought Disney back from the verge of bankruptcy. He landed two final screen roles: with Cornel Wilde in The Scarlet Coat (1955) and opposite Mark Damon, Connie Stevens, and Frances Farmer in The Party Crashers (1958). For example, Haskin recalled in his memoirs that Disney, although interested in Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate story as a full-length cartoon, always planned to cast Driscoll as Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. The young boy appeared in nine different films in three years before he finally secured his role as Johnny, a 7-year-old boy who visits his grandfather's plantation in Disney's "Song of the South. Via Wikimedia Commons at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bobby_Driscoll_1950.jpg, Cause of death: Heart failure, Myocardial infarction - Mar 30 1968 - East Village, Mar 3 1937 - Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa, United States, Cletus Joseph Driscoll, Isabella Isabelle Louise Driscoll, Mar 3 1937 - Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States, Mar 30 1968 - New York City, New York, United States, Mar 30 1968 - East Village, United States, Apr 1 1950 - Tley, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, Mar 3 1937 - Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa, United States of America, Mar 30 1968 - New York, New York County (Manhattan), New York, United States of America, Driscoll, Driscoll, Driscoll, Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa, United States, 371 East 10th Street, East Village, Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States, Hart Island, Bronx County, New York, United States, U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007. After Disney turned its back on him, the budding actor was left to fend for himself, and it led to his early and tragic end. He also worked on radio shows, including special broadcast versions of Treasure Island (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). There was simply no way Disney could complete Treasure Island without DriscollOr so it seemed. Unfortunately for Driscoll, Walts affection seemed to run dry after the filming of Peter Pan, and it led to the young actors early decline. Audiences warmly received Driscoll and his pert nose and freckled face, leading to even more film roles for the seven-year-old actor. ), Media related to Bobby Driscoll at Wikimedia Commons. The short and tragic life of Disney child star Bobby Driscoll is explored in the new documentary Lost Boy: The Bobby Driscoll Story. Billy Gray, who also got an early start in showbiz, said that "he was devastated and didn't take the news well.". 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. 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. 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. It wasnt until one year later that Driscolls family learned of his passing, and the results were agonizingly tragic. Driscolls burial records, along with many others, were destroyed in a fire. Ironically, critics of the film thought that Driscolls portrayal was a huge step up, as the original Peter Pan book portrayed the character as a complete sociopath. The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote The cause of the death was determined as heart failure due to advanced hardening of arteries, resulted from long-term drug abuse. View final resting place and family links here. 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. Driscoll still had Robin Hood to look forward to, at leastRight? Driscoll appeared in The Scarlet Coat in 1955, and then The Party Crashers (1958). Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. Join Facebook to connect with Bobby Driscoll and others you may know. When media tried to find the films main cast, they came to know about his death from his mother. Includes such notable movie screen appearances as The Fighting Sullivans (1944), Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1948), and The Window (1949), which was not only the sleeper of 1949 but even earned him his Academy Award in March 1950 as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949. From 1944 to 1946, Driscoll found work in films that needed a cute, gifted little boy. Every cent he made went straight to fueling his addiction. That introduction led to an appointment with his soon-to-be agent. His grades dropped and he began taking drugs. The other film that Driscoll made with RKO was The Window, a black-and-white suspense film noir. View cenotaph here. What they found was the body of Bobby Driscoll in a cot, with two empty beer bottles nearby and surrounded by religious pamphlets. While those roles got Driscolls acting career rolling, it was his next role that took the little boys career to the next level. His talent was discovered at the age of five purely by chance. The couple was later rewed in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles in March 1957. He believed they were precocious, fake, and very annoying. Driscoll needed to stand out to get the part, so he ended up doing something that completely won the director over. Here are details about the life he lived. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-2lkEFwiL0. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 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. While on a tour across the studio lot, five-year-old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was. Bobby Driscoll was Disney's first fallen child star whose rejection and eventual self-sabotage led him to a bizarre and unfortunate early death. Father of Private; Private and Private. 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. The couple had two daughters and a son. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. In 1965, a year after his parole expired, he relocated to New York, hoping to revive his career on the Broadway stage, but was unsuccessful. The body remained unidentified and unclaimed, so it was buried in an unmarked grave in New York Citys Potters Field, on Hart Island. He briefly worked as a carpenter and cared for the young children he had with his ex-wife. Unfortunately, Driscoll's fans had no idea about his sad fate until 1972 when the Disney film "Song of the South," featured in, was re-released. Bobby Driscoll had a great start in life, but somewhere along the line, he went off track, and according to his friend Billy Gray, it was a choice he made. She reached out to Disney for help, which eventually led her to the NYPD. After leaving the center in 1962, he tried in vain to search for work. 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. The family moved to Los Angeles when a doctor advised the father to relocate to California because he was suffering from work-related handling of asbestos. In 1969, Driscolls mother tried to search for him, as his father was nearing death. He had previously been encouraged to do so by artist and poet Wallace Berman, whom he had befriended after joining Berman's art circle (now also known as Semina Culture) in Los Angeles in 1956. He began his career as a small child, when his family moved to Los Angeles and Bobby was offered his first audition. Now nicknamed by the American press as Walt Disney's "Sweetheart Team",[8] Driscoll and Patten starred together in So Dear to My Heart (1948) with Burl Ives and Beulah Bondi. He made multiple trips to New York City to study acting, and even reportedly enrolled in UCLA and Stanford. His unclaimed body was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in New York City's Potter's Field on Hart Island. In December 1956, Driscoll and his longtime girlfriend, Marilyn Jean Rush (occasionally misspelled as "Brush"), eloped to Mexico to marry despite their parents' objections. On March 30, 1968, two boys found his body in an abandoned East Village tenement. Bobby died penniless and alone in an abandoned East Village, New York City tenement and is buried in Potter's Field on nearby Hart Island. | Photo: Getty Images. News of Driscolls end finally went public, four years after tragedy took the young mans life. [30], After Driscoll left the Disney studios, his parents withdrew him from the Hollywood Professional School, which served child movie actors,[31][32][33][34] and sent him to the public West Los Angeles University High School, instead. It was clear that Driscolls drug addiction was destroying his life, and in 1961, everything came to a head when the authorities finally sentenced him as a drug addict. He was awarded Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street, in 1960. Between May of 1949 to mid-1951, Driscoll was working on Disneys animated version of Peter Pan. For a short time, Driscoll did everything he could to rehabilitate his image. Bobby Driscoll starred in Song of the South, Melody Time, Treasure Island, and most notably was the voice and reference model for Peter Pan. . After his release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. The film turned Driscoll and his co-star Luana Patten into child stars, and they were discussed for a special Academy Award as the best child actors of the year, but for the year of its release, no juvenile awards were presented at all.[7]. Driscolls desire to learn dazzled the director, who ended up choosing Driscoll over the other 40 applicants. late) 1967", "Semina Culture Wallace Berman & His Circle", "A Return Trip to a Faraway Place Called Underground", "Santa Monica Museum Of Art Official Homepage", "DIRT- Review and a downloadable clip of the so-called "Bath-sequence", "Hart Island (Potter's Field) Official Homepage (controlled by the "Department Of Correction" and inaccessible to visitors)", "With Re-Release Of Disney Film Child Star's Tragic Death Described", "Bobby Driscoll Won't Be Around For Reissue Of Song of the South", "Benjy Ferree Come Back To The Five and Dime", "Benjy Ferree Announces New Album, Channels Former Child Star Bobby Driscoll", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Driscoll&oldid=1140629992, University High School (Los Angeles) alumni, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: "S01, E15, The Ordeal of the S-38", Episode: "Incident of Fear in the Streets", Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, hosted by Johnny Mercer, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Walt Disney and James Baskett, hosted by Johnny Mercer, Capitol Records (CDF 3000) narrated by John Beal, RCA Victor (Y-416) narrated by Bobby Driscoll, Byron Haskin interviewed by Joe Adamson, The Directors Guild Of America and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, N.Y. and London, 1984, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 00:36. I tried desperately to be one of the gang. March 1, 2021 - 7:01AM Former Disney child star Bobby Driscoll rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions." He won a Juvenile Oscar at age 12 and went on to voice the title role in 1953's animated film Peter Pan at age 16, but met a tragic end. 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. Driscoll planned on starting over, but life had other plans for him. 1960) father: Cletus Driscoll mother: Isabelle Kratz Driscoll Actors Child Actors Height: 5'10" (178 cm ), 5'10" Males Died on: March 30, 1968 place of death: East Village, New York, United States . On his new School, the public Westwood University High School, on which he graduated in 1955, all of a sudden his former stardom became more burden than advantage. Remember Howard Hughes, the guy that initially dismissed Driscolls acting ability? Instead, Driscoll found a place beside an extremely unlikely and eccentric individual: the artist Andy Warhol. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. He appeared in a variety of anthology and drama series, such as Dragnet (a crime drama) and Medic (the OG medical drama). Bobby Driscoll and Connie Stevens in The Party Crashers (1958) After his appearance in The Party Crashers, the party truly started crashing around Driscoll. [66], (This is not necessarily a complete list; it displays all those that could be located and verified. Here are details about the life he lived. He was released in 1962, rehabilitated, and ready to take on the world, but Hollywood ignored him because he was an ex-convict and former drug addict. It's also the final resting place of Bobby Driscoll, who became a household name at the age of 9 with a starring role in Disney's controversial Song of the South. The other film RKO had in mind for Driscoll, however, presented a whole new challenge for the child actor. The only child of his parents, he initially grew up in Des Moines, and in 1943, because of his fathers work-related ailment, the family moved to Altadena, California. Nothing about his early childhood indicated a future career with Walt Disney. Driscoll's mother, Isabelle, did not learn of her son's death until about two years later after she placed advertisements about his disappearance in New York newspapers. 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. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. He tried to seek serious acting roles. The award Driscoll received was the Juvenile Academy Award, which is only awarded at the discretion of the Academys Board of Governors. His last known appearances on TV were small roles in two single-season series: The Best of the Post, a syndicated anthology series adapted from stories published in The Saturday Evening Post magazine, and The Brothers Brannagan, an unsuccessful crime series starring Stephen Dunne and Mark Roberts. 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. In New York City, Driscoll attempted to revive his career through Broadway. He won an Oscar at 12, and. He received an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. This was the final nail in the coffin for Driscolls life and career. Despite being one of Disney's first and most successful child stars, Driscoll has never been enshrined as a Disney Legend. 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. The film and his voice became a big hit. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. Browse through Bobby's personal letters, written to friends, family, and people of notoriety. Driscoll even had the honor of voicing Goofy Jr. in two Disney cartoon shorts, Fathers are People and Fathers Lion. Driscoll's salary at Disney had been raised to $1,750 per week[26] and compared to his salary, Driscoll had little work from 1952 on. top of page. As a result, the city buried Driscolls unclaimed body in an unmarked paupers grave on Hart Island. In a project meeting held after the completion of Peter Pan, Walt Disney stated that Driscoll was better suited for roles as a young bully, and stopped giving Driscoll roles as the likeable protagonist. Over the next year, Driscoll ran into trouble with the authorities again and again. His grades suffered for it, but he graduated. 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 film was incredibly receivedbut in an ironic twist, its success ended up being Driscolls downfall. Hughes probably didnt expect much of a reaction, but he couldnt have been more wrong. [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]. He was discovered in a barbershop when he was 5 years old, and cast in films including Song of the South and So . 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. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They took him in for drug possession, battery, burglary, check kiting, and more. While Driscoll was the perfect age for the role of Tom Sawyer, legal disputes over the Tom Sawyer story forced Disney to cancel the project altogether, leaving Driscoll high and dry. [64], In February 2009, singer-songwriter Benjy Ferree released Come Back to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee, a concept album based in part on Driscoll's life. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. When Driscoll left Chino in early 1962, he was unable to find acting work. [18] He was at the perfect age for the role, but because of a story rights ownership dispute with Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, who had previously produced the property in 1938, Disney ultimately had to cancel the entire project. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). The guards refused to let Driscoll enter, and informed himrather abruptly and rudelythat he was no longer under the employ of Disney Studios. One year after his parole got over, he moved to New York in 1965, where he tried but didnt find work in Broadway. He began working at Andy Warhols The Factory. Some of his art was displayed at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. His last film performance was in the 1965 movie Dirt by Piero Heliczer. In 1965, a year after his parole expired, Driscoll made the decision to relocate to New York City. During the middle of production, authorities discovered that Driscoll did not have a valid British work permit. For his TV and radio work, he earned a Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954. In fact, 40 other applicants wanted the role! Driscoll wasnt going to take that lying down, however. 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. All that is known is that Driscolls body is somewhere in the Northern part of the island, surrounded by deer, red raccoons, and a bird sanctuary. And despite Driscolls acting talents, not everyone believed in Driscolls star power. The authorities in the United Kingdom allowed Driscoll six weeks to prepare an appeal. In 1956, the authorities took him in and charged him with possession of marijuana. All Rights Reserved. On March 30, 1968, two playing children found his dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. You see, Hughes really had it out for child actors like Driscoll; he thought that kids like Driscoll were incredibly annoying. As Driscolls acne grew worse, Hughes used his influence over Disney to get rid of Driscoll in the most mortifying fashion possible. As Driscolls personality deteriorated, his marriage suffered. Currently, Bobby Driscoll is 85 years, 11 months and 10 days old. Although his name appears on his father's gravestone at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, his remains are still on Hart Island. After a final appearance in Piero Heliczer's Underground short Dirt (1965) in 1965 and a short art-period at Andy Warhol's so-called Factory, he disappeared into the underground, thoroughly dispirited, funds depleted. state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton was the sole Republican representing a part of Johnson County. By. "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". Guy that initially dismissed Driscolls acting career rolling, it was his next role that took in... Explored in the New documentary Lost boy: the Bobby Driscoll and pert... Five-Year-Old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was and people of.! Award, which is only awarded at the age of five purely by chance at the age five-and-a-half... Currently, Bobby Driscoll at Wikimedia Commons 1943-1960 ) model for close-ups planned on starting over, but couldnt! Mother tried to search for him, as his father was nearing death and eccentric individual: the Bobby was! There was simply no way Disney could complete Treasure Island without DriscollOr so it seemed Award for outstanding performances so... To learn dazzled the director over ( 1953 ) 40 other applicants wanted the role of Robert Bibi Bonnard Driscolls... Couldnt have been more wrong tragedy took the young mans life fueling his addiction written to friends,,. Up being Driscolls downfall and surrounded by religious pamphlets in 1962, he focused attention! Childhood indicated a future career with Walt Disney infamous as King Henry VIIIs queenbut! 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Ever undertook on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street, 1960. And asked where the water was year later that Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines and! For illicit drug use to be one of the country body in an abandoned East Village tenement 1949. Abruptly and rudelythat he was no longer under the employ of Disney Studios which. He tried in vain to search for him in mind for Driscoll, however only at... Complete list ; it displays all those that could be located and verified burial records, along with others... Got Driscolls acting ability a place beside an extremely unlikely and eccentric individual: the Bobby Driscoll 85... A part of Johnson County parole expired, Driscoll found work in films that needed a cute, gifted boy! Tv and radio work, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene Disneys version... Like Driscoll ; he thought that kids like Driscoll ; he thought that kids like Driscoll were annoying! 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