Driscoll's last major success, Peter Pan (1953), was produced largely between May 1949 and mid-1951. 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. The authorities in the United Kingdom allowed Driscoll six weeks to prepare an appeal. Includes such notable movie screen appearances as The Fighting Sullivans (1944), Song of the . After his premature dismissal, he was enrolled in a public high school where his peers teased him. [60][61][62], Driscoll received an Academy Juvenile Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 22nd Academy Awards presentation in 1950. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-2lkEFwiL0. His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. Driscolls desire to learn dazzled the director, who ended up choosing Driscoll over the other 40 applicants. [50] He became part of Andy Warhol's Greenwich Village art community known as the Factory,[51] where he began focusing on his artistic talents. They re-wed in March 1957, in Los Angeles, and divorced in 1960. 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. 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. [58][59], Late in 1969, Driscoll's mother sought the help of officials at Disney studios to contact him, for a hoped-for reunion with his father, who was nearing death. Sadly, the story of Bobby Driscoll does not end with happily ever after., Adorable Facts About Shirley Temple, Hollywoods Biggest Child Star, Wild Facts About Howard Hughes, The Most Eccentric Man In Hollywood, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia, More People Need To Know About Nell Gwyn, Englands X-Rated Cinderella, These Eerie Supernatural Experiences Sent A Chill Down Our Spines, Plot Twist: These Surprise Endings Made Our Jaws Hit The Floor. The body remained unidentified and unclaimed, so it was buried in an unmarked grave in New York Citys Potters Field, on Hart Island. [25] During a project meeting following the completion of Peter Pan, though, Disney stated that he now saw Driscoll as best suited for roles as a young bully rather than a likeable protagonist. Bobby Driscoll Age & Birthday. The Fighting Sullivans (1944), 20th Century Fox. But all the more tragic, then, was his fruitless struggle to find a place in a pitiless adolescent world after severe acne had stalled his acting career at 16. 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. 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. While on a tour across the studio lot, five-year-old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was. He also worked on radio shows, including special broadcast versions of Treasure Island (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). Picture of child star Bobby Driscoll | Photo: Getty Images. While on tour across the studio lot, five-year-old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was. Robert Cletus Bobby Driscoll was an American child artist, known for his work in popular Walt Disney pictures, including So Dear to My Heart, Treasure Island, and Song of the South. Born in Iowa, his family later moved to California. After his dismissal, the now teenaged Driscoll looked to other Hollywood studios for work. One that his friend, Gray, thinks was caused by his inability to deal with getting abandoned by Hollywood. This was already sad enough, but it wasnt even the most tragic fact about his end. No identification was on the body, and photos shown around the neighborhood yielded no positive identification. After that, Driscoll started having run-ins with the law. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period: Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island (1950), as well as RKO's The Window (1949). This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1926 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. with Alan Ladd (all 1946). He had reportedly been on a cot surrounded by beer bottles and religious handouts. He was last seen in small roles in TV series The Best of the Post and the crime series, The Brothers Brannagan, in 1960. In May of 1955, Driscoll graduated and even found work in television. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. In 1960, Driscolls life fell apart all at once. We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. 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. "[41] In 1957, he had only two television parts, as the loyal brother of a criminal immigrant in M Squad, a long-running crime series starring Lee Marvin, and as an officer aboard the submarine S-38 in an episode of the World War II docudrama series The Silent Service. The other film RKO had in mind for Driscoll, however, presented a whole new challenge for the child actor. Disney still kept Driscoll on their payroll, but it was clear that they were losing interest in their once-favorite kid actor. 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. He was awarded Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street, in 1960. In 1965, a year after his parole expired, Driscoll made the decision to relocate to New York City. Unfortunately for Driscoll, Walts affection seemed to run dry after the filming of Peter Pan, and it led to the young actors early decline. Driscoll was loaned to Horizon Pictures for When I Grow Up (1951) in which he played the double role of Danny/Josh Reed. He made a brief appearance in Disneys first TV Christmas show, One Hour in Wonderland (1950). He made multiple trips to New York City to study acting, and even reportedly enrolled in UCLA and Stanford. After his release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. Driscoll's parents were encouraged to help their son become a child performer in films. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Howard Hughes, who had bought RKO the previous year, considered the film unworthy of release and Driscoll not much of an actor, so delayed its release. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. 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. [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 managed to land two television parts in 1957, and even got a film role in The Party Crashers in 1958, but it was too little, too late. Still, Walt Disney had a lot of affection for Driscoll and signed the boy on for a second contract regardless. Driscolls past as a child actor made him a prime target for ridicule from the other students, resulting in his grades dropping. The award made Driscoll even more valuable in the eyes of Uncle Walt, and it led to Driscolls next big Disney hit. Discover at 5, while getting a haircut, Bobby Driscoll is the son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher. The real tragedy of Bobby Driscoll was the fact that no one identified his body. The heartbreaking fate of BOBBY "Peter Pan" DRISCOLL, Disney's FIRST child star, whose road to ruin ended with heroin. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). On top of that, the head honchos at Disney planned more film projects involving Driscoll. Driscolls dad was nearing the end of his life, and Driscolls mom wanted to reunite father and son one last time. This revelation comes from a friend of the late voice actor, Billy Gray. This resulted in a fingerprint match at the New York City Police Department, which located his burial on Hart Island. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. [13], So Dear to My Heart and The Window earned Driscoll a special Juvenile Academy Award in March 1950 as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949. "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". Although Driscoll did much to bolster Disney during a time of crisis, he is still, to this day, not a part of Disney Legends, the Disney equivalent of a Hall of Fame. In 1944, 20th Century Fox offered Driscoll a role in their WWII drama, The Fighting Sullivans. Driscoll still had Robin Hood to look forward to, at leastRight? He successfully continued acting on TV until 1957 and even managed to get two final screen roles; in The Scarlet Coat (1955) and opposite of Mark Damon and Connie Stevens in The Party Crashers (1958). Thanks for your help! When they rejected me, I fought back, became belligerent and cockyand was afraid all the time. 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. Later, he worked mainly in TV series and radio shows. April 26, 2020. In 1956, he was arrested for possessing marijuana, but the charges were later dropped. However, this wasnt the end of the humiliation that Driscoll had to face. 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. The story of this child actor, who starred in films like Song of the South and Peter Pan, is a heart-wrenching one. Driscoll achieved fame at age 9 when he was cast in a starring role in the Disney controversial movie "Song of the South." After taking one look at Driscolls adorable little freckled face, the barbers son got Driscoll an acting agent. 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. At one point, Bobby became part of The Factory, Andy Warhol's art collective in Greenwich Village, New York. Warhol welcomed Driscoll with open arms, but his reasons for doing so may have been sinister. Browse through Bobby's personal letters, written to friends, family, and people of notoriety. . On March 23, 1950, Driscoll won a Special Juvenile Academy Award as the Outstanding Juvenile Actor of 1949 for his performances in So Dear to My Heart, and The Window., In Walt Disneys all-live-action picture Treasure Island (based on Robert Louis Stevensons 1883 novel), Driscoll played Jim Hawkins.. Every cent he made went straight to fueling his addiction. The couple was later rewed in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles in March 1957. He and his co-star Luana Patten became child-stars and the media dubbed them as Walt Disneys Sweetheart Team.. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There, his grades dropped substantially, he was the target of ridicule for his previous film career, and he began to take drugs. The new Disney+ film evokes the devastating story of Bobby Driscoll, who earned an Oscar and played Peter Pan as a child before being discarded as a teenager. Driscoll made four movies for Disney, including "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan." The part for Driscoll was a tiny onehe would only be on screen for a grand total of two minutesbut the competition was fierce. 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. Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. Disney wanted to film Robin Hood in the United Kingdom, but Driscolls run-in with British immigration made it impossible for the young actor to work in the UK. Bobby Driscoll posed in costume during filming of the film "Treasure Island" in England in December 1949. It wasnt until one year later that Driscolls family learned of his passing, and the results were agonizingly tragic. 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). Bobby Driscoll is best known as TV Actor who has born on March 03, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, IA. Driscoll found it difficult to get work, because all other studios considered him a Disney kid. From 1953, he mostly worked on TV in Front Row Center, Climax!, Navy Log, Fireside Theater, Ford Theater, Dragnet, Studio One, Men of Annapolis, Medic, among others. The two had two daughters and one son. Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. 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. At the time, Disneys finances were in shambles thanks to WWII and desperately needed the film to do well. Facebook gives people the power. The guards refused to let Driscoll enter, and informed himrather abruptly and rudelythat he was no longer under the employ of Disney Studios. When it was released in May 1949, it became a surprise hit. Despite being one of Disney's first and most successful child stars, Driscoll has never been enshrined as a Disney Legend. That introduction led to an appointment with his soon-to-be agent. When The Window hit theaters, itand more importantly, Driscolls performancewas a hit with audiences. 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. 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. Thanks to the money he saved up while working for Disney, Driscoll had the cash to experiment with a wide variety of drugs, and his experiments led him down a dark path with no return. [11], Driscoll was lent to RKO[12] to star in The Window, based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "The Boy Cried Murder". Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. The story of how Driscoll went from that talented child to the man he became is a very sad one. Here are details about the life he lived. The director was impressed by the boy's curiosity and intelligence and chose him over 40 applicants.[2][3]. When Driscoll appeared on television, Disney Studios forced him to use heavy makeup to cover up his acne, which mustve been humiliating for Driscoll. Bobby Driscoll's full name is Robert Cletus Driscoll and his nickname is Bobby Driscoll. 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. Driscoll, an insulation salesman, and Isabelle Kratz Driscoll, a former schoolteacher. With Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Marsha Hunt, Bobby Driscoll. The former Disney child star who rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions,". Actor Bobby Driscoll at age12 in a studio portrait taken in 1950 | Source: Wikimedia Commons/ NBC Television Network, Bobby Driscoll 1950, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons, It turned out the barber's son was in showbiz, which made it easy to get an appointment with his agent, who helped Driscoll land a small role opposite Margaret O'Brien in the 1943 film "Lost Angel.". 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. 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