Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 - circa March 30, 1968) was an American actor. 115K views Sad Ending of BOBBY DRISCOLL | Disney's Troubled Child Star Daze with Jordan the Lion Part 2, Chap.1 | Walt Disney American Experience | PBS Frank Sinatra Revealed Marilyn. I made lots of money, so I recruited other toons to star in more movies. I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. We talk television and you are invited to join the banter. "He said later that Bobby just didn't want to be a 'good little boy' anymore. "He was very lovely," adds Kathryn Beaumont, 82, who starred opposite Driscoll as the voice of Wendy in Peter Pan. A lovely guy, a dear friend. In Driscolls later years, he was arrested multiple times for drug possession, assault, burglary and cheque fraud before he was committed for drug rehabilitation in 1961. Peter Pan Bobby Driscoll and Kathryn Beaumont RCA Victor Y-4001 Total Time: 17:55 Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll (March 3, 1937 - c. March 1968) was an American child actor known for a large body of cinema and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. Treasure Island is a 1950 adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions, adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson 's 1883 novel of the same name. A medical examiner gave the cause of death as artery hardening which led to a heart attack. This story originally appeared on Fox News and is republished here with permission. He worked with Myrna Loy, Anne Baxter, and Lionel Barrymore before being head-hunted by Disney. Send me your questions and comments about old and current American, British and Canadian television shows and I will be happy to reply. Driscolls friend Billy Gray, who also got his start in Hollywood at a young age, told Fox News puberty hit Driscoll especially hard, forever impacting his career. He managed to graduate from the Hollywood Professional School in 1955. He died tragically, however, over 40 years ago, at the age of 21, The c Born June 25, 1945, Kristin Harmon Nelson is 65 years old now. Coffee Brand Says Everything Changed Once Meghan Markle Became Their First Investor. Driscoll and Marilyn eloped to Mexico in December 1956 to marry despite their parents objections. Bobby Driscoll was Disney's first fallen child star whose rejection and eventual self-sabotage led him to a bizarre and unfortunate early death. Following Jim Hawkinss role in Disneys Treasure Island in 1950, Driscoll received his Hollywood Star on 1560 Vine Star. He was the first man to voice the part of the boy who never wanted to grow up. He was unable to find work in movies but found steady work doing guest roles on anthology television series. In 2011, the Hart Island Project was created to make it easier for people to find out whose remains ended up on the one-mile stretch of land. It worked. He is forever twelve years old simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age. She had been battling colorectal cancer. And guess what? Each day he yet again angers his friends and frustrates his poor loving parents, Mary Woodry ( Barbara Hale) and Ed Woodry ( Arthur Kennedy ). Oscar-winner at the age of 12. Now I get to decide whos a star, and who gets thrown in the trash., His story recalls any number of child starsbut for those in the know, it comes across as a surprisingly dark reference to one of Disneys lesser-known horror stories, particularly for a PG movie rolling out on the Disney platform. 4) Hedda Hopper's column announces that a child star at the children's studio needs to start looking for work because their contract has been terminated. But nothing Disney does today really shocks me. For instance, you'll never meet a truthful person who says he doesn't like movie cartoons, especially a man. He lost touch with family, and became an odd intrigue in Andy Warhols artist scene at the Factory. He thought they were precocious, weren't real, and were incredibly annoying. and weathered criticism about the liberties Uncle Walt and his screenwriters took with J.M. I'd never been so happy in my entire life. She had hoped he would return to California to say goodbye to his dying father. I just loved him in Song of the South. "What's the point of poking at it?" She is survived by her children, Pamela Driscoll Boles and husband Johney of Fayetteville, Ark., Jerel Driscoll and wife Melissa of Van Buren, Ark., and Wayne Driscoll and wife Annette of. "I wish I could say that my childhood was a happy one, but I wouldn't be honest," he said in a 1961 magazine article titled "The Nightmare Life of an Ex-Child Star." Marilyns ex-husbands story is an example of the untold story of the horrors Hollywood has in store for those who no longer meet expectations. Because no identification was found on his body, his unclaimed remains were buried in a paupers grave on New York Citys Hart Island. This MousePlanet Web site provides independent news articles, commentary, editorials, reviews. context: Bobby Driscoll, peter pan's va, was a Disney golden child and got dropped as he aged. Damn shame. Robert "Bobby" Cletus Driscoll was born March 3, 1937. Starting in 1959 and for several years, Driscoll was arrested for drug possession, assault, robbery, check forgery and various narcotics violations. Bridget Everett and company preview the second season of their HBO cult favoritea show thats low-stakes in all the best ways. Dec 4, 2014 @ 10:08AM. ", If there's one thing Allender hopes to achieve with his documentary (besides clearance from Disney to include old movie clips), it's a place for Driscoll in Disney Legendsthe studio's version of a Hall of Fame. The natural-born actor ended up with a successful 17-year career from 1943 to 1960 with notable movie screen appearances in 1944s The Fighting Sullivans, 1946s Song of the South, 1948s So Dear to My Heart, and 1948s The Window. creates innate conceit. Animated Peter Pan next the actor, Bobby Driscoll, who crested the character for Disney's animated classic released in 1953, his final film for the Walt Disney Studio. Director Byron Haskin stated, "Bobby Driscoll was a truly great actor.". Once again, he was well regarded by everyone he ever worked with on the production including actress Kathryn Beaumont who was doing the live action reference for Wendy. He had no identification. Allender has interviewed Connie Stevens, Driscoll's costar in the 1958 film The Party Crashers, and secured the only known interview with Driscoll's eldest child, Don, a retired pediatrician, who has a replica of his dad's Oscar that was lost. A child actor's childhood is not a normal one. He also emerged top in a nationwide poll for a Milky Way Gold Star Award for his work on both TV and radio. Still, he managed to get onto a star-focused television series along with other big names like Loretta Young, Gloria Swanson, and Jane Wyman. Remembering Bobby. He got into heroin. Please contact destinations in advance to confirm the most up-to-date information. He won an Oscar at 12, and then, at 16, went on to voice the title role in Disney's classic animated film about a boy who never wants to grow up. In no time at all I was using whatever was available, mostly heroin, because I had the money to pay for it. It was Bobby Driscoll dead at thirty-one years old. "I became a beatnik and a bum," Driscoll said in the 1961 magazine article. Gray said he and his pal lost touch when Driscoll headed to New York. The former Disney child star who rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions,". A household name at the age of 9. })(); This error message is only visible to WordPress admins, 3 Ways To Master Food Without Breaking A Sweat, All Personal Details About Breana Chloe Greenwood, You need to buy a Jacket like Rip Wheeler, World Wide Courier Service Company Insurance Coverage. } He had succumbed to a heart attack caused by advanced atherosclerosis from his drug use. Unfortunately, Bobby Driscoll the first male child to be put under contract for Disney feature films had a troubled life after playing the role of Peter Pan in the animated feature. He was raised in the Upper East Side . "He went to his own public school when he was not working. His voice had also suddenly deepened. Three children: Dr. Daniel Abram Driscoll, Aaren Hope Driscoll Keely, and Katherine Ann Driscoll Grundmeier. ", Regrettably, Driscoll's children will never see the exact spot where their father was laid to rest: Burial records from 1961 through July 1977 that had been kept in the old hospital were destroyed by a fire. Fifty years after his death, it's a question that continues to trouble some of his oldest friends. The rising child star made another film at Disney, Treasure Island (1950) playing the role of cabin boy Jim Hawkins that was well received. Candy Candido had done the voice of the Indian Chief in the film. In addition to Peter Pan, he also had roles in Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart. Last Name Driscoll #1. . I still thank [Bobby] for that., He really was a sweet guy, Gray shared. I think that was Bobby's best role." Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. In high school, he was teased by his peers and his grades declined. Then in 1999, Plato was at her parents-in-law's home and overdosed on a combination of Valium and Lortab. But contemporary actors like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez willingly left the Mouse House; Driscoll didn't have a choice when the studio unexpectedly dropped its golden child in 1953. The young women, in particular, seem to make some strange life choices after leaving Disney employment. Dick Beals, who is best known as the voice of Speedy Alka-Selzer, took over from Tommy Luske to play Michael. Soon after, he also appeared in "One Hour in Wonderland," Disney's first Christmas special. As aforementioned, Marilyn and her ex-husband had three children, a son, and two daughters. Driscoll was the first actor to sign a long-term deal with Walt Disneys animation department. Paperback mysteries usually end this way, not Disney fairy tales. They later renewed their vows in March 1957 in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles. Marilyn Jean Rush Ex-Husband It is clear in the final film that the artists made use of Driscoll's pert nose and facial expressions. . Today, Gray remembers Driscoll not as the fallen child star, but simply as his friend. His daughter, Aaren Hope Driscoll, died on March 28, 2022 from heart complications, after a battle with colorectal cancer. Bobby Driscoll. But the adulation is only one part of it Other kids prove themselves once, but I had to prove myself twice with everyone. He hated Hollywood kids. They went on to star together in 1948's "So Dear To My Heart" and "Pecos Bills.". Driscoll's salary at Disney had been raised to $1,750 per week and compared to his salary, Driscoll had little work from 1952 on. Driscolls remains were unclaimed and he was eventually buried in a mass, unmarked grave on Hart Island alongside other unidentified bodies. 2019): The Latest on The Y You wanted to know . 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 Sussexes kept their Windsor property, which was a gift from the queen, despite their move to California, but it is now reportedly intended for Prince Andrew. "I had no residence. The reader asked Alexander Gunther Martin Alexander Gunther Martin has quite a pedigree. I'm not really sure why I started using narcotics. The latter earned him an Academy Award in 1950. ", Though his big-screen career fizzled, Driscoll found fairly steady work in TV shows like Dragnet and Rawhide and attempted to settle into a life of domesticity with Marilyn Jean Rush, a 19-year-old he met in Manhattan Beach. He is also the voice of Peter Parker. The cause of death for the penniless 31-year-old was hardening of the arteries, a common side effect of longtime heroin use, Entertainment Weekly reported. By the time Driscoll voiced Peter Pan at 16, however, he no longer had the impish face that kept him gainfully employed as a youth. Ex-Philly Councilmember Bobby Henon sentenced to 3 years in union bribery case. Driscoll's salary was now up to $1,750 a week but there were no new movies on the horizon for him. In no time at all, I was using whatever was available mostly heroin, because I had the money to pay for it., Memories are not very useful, he later reflected about his child stardom. Amazon.com: Peter Pan (Feature) : Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn . ", The only son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher, Driscoll was discovered at the age of 5 while getting a trim. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. That marked the down spiral of Driscolls life. Born March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. She got married again to Robert Menchaca. I was carried on a silver platter and then dumped into the garbage can.. Nobody came to his rescue. It's just like Never Never Land.". If it weren't for the fact that the Walk of Fame isn't known for honoring athletic achievement, it would be a good enough guess. The Life of Bobby Driscoll Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 3rd, 1937, to parents Cletus (1901-1969), an insulation salesman, and Isabelle (Kratz) (1897-1972), a former schoolteacher. Seem to make some strange life choices after leaving Disney employment that took place in Angeles... Old simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age there no. Pecos Bills. `` American, British and Canadian television shows bobby driscoll children's names i will be happy reply. Wonderland, '' Disney 's first Christmas special nose and facial expressions he went to his own public when. He went to his dying father but found steady work doing guest roles on anthology television series usually... 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