It should be noted that all four of these men were all former child actors. Inside the Tragic Death of Disney Child Star Bobby Driscoll Apparently, they arent subscribers to the old adage that too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing. Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios. Academy Award-winning actor of Disney films in the 40s and early 50s who died from a drug overdose. Legal Statement. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Some say a severe case of puberty-induced acne prompted Disney to sever its contract with Driscoll in 1953. He was 19 before we knew. March 28, 2021, 6:21 am, by People continually saying What a cute little boy! creates innate conceit. It didnt go well. And guess what? 'Next In Fashion' Season 2 on Netflix: Follow the Designers on Instagram, Is 'Yellowstone' On Tonight? 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. As a child, starting at the age of 10, he was one of the first child actors to land a Disney contract. Legal Statement. ", "Memories are not very useful," he later reflected about his child stardom. [65], In September 2011, American singer-songwriter Tom Russell released the song "Farewell Never Neverland" on the album Mesabi, an elegy for Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan. In 1968, Bobby Driscoll's dead body was found by two boys exploring the ruins of an abandoned tenement in New York's Greenwich Village. 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. September 14, 2021, 5:02 am, by 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. [29], In 1947, he recorded a special version of "So Dear to My Heart" at Capitol Records. The cast and crew of the crime drama were understandably "devastated" by his death, releasing a statement. He was strong, he had a good intellect and he should have known better. "We were buddies," said Gray. So, it shouldnt really be that big of a surprise that, with numbers like those, celebrities would face the same risk of dying [] More, The Shocking Life & Death of Bobby Driscoll, Judge Judy is Quitting Heres Her New Show, Scientists Discovered Evidence That Exposes An Ancient Lie About Woolly Mammoths, Handlers Thought This Owl Was Male For 23 Years Then He Laid An Egg, This Baby Elephant Decided To Spend His Last Days Alongside This Creature, Woman Adpots Tiny, Adorable Puppy. 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). He was treated so rudely by Hollywood. We didnt know what it was. Then I started putting all my spare time in my arm. Facts Verse "He got into heroin. He was strong(smart) and he should have known better. There, his grades dropped substantially, he was the target of ridicule for his previous film career, and he began to take drugs. He thought they were precocious, werent real, and were incredibly annoying. Bobby Driscoll | Unidentified Wiki | Fandom Someone who becomes friends with Driscoll later says: He didnt really recover from abandoning by Hollywoodit hit him hard. Bobby Driscoll - NNDB It really blew me away. he says of Driscoll's drug use. A New Jersey woman who prefers to remain anonymous quietly maintains a website devoted to Driscoll's life and career. View final resting place and family links here. Who knew a trip to the barber could change his life? [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. Bobby Driscoll was the voice of Peter Pan in the 1953 film. Stream It Or Skip It: 'Love at First Kiss' on Netflix, a Spanish Rom-Com About a Man Gifted with 'Romantic Clairvoyance', Stream It Or Skip It: Tonight Youre Sleeping With Me on Netflix, a Dull, Passionless Polish Rom-Dram, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Disconnect: The Wedding Planner' on Netflix, A Nollywood Rom-Com, Stream It Or Skip It: 'A Sunday Affair' on Netflix, a Lukewarm Nollywood Love-Triangle Drama, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Marlon Wayans: God Loves Me' On HBO Max, Making The Oscars Slap All About Him, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Triangle of Sadness' on Hulu, Ruben Ostlund's Skewering of the Moneyed Elite. Though the live-action/animated musical (which featured the Oscar-winning "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah") would ultimately represent an embarrassing chapter in Disney's storied history because of its offensive stereotypes and candy-coated depiction of slavery, it marked the start of a successful relationship between the studio and Driscoll, who became the first male actor to ever secure a Disney contract. "I do remember living in Pacific Palisades in a house that my dad owned andseeing a bunch of pot on the table. July 2, 2021, 6:38 am, by American film director, animator, and businessman Walt Disney with Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten in 1946. "[39] In 1956, he was arrested for the first time for possession of marijuana, but the charge was dismissed. The couple was later rewed in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles in March 1957. Bobby Driscoll was boy who reached success in the movie industry at a very early age. He thought they were trying too hard, werent real, and found them to be grating. There were no signs of foul play. Some people can't get out of it. And then I immersed myself into his extensive collection of work. "He went to his own public school when he was not working. For those years, Driscoll was Disneys sweetheart. "Like many adolescents, he developed a rough complexion," explained the former "Father Knows Best" star. ", Eliot has a far more sobering rationale. Bobby Driscoll - The Tragic Death of Disney's First Child Star The man was unknown and had no identification. All rights reserved. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Popular, by And somewherealthough nobody is sure exactly whereon that island that once housed a woman's psychiatric asylum, a men's prison, and patients quarantined during an outbreak of yellow fever in the 1870s, is the final resting place of Peter Pan. He tried to escape, but the force of the water prevented him from prying the door open, and he drowned. (Epstein wouldn't comment on why Driscoll hasn't been considered. "He's somewhere on the northern part of the island," says Hunt. He reportedly enrolled in UCLA and Stanford but ended up dropping out of both because he couldn't find his way. People continually saying 'What a cute little boy!' Bobby Driscoll's Friend Billy Gray Reveals What Led to the Former 2,243, This story has been shared 2,066 times. Whatever the reason, Driscoll was suddenly and rudely dropped from Disney when he was 16 years old, and, reportedly, was even banned from re-entering the studio. Its an unambiguously tragic story. Alcohol abuse, drug overdose, violent fits, and severe depression. Driscoll's mother, Isabellewho had not heard from her son in yearsfound out about Bobby's death nearly a year and a half later after placing advertisements about his disappearance in New York newspapers. Warhols New York studio, The Factory, became an internationally known gathering place that mixed intellectuals, playwrights, Hollywood celebrities, wealthy patrons, drag queens and random street people in a late night, drug and alcohol filled stew. I think the best thing about the Chip and Dale movie is that more people are being exposed to the injustices done to Bobby Driscoll and realizing how poorly Disney treats its talent, even if it may be unintentional. I got cast in the biggest movie in the world as the boy who wouldnt grow up: Peter Pan, Sweet Pete (voiced by Will Arnett) explains to the chipmunks. In addition to Peter Pan, he also had roles in Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island (1950). Thats how he found out he was fired. 1 Year-Later She Realizes Her Huge Mistake, Bebe Buell Reveals Everything About Her Rock Star Romances, The Real Reason Peter Lawford Got Kicked Out of the Rat Pack, Pam Dawber is Unrecognizable Today (Try Not to Gasp), Why Jan Smithers DISAPPEARED After WKRP in Cincinnati, Celebrities Who Died Due to Medical Malpractice, The ONE Time Dolly Parton Got Naked in Public, Rare Photos of Lynda Carter Not Suitable for All Ages, The Tragic Death of Robert Urich & His Wife, The Tragic Life and Demise of Angie Dickinson, How Each Gilligans Island Cast Member Died. However, it marks the start of a successful relationship between Disney Studios and Bobby Driscoll. He was 17 when he went on drugs; 31 when he died. Bobby's body, as noted, was found on March 30, 1968 in an abandoned tenement in Greenwich Village. He would end up having to fight an even tougher battle [] More, What could be more mysterious than an island filled with buried treasure? Bobby Driscoll then became, in his own words, a beatnik and a bum. Tragic Child Star Gets a Surprise Spotlight in - Vanity Fair This story reads more like a Hollywood murder mystery than an uplifting Disney fairytale. But that was a choice he made, and you couldn't talk him out of it. It's a very sad story, but, you know, take a look at A Star Is Born. "Warhol was so perverse, that he loved having Bobby Driscoll as part of his scene. Let us know in the comments. In no time at all, I was using whatever was available mostly heroin, because I had the money to pay for it. In March 1953, the additional two-year option Driscoll had been extended (which would have kept him at Disney into 1956) was cancelled, just weeks after Peter Pan was released theatrically. (United Artists/Getty Images). Gray said he and his pal lost touch when Driscoll headed to New York. Heart Attack. That was his notification that he was no longer needed there. It's the exact same story.". Unfortunately, he started putting that money into his veins. Bobby Driscoll suffered a tragic life after Disney dropped him. Paperback mysteries usually end this way, not Disney fairy tales. Occasionally, the director overdoes things a bit in striving for shock effectsBut "The Window" is Bobby Driscoll's picture, make no mistake about that. In New York City apartment discovers a young man lying dead, with empty bottles. Former Child Stars Who Met Tragic Fates - NickiSwift.com In 1953, the teen was unexpectedlydropped by the studio. In March of 1968, a pair of children playing in an abandoned, Greenwich Village tenement in New York City discovered a young man dead on a cot, surrounded by beer bottles and religious handouts. [54][55], In 1965, early in his tenure at the Factory, Driscoll gave his last known film performance, in experimental filmmaker Piero Heliczer's underground movie Dirt. "We used to play pool together," remembers Tamblyn of their days living and carousing in Pacific Palisades. 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. Mork, of course, played by the late Robin Williams. His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. The Shocking Life & Death of Bobby Driscoll - YouTube Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 c. March 30, 1968) was an American actor who performed on film and television from 1943 to 1960. A child actor and the voice of "Peter Pan," Driscoll started using drugs, primarily heroin, at age 17 after he was no longer working for Disney.
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