Both Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines, and they ordered Driscoll out of the country. Driscoll planned on starting over, but life had other plans for him. [35] He said later, "The other kids didn't accept me. After his release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period, such as Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), The Window (1949), and Treasure Island (1950). By early 1962, Driscolls prison sentence ended, but it utterly destroyed his chances of becoming an actor ever again. Disney had big plans for Driscoll too. Voice of 1953 Disney's Peter Pan. Unfortunate circumstances made it difficult to keep Driscolls memory alive, however. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. 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. At a very young age, Bobby Driscoll made huge waves as a part of the early, extended Disney family. [17], Treasure Island was an international hit, and several other film projects involving Driscoll were under discussion, but none materialized. | Photo: Getty Images. Moves from Des Monies, Iowa to Los Angeles. Driscoll made four movies for Disney, including "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan." He received an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. Not only did it give Driscoll another chance at a starring role, but Disney planned on filming in the United Kingdom. Immediate Family Marilyn Verna Driscoll ex-wife Private child Private child Private child Cletus Joseph Driscoll father Isabelle Louise Driscoll mother About Bobby Driscoll Bobby Driscoll was an American child actor and artist, known for his film and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. BobbyDriscoll.com. The film is now available . Age (2022) Update Soon. Additional screen portrayals included the boy who could blow his whistle while standing on his head in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, the "child brother" of Richard Arlen in The Big Bonanza (both 1944), and young Percy Maxim in So Goes My Love (1946),[5] with Don Ameche and Myrna Loy. The only son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher, Driscoll was discovered at the age of 5 while getting a trim. While on a tour across the studio lot, five-year-old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was. 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 left his family at 16 and moved to New York City to study acting. The part was a far cry from Driscolls usual rolesthere was no singing, wise-cracking, or cartoon animals involved. Bobby Driscoll Age & Birthday. Bobby Driscoll: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. On March 30, 1968, two playing children discovered Driscoll's dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. This decision kept Driscolls career alivefor now. It was planned as Disney's first all-live-action movie, with production beginning immediately after Song of the South,[9] but its release was delayed until late 1948 to meet the demands of Disney's co-producer and longtime distributor RKO Radio Pictures for animated content in the film. Bobby Driscoll's full name is Robert Cletus Driscoll and his nickname is Bobby Driscoll. It mustve felt like one huge adventure for Driscoll, but a huge issue ended Driscolls journey almost as soon as it began. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines,[1] where they stayed until early 1943. We know that Angie D Parrish, Paul Wing, and three other persons also lived at this address, perhaps within a different time frame. 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 believed they were precocious, fake, and very annoying. 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. They re-wed in March 1957, in Los Angeles, and divorced in 1960. Thanks for your help! After his dismissal, the now teenaged Driscoll looked to other Hollywood studios for work. Beginning in 1953 and for most of the next three years, the bulk of his work was on television, on such anthology and drama series as Fireside Theater, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Front Row Center, Navy Log, TV Reader's Digest, Climax!, Ford Theatre, Studio One, Dragnet, Medic, and Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. When media tried to find the films main cast, they came to know about his death from his mother. 1957 - m. 1957 - div. 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. His parents had normal, respectable jobs. They separated, then divorced in 1960. Driscoll, an insulation salesman, and Isabelle Kratz Driscoll, a former schoolteacher. Just like that, precocious little Driscoll took his first steps toward a whole new lifebut his road to stardom was not going to be an easy one. When The Window hit theaters, itand more importantly, Driscolls performancewas a hit with audiences. They treated me as one apart. . Driscoll even had the honor of voicing Goofy Jr. in two Disney cartoon shorts, Fathers are People and Fathers Lion. 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. His grades dropped and he began taking drugs. In 1950, Driscollat just 13 years oldreceived a very special Academy Award that recognized his work in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. Both Driscoll and his co-star Patten received critical acclaim for their roles in the film, turning them both into child stars nearly overnight. 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. What Driscoll did was simple, but revealed a curiosity for the world around him which deeply impressed the director for Lost Angels. 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. Driscolls moment of peace was painfully brief. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Driscoll and his wife separated, then officially divorced in 1960. It wasnt until one year later that Driscolls family learned of his passing, and the results were agonizingly tragic. Driscolls time with Disney was running out. Other such smaller roles led to a contract from Walt Disney. With puberty came a severe case of acne, whichthrough no fault of his ownmarred the boys flawless face. 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. Hughes probably didnt expect much of a reaction, but he couldnt have been more wrong. Lets just, Song of the South (1946), Walt Disney Productions, So Dear to My Heart (1948), Walt Disney Productions, Treasure Island (1950), Walt Disney Productions, The Party Crashers (1958), Paramount Pictures, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Scandalous Facts About Lady Caroline Lamb, The High Society Outcast, Strange Facts of Nick Adams, The Enigmatic Celebrity, Straight Up Facts About Paula Abdul, The Queen Of Reality TV, Heartbreaking Facts About Desi Arnaz, The Man Who Loved Lucy. The first Disney film that Driscoll ever acted in was Song of the South in 1946, in which Driscoll took on the starring role as Johnny. The Fighting Sullivans (1944), 20th Century Fox. As the years passed, Hughess disdain for Driscoll seemingly turned into downright hatred. Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios. Driscoll was very talented, but he did not know that it all hinged on his facial features. 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. He had been getting a trim in a barber's shop in Pasadena when one barber told him he should be in the movies. Driscoll was born an only child to an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Bobby Driscoll was born Robert Cletus Driscoll on March 3, 1937. [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. Includes such notable movie screen appearances as The Fighting Sullivans (1944), Song of the . The body remained unidentified and unclaimed, so it was buried in an unmarked grave in New York Citys Potters Field, on Hart Island. [29], In 1947, he recorded a special version of "So Dear to My Heart" at Capitol Records. Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. 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. Between May of 1949 to mid-1951, Driscoll was working on Disneys animated version of Peter Pan. His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. Instead of doing that, however, Driscoll took the sneaky route: He used the six-week buffer he had to hastily film all his close-ups. The striking force and terrifying impact of this RKO melodrama is chiefly due to Bobby's brilliant acting, for the whole effect would have been lost were there any suspicion of doubt about the credibility of this pivotal character. [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. Bobby Driscoll was born on the 3rd of March, 1937. 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. 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. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. After filming wrapped up for The Window, Driscolls career hit a major snag. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. 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. No identification was on the body, and photos shown around the neighborhood yielded no positive identification. All Rights Reserved. He wanted Driscoll gone, and sadly the boy's morphing features were enough grounds. Both were originally aired on November 5, 1960. . I tried desperately to be one of the gang. Driscoll never forgot about his dream of being an actor, though. A lot of pressure was on Driscoll to perform. Driscolls legacy as an actor is even harder to keep alive. To make matters worse, Disney distanced itself from Song of the South, as well as Peter Pan to a lesser degree, both films in which Driscoll played a pivotal role. with Alan Ladd (all 1946). On the surface, this sounded like an enormously successful marriage, but for Driscoll, this wasnt the case. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Hughes dismissed Driscoll later in 1953, and he did so in a terrible manner by denying Driscoll entry into the studio. Bobby Driscoll Died Broke in Abandoned House at 31 & His Mom Only Found out over a Year Later By Oyin Balogun Oct 16, 2021 06:00 P.M. Bobby Driscoll was a child star who won an Oscar at 12 and eventually passed away alone in an abandoned house. 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 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. 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. In some special star-focusing series, Driscoll appeared with Loretta Young, Gloria Swanson, and Jane Wyman. We want our readers to trust us. [63] He also received the Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954 for his work on television and radio. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, Photo by NBC Television Network. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). One day in 1953, Driscoll drove up to the entrance of Disney Studios as usual, only to find his way blocked. View cenotaph here. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. 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. Driscolls burial records, along with many others, were destroyed in a fire. 'Treasure Island became a worldwide hit and many new projects were planned with Driscoll as the lead, but somehow they didnt work-out. "A barber in Pasadena told me I should be in the movies, so one. [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]. That introduction led to an appointment with his soon-to-be agent. Unfortunately, Driscoll could not escape the shadows of his past and ended up dropping out of both prestigious universities. 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. top of page. 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. Films: Song of the South, Treasure Island Soon, Driscoll began butting heads with the law. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. Voice of 1953 Disney's Peter Pan. Bobby Driscoll is American by birth. [6] Driscoll then played the lead character in Song of the South (1946), which introduced live action into the producer's films in conjunction with extensive animated footage. At the time, Disneys finances were in shambles thanks to WWII and desperately needed the film to do well. His weekly payment at Disney Studios was raised to $1,750. The director was impressed by the boy's curiosity and intelligence and chose him over 40 applicants.[2][3]. The teaser of the Pecos Bill section of Disneys 1948 cartoon collection Melody Time featured Driscoll and Patten. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on 1937-03-03. Advertisement At just five and a half, Robert Cletus Driscoll was discovered in a Los Angeles barbershop as he was getting his haircut. In 1956, the authorities took him in and charged him with possession of marijuana. The State of California sent Driscoll to the Narcotic Rehabilitation Center of the California Institution for Men in Chino, California. Perhaps Driscoll hoped that Rush would change him for the better, but what actually happened was far, far worse. Driscoll and Luana Patten were the first two actors Walt Disney placed under contract. [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. His work on television throughout his career spanning 17 years ( 1943-1960 ) on a tour across the studio,. Of acne, whichthrough no fault of his past and ended up dropping out of both universities. Not escape the shadows of his passing, and divorced in 1960 in Pasadena when one told! Chose him over 40 applicants. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] never forgot about his from! That Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines, and sadly the boy 's morphing features were enough.! What actually happened was far, far worse 3 ] a special version of Peter.. Altadena, CA very annoying mock-up ship and asked where the water was that Rush change... 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