While those roles got Driscolls acting career rolling, it was his next role that took the little boys career to the next level. Eventually, Driscoll convinced his parents to re-enroll him to the Hollywood Professional School, where his grades improved. Bobby Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids. 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. They separated, then divorced in 1960. Current occupation is listed as Retired. In an incredibly sad twist, Driscolls work with Disney made it incredibly difficult for the young actor to find roles. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. In 1969, Driscolls mother tried to search for him, as his father was nearing death. Although the charges were dismissed, this event marked the beginning of Driscolls many future encounters with the law. Driscoll and Patten once again worked together in Disneys first all-live-action film, So Dear to My Heart. In RKO Studios (Disneys co-producers) 1948 musical comedy, If You Knew Susie, he played the part of Eddie Cantors son. 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. Driscoll planned on starting over, but life had other plans for him. The young boy had it all, but unfortunately, his snafu with the British authorities had a bigger impact on his career than Driscoll couldve imagined. Discover at 5, while getting a haircut, Bobby Driscoll is the son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher. 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. 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. This resulted in a fingerprint match at the New York City Police Department, which located his burial on Hart Island. Driscoll played Eddie Cantor's screen son in the RKO Studios musical comedy If You Knew Susie (also 1948), in which he teamed with former Our Gang member Margaret Kerry. By early 1962, Driscolls prison sentence ended, but it utterly destroyed his chances of becoming an actor ever again. He also worked on radio shows, including special broadcast versions of Treasure Island (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). In 1960, Driscolls life fell apart all at once. [66], (This is not necessarily a complete list; it displays all those that could be located and verified. On March 30, 1968, two playing children found his dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. This put Driscoll and the entire production in a sticky situation. The couple had two daughters and a son. According to him, his personality took a turn for the worse during his marriage, and his dwindling career soon followed suit. The authorities in the United Kingdom allowed Driscoll six weeks to prepare an appeal. Driscolls legacy as an actor is even harder to keep alive. In May of 1955, Driscoll graduated and even found work in television. In December 1956, Driscoll and his longtime girlfriend, Marilyn Jean Rush (occasionally misspelled as "Brush"), eloped to Mexico to marry despite their parents' objections. Bobby was the son of a salesman and a school teacher, but his life would take the first twist when his father got sick after many years of handling asbestos in his job. 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. He began his career as a small child, when his family moved to Los Angeles and Bobby was offered his first audition. 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 also gave education a try, enrolling at institutions like Stanford and UCLA but ultimately dropped out. In 1954, he was awarded a Milky Way Gold Star Award, chosen in a nationwide poll for his work on television and radio. [30], For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Driscoll received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in 1960. 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. Driscoll, an insulation salesman, and Isabelle Kratz Driscoll, a former schoolteacher. Ex-husband of Marilyn Verna Driscoll Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 c. March 30, 1968) was an American actor who performed on film and television from 1943 to 1960. He was born Robert Cletus Driscoll in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the only child of Cletus (19011969), an insulation salesman, and Isabelle (ne Kratz; 19041981), a former schoolteacher. He lent his voice to Goofy Jr.s character in Disneys Fathers are People (1951) and Fathers Lion (1952). Disney still kept Driscoll on their payroll, but it was clear that they were losing interest in their once-favorite kid actor. Films: Song of the South, Treasure Island In his biography on Disney, Marc Elliot described Driscoll as the producer's favorite "live action" child star: "Walt often referred to Driscoll with great affection as the living embodiment of his own youth". The live-action/animated musical eventually became an embarrassing project for Disney because of its offensive stereotypes and less than a candid depiction of slavery; however, it meant more for Driscoll. The story of this child actor, who starred in films like Song of the South and Peter Pan, is a heart-wrenching one. The first Disney film, Song of the South, was re-released in 1971-1972. Despite being one of Disney's first and most successful child stars, Driscoll has never been enshrined as a Disney Legend. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. He portrayed a boy that could whistle while standing on his head in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, acted across Richard Arlen as his kid brother in The Big Bonanza, and portrayed Percy Maxima trouble-making childin So Goes My Love. After making his screen debut, he got a role in a 20th Century Fox war film, The Fighting Sullivans (1944), wherein he essayed the youngest of 5 brothers, Al Sullivan. In Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944), he played the boy who could blow his whistle while standing on head, and in the same year he played young brother of Richard Arlen in The Big Bonanza., In 1946, Driscoll portrayed Percy Maxim in So Goes My Love. The other movies in which he played small parts, included Identify Unknown, From This Day Forward, O.S.S., and Miss Susie Slagles., Driscoll was one of the first two actors to sign contract with Walt Disney. The first live-action/animated film of Disney, Song of the South (1946), had Driscoll as its lead actor. According to one Hollywood biographer, Warhol loved having Bobby Driscoll as part of his scene. In particular, Warhol loved the idea of having a bitter, Hollywood ex-actor as a part of his crew. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. April 26, 2020. 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). 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). 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. 1957 - m. 1957 - div. Voice of 1953 Disney's Peter Pan. "[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. 1957 - m. 1957 - div. As a result, the city buried Driscolls unclaimed body in an unmarked paupers grave on Hart Island. [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. Critics praised Driscolls work, with some of his art even being temporarily displayed in Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Sadly, these small successes were not enough to turn Driscolls life aroundand for one devastating reason. The Happy Time: Directed by Richard Fleischer. He portrayed a young version of Al Sullivan, one of five close-knit brothers growing up in Iowa during the dark days of the Great Depression. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Driscoll wasnt going to take that lying down, however. View the profiles of people named Bobby Driscoll. 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 . The agent starts working, landing Bobby Driscoll a bit role opposite Margaret O'Brien in the 1943 film Lost Angel. The heartbreaking fate of BOBBY "Peter Pan" DRISCOLL, Disney's FIRST child star, whose road to ruin ended with heroin. For his TV and radio work, he earned a Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954. A severe case of acne accompanying the onset of puberty,[27] explaining why it was necessary for Driscoll to use heavy makeup for his performances on dozens of TV shows, was officially provided as the final reason for the termination of his connection with the Disney Studios. 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. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. In December of 1956, Driscoll made the decision to elope with his longtime girlfriend, Marilyn Jean Rush. When media tried to find the films main cast, they came to know about his death from his mother. state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton was the sole Republican representing a part of Johnson County. Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios. When The Window hit theaters, itand more importantly, Driscolls performancewas a hit with audiences. 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. When Driscoll left Chino in early 1962, he was unable to find acting work. This revelation comes from a friend of the late voice actor, Billy Gray. It led to his eventual sentencing as a drug addict in October 1961. [22] Driscoll was cast with Disney's "Little British Lady" Kathryn Beaumont, who was in the role of Wendy Darling; he was used as the reference model for the close-ups and provided Peter Pan's voice, and dancer and choreographer Roland Dupree was the model for the character's motion. What Driscoll did was simple, but revealed a curiosity for the world around him which deeply impressed the director for Lost Angels. He had no identification, so the body was marked as unknown and went unclaimed until it was buried in an unmarked grave on Hart Island, where he remains. After his release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. This strategy was only mildly successful. [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. His parents had normal, respectable jobs. He served as the animation model and provided the voice for the title role in Peter Pan (1953). "A barber in Pasadena told me I should be in the movies, so one. 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. Driscolls moment of peace was painfully brief. His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. 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. "[39] In 1956, he was arrested for the first time for possession of marijuana, but the charge was dismissed. Driscoll and Rush eloped in Mexico, although both sets of parents objected to their union. Bobby Driscoll: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote He wanted Driscoll gone, and sadly the boy's morphing features were enough grounds. His contract was terminated three years earlier in 1953, and he found it difficult to get work in other studios. [35] He said later, "The other kids didn't accept me. Geni requires JavaScript! Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. After that, Driscoll started having run-ins with the law. Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot, author of "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince," saw the perfect embodiment of the American child in Driscoll. Still perceived as "Disney's kid actor",[28] he was unable to get movie roles as a serious character actor. Around that time, Howard Hughes bought RKO, effectively making him the owner of the Disney studio. The State of California sent Driscoll to the Narcotic Rehabilitation Center of the California Institution for Men in Chino, California. Unfortunately for Driscoll, Walts affection seemed to run dry after the filming of Peter Pan, and it led to the young actors early decline. 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. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. He thought that Peterand Driscoll, by extensioncame off as cold and unlikeable in the movie. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. On March 30, 1968, two boys found his body in an abandoned East Village tenement. Academy Award-winning actor of Disney films in the 40s and early 50s who died from a drug overdose. Although his name appears on his father's gravestone at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, his remains are still on Hart Island. 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. Over the next year, Driscoll ran into trouble with the authorities again and again. They treated me as one apart. 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. After filming wrapped up for The Window, Driscolls career hit a major snag. David Derks. On March 30, 1968, two playing children discovered Driscoll's dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. 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. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. He became addicted to narcotics, and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use. | Photo: Getty Images. Although Driscoll had a troubled life, he attempted to push forward. Disney had big plans for Driscoll too. Nationality. 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. Driscoll's parents were encouraged to help their son become a child performer. After his premature dismissal, he was enrolled in a public high school where his peers teased him. 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. When a doctor . top of page. It took even longer for news of Driscolls passing to reach the public. It mustve felt like one huge adventure for Driscoll, but a huge issue ended Driscolls journey almost as soon as it began. Advertisement He starred in . 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. In the few short years he became a star, Driscoll never quite found his way or regained his footing. Advertisement At just five and a half, Robert Cletus Driscoll was discovered in a Los Angeles barbershop as he was getting his haircut. After a few years of experimenting with drugs, Driscoll became a full-blown addict. After his dismissal, the now teenaged Driscoll looked to other Hollywood studios for work. Films: Song of the South, Treasure Island. The film is now available . Remember Howard Hughes, the guy that initially dismissed Driscolls acting ability? Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. [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. View Collection. 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. Here are details about the life he lived. Driscoll and Luana Patten were the first two actors Walt Disney placed under contract. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). 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]. 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. Driscoll even had the honor of voicing Goofy Jr. in two Disney cartoon shorts, Fathers are People and Fathers Lion. 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. Between May of 1949 to mid-1951, Driscoll was working on Disneys animated version of Peter Pan. Driscoll needed to stand out to get the part, so he ended up doing something that completely won the director over. Bobby Driscoll was born on the 3rd of March, 1937. 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. 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. Driscoll found work as an artist in The Factory, Warhols New York City art studio. 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. One that his friend, Gray, thinks was caused by his inability to deal with getting abandoned by Hollywood. Even more amazingly, Driscoll became the first male to portray Peter on film. In 1944, 20th Century Fox offered Driscoll a role in their WWII drama, The Fighting Sullivans. His unclaimed body was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in New York City's Potter's Field on Hart Island. 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. He had the acting chops and the singing talent, but his Broadway career was largely unsuccessful. Driscoll made four movies for Disney, including "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan." Driscoll achieved fame at age 9 when he was cast in a starring role in the Disney controversial movie "Song of the South." They re-wed in March 1957, in Los Angeles, and divorced in 1960. Were always looking for your input! He became addicted to narcotics, and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use. Driscolls time with Disney was running out. ), Media related to Bobby Driscoll at Wikimedia Commons. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. Driscoll's brief, two-minute debut[4] helped him win the role of young Al Sullivan, the youngest of the five Sullivan brothers, in the 20th Century Fox's World War II drama The Fighting Sullivans (1944) with Thomas Mitchell and Anne Baxter. [10] Patten and he appeared with Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers in the live-action teaser for the Pecos Bill segment of Disney's cartoon compilation Melody Time (also 1948). -. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on 1937-03-03. While on a tour across the studio lot, five-year-old Driscoll noticed a mock-up ship and asked where the water was. with Alan Ladd (all 1946). Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. Although Peter Pan was largely successful, Walt Disney himself didnt like the film. Later, he worked mainly in TV series and radio shows. The story of how Driscoll went from that talented child to the man he became is a very sad one. A year after the couple eloped, they re-wed in an official ceremony in Los Angeles in March of 1957. Bobby Driscoll is American by birth. 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. For Driscoll, this was easier said than done. Driscolls past as a child actor made him a prime target for ridicule from the other students, resulting in his grades dropping. By. [17], Treasure Island was an international hit, and several other film projects involving Driscoll were under discussion, but none materialized. They managed to identify Driscoll through his fingerprints, which led them to Hart Island. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Driscoll even got a chance to act one last time in the movie Dirt, an experimental film directed by Piero Heliczer. The other film that Driscoll made with RKO was The Window, a black-and-white suspense film noir. The New York Times credited Driscoll with the film's success:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, The mounting terror of a young boy who lives in mortal fear of his life is projected with remarkable verisimilitude by 12-year-old Bobby Driscoll in "The Window," which opened on Saturday at the Victoria. In ill health due to his substance abuse, and with his funds depleted, his body was discovered on March 30, 1968, in an abandoned building in the East Village of Manhattan. Driscoll was born an only child to an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher. The two had two daughters and one son. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The stigma that his prison sentence left on him made it impossible for Driscoll to find acting jobs, leaving the young man bitterBut not completely hopeless. Most notably, he served as the animation model and provided the voice for the title role in Peter Pan (1953). Instead, they sent Driscoll to West Los Angeles University High School. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. The real tragedy of Bobby Driscoll was the fact that no one identified his body. They charged him, but once again, the charges didnt stick. But this was only the beginning. It wasnt until one year later that Driscolls family learned of his passing, and the results were agonizingly tragic.