Bobby was born March 3rd, 1937 in Iowa. The film and his voice became a big hit. "[36][37] At his request, Driscoll's parents returned him the next year to Hollywood Professional School, where in May 1955 he graduated.[38]. 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. Both were originally aired on November 5, 1960. Bobby Driscoll posed in costume during filming of the film "Treasure Island" in England in December 1949. By early 1962, Driscolls prison sentence ended, but it utterly destroyed his chances of becoming an actor ever again. Hughes probably didnt expect much of a reaction, but he couldnt have been more wrong. Bobby Driscoll was a child star who won an Oscar at 12 and eventually passed away alone in an abandoned house. This decision kept Driscolls career alivefor now. "[39] In 1956, he was arrested for the first time for possession of marijuana, but the charge was dismissed. The part was a far cry from Driscolls usual rolesthere was no singing, wise-cracking, or cartoon animals involved. View final resting place and family links here. Even more amazingly, Driscoll became the first male to portray Peter on film. Unfortunately, Driscoll's fans had no idea about his sad fate until 1972 when the Disney film "Song of the South," featured in, was re-released. But this was only the beginning. "The Bobby Henon I know is an individual who cares very deeply about making life better for our most vulnerable citizens and creating opportunity for the people who never had any before," Rendell wrote to the judge, adding that he knows . 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. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. [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. One that his friend, Gray, thinks was caused by his inability to deal with getting abandoned by Hollywood. Driscoll was born an only child to an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher. The only son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher, Driscoll was discovered at the age of 5 while getting a trim. When it was released in May 1949, it became a surprise hit. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Bobby Driscoll pictured in 1949. In ill health from 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. This strategy was only mildly successful. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. A post mortem examination determined that he had died from heart failure caused by advanced atherosclerosis[57] from his drug use. When his contract with the Disney studios was prematurely terminated shortly after the release of Peter Pan (1953) in late March 1953, his mother additionally took him from the talent-supporting Hollywood Professional School, which he attended by then. Bobby Driscoll and Connie Stevens in The Party Crashers (1958) After his appearance in The Party Crashers, the party truly started crashing around Driscoll. Bobby Driscoll. 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. 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.". Driscoll and Luana Patten were the first two actors Walt Disney placed under contract. Three children: Dr. Daniel Abram Driscoll, Aaren Hope Driscoll Keely, and Katherine Ann Driscoll Grundmeier. His performance won him an Oscar at 12, and by 16, he was given a chance to voice "Peter Pan," an animated film about a boy who never wants to grow up. Ironically, critics of the film thought that Driscolls portrayal was a huge step up, as the original Peter Pan book portrayed the character as a complete sociopath. He and his co-star Luana Patten became child-stars and the media dubbed them as Walt Disneys Sweetheart Team.. Disney slated Driscoll for two more films: Tom Sawyer and Robin Hood. 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. 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. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. When The Window hit theaters, itand more importantly, Driscolls performancewas a hit with audiences. No identification was on the body, and photos shown around the neighborhood yielded no positive identification. 1960) father: Cletus Driscoll mother: Isabelle Kratz Driscoll Actors Child Actors Height: 5'10" (178 cm ), 5'10" Males Died on: March 30, 1968 place of death: East Village, New York, United States 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 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. 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. This resulted in a fingerprint match at the New York City Police Department, which located his burial on Hart Island. The heartbreaking fate of BOBBY "Peter Pan" DRISCOLL, Disney's FIRST child star, whose road to ruin ended with heroin. [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. The other film RKO had in mind for Driscoll, however, presented a whole new challenge for the child actor. [18] He was at the perfect age for the role, but because of a story rights ownership dispute with Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, who had previously produced the property in 1938, Disney ultimately had to cancel the entire project. 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. 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. Driscoll and Rush eloped in Mexico, although both sets of parents objected to their union. Although his name appears on his father's gravestone at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, his remains are still on Hart Island. Here are details about the life he lived. Despite being one of Disney's first and most successful child stars, Driscoll has never been enshrined as a Disney Legend. His grades suffered for it, but he graduated. The news was absolutely devastating. She asked for help from Disney Studio officials and a fingerprint match led to Driscolls grave on Hart Island. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. The Happy Time: Directed by Richard Fleischer. Driscoll was loaned to RKO Studios for the 1949 suspense film, The Window. The film became a hit and Driscolls work was applauded. A little over two decades later, he died suddenly. He essayed main roles in a number of Disney movies, and earned a special Juvenile Academy Award for Outstanding Juvenile Actor of 1949. Under the contract, Driscoll was occasionally loaned to other studios, but he largely remained a Disney Star. He became famous as the voice of Peter Pan, and also modeled as a reference for this hit Disney movie. Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot, author of "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince," saw the perfect embodiment of the American child in Driscoll. Believed to be an unclaimed and homeless person, he was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave on Hart Island, where he remains. April 26, 2020. Driscolls time with Disney was running out. Ex-husband of Marilyn Verna Driscoll Well, not exactly. They charged him, but once again, the charges didnt stick. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. 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. 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