[40] On July 24, 1956, Hedda Hopper wrote in the Los Angeles Times: "This could cost this fine lad and good actor his career. | Photo: Getty Images. Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 c. March 30, 1968) was an American actor who performed on film and television from 1943 to 1960. 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. One that his friend, Gray, thinks was caused by his inability to deal with getting abandoned by Hollywood. Sadly, these small successes were not enough to turn Driscolls life aroundand for one devastating reason. He left his family at 16 and moved to New York City to study acting. The former Disney child star who rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions,". 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. [50] He became part of Andy Warhol's Greenwich Village art community known as the Factory,[51] where he began focusing on his artistic talents. He made multiple trips to New York City to study acting, and even reportedly enrolled in UCLA and Stanford. The sentencing hearing for former City Councilmember Bobby Henon is underway in the Philadelphia federal courthouse. 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. [11], Driscoll was lent to RKO[12] to star in The Window, based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "The Boy Cried Murder". During the middle of production, authorities discovered that Driscoll did not have a valid British work permit. Although Driscoll did much to bolster Disney during a time of crisis, he is still, to this day, not a part of Disney Legends, the Disney equivalent of a Hall of Fame. At the time, Disneys finances were in shambles thanks to WWII and desperately needed the film to do well. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. 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. The reason for terminating the contract 3 years earlier, was given as Driscolls severe acne, which required too much efforts and make-up to cover-up. This was already sad enough, but it wasnt even the most tragic fact about his end. 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). We want our readers to trust us. The news was absolutely devastating. They charged him, but once again, the charges didnt stick. Join Facebook to connect with Bobby Driscoll and others you may know. Driscoll still had Robin Hood to look forward to, at leastRight? Voice of 1953 Disney's Peter Pan. The only son of an insulation salesman and former schoolteacher, Driscoll was discovered at the age of 5 while getting a trim. 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. We know that Angie D Parrish, Paul Wing, and three other persons also lived at this address, perhaps within a different time frame. [35] He said later, "The other kids didn't accept me. They re-wed in March 1957, in Los Angeles, and divorced in 1960. He was awarded Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street, in 1960. At a very young age, Bobby Driscoll made huge waves as a part of the early, extended Disney family. His parents had normal, respectable jobs. 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. In 1965, a year after his parole expired, he relocated to New York, hoping to revive his career on the Broadway stage, but was unsuccessful. The Fighting Sullivans (1944), 20th Century Fox. 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. When a doctor . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-2lkEFwiL0. On March 30, 1968, two playing children discovered Driscoll's dead body in an abandoned East Village tenement. Although Driscoll had a troubled life, he attempted to push forward. Advertisement Bobby Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids. Actor: Peter Pan. When his face was no longer charming and his voice not smooth enough to be used for voice-over jobs, his last big movie hit was the voice of animated Peter Pan (1953), for which he was also the live-action model. What they found was the body of Bobby Driscoll in a cot, with two empty beer bottles nearby and surrounded by religious pamphlets. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Bobby Driscoll was born on the 3rd of March, 1937. 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. The guards refused to let Driscoll enter, and informed himrather abruptly and rudelythat he was no longer under the employ of Disney Studios. Ex-husband of Marilyn Verna Driscoll Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. 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. 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. His casting was suggested by screenwriter Michael Kanin. Browse through Bobby's personal letters, written to friends, family, and people of notoriety. Outside of his career, Driscolls private life was going just as poorly. Bobby Driscoll. Driscoll made four movies for Disney, including "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan." Bobby Driscoll was an American child actor and artist, known for his film and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. He landed his debut role in "Lost Angels . Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. In addition to his brief guest appearance in Walt Disney's first television Christmas show in 1950, One Hour in Wonderland, Driscoll lent his voice to Goofy, Jr. in the Disney cartoon shorts "Fathers are People" and "Father's Lion", which were released in 1951 and 1952, respectively. Robert Cletus Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1937. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. The couple had two daughters and a son. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Still determined to become an actor, Driscoll left his parents home at 16. Bobby Driscoll Age & Birthday. The authorities showed photos of his body to people living in the neighborhood, but no one had any idea who he was. 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. 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. Also Known As: Robert Cletus Driscoll Died At Age: 31 Family: Spouse/Ex-: Marilyn Jean Rush (m. 1956 - div. A lot of pressure was on Driscoll to perform. Perhaps Driscoll hoped that Rush would change him for the better, but what actually happened was far, far worse. While those roles got Driscolls acting career rolling, it was his next role that took the little boys career to the next level. 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The part was a far cry from Driscolls usual rolesthere was no singing, wise-cracking, or cartoon animals involved. Although the charges were dismissed, this event marked the beginning of Driscolls many future encounters with the law. The real tragedy of Bobby Driscoll was the fact that no one identified his body. [63] He also received the Milky Way Gold Star Award in 1954 for his work on television and radio. He briefly worked as a carpenter and cared for the young children he had with his ex-wife. 22nd Academy Award Ceremony of March 23, 1950 excerpt, Donald O'Connor presenting Bobby Driscoll his Oscar, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "Hot-Rod Stage Shares Affections of Bobby Driscoll", "Lost Angel Bobby's very first filmrole", "That Little Girl in 'Song of the South' a Big Girl Now", "So Dear to My Heart actual production dates", "The Window, "Depicting Terror of Boy in Fear of His Life", "British Court Upholds Bobby Driscoll Fine", "Walt Disney Will Follow Up 'Treasure Island', "Disney Again to Wed Cartoons, Live Action", "Memorablia & Collectibles (signed production photographs with detailed captions", "$300-A-Week Smile There Is a Film Santa", "New Contract For Boy Film Actor Approved". EXCLUSIVE: Billy Gray still has fond memories of his beloved pal Bobby Driscoll. [14][15], Driscoll was cast to play Jim Hawkins in Walt Disney's version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1950), with British actor Robert Newton as Long John Silver, the studio's first all-live-action picture. Instead, Driscoll found a place beside an extremely unlikely and eccentric individual: the artist Andy Warhol. 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. News of Driscolls end finally went public, four years after tragedy took the young mans life. Son of Cletus Joseph Driscoll and Isabelle Louise Driscoll 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. After his release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. Nationality. 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. 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. He also gave education a try, enrolling at institutions like Stanford and UCLA but ultimately dropped out. Both Driscolls family and Disney received hefty fines, and they ordered Driscoll out of the country. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? His parents had normal, respectable jobs. Had with his ex-wife most tragic fact about his end him, but no one had any who. Future encounters with the law ), 20th Century Fox Driscoll still had Robin to. Others and start your morning with our fact of the South ( 1946 ), 20th Century Fox Stanford... 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