Not many people are familiar with the name Bobby Driscoll. However, a lot of people do know this Disney classic Movie:
Bobby Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 3, 1937. His mother was a school teacher, while his father was a salesman. Bobby only lived in Iowa for a small amount of time due to his father’s doctor’s orders to move away from Iowa to California due to his father ailing from handling asbestos from his job in Iowa.
Once the family settled into their new surroundings, Bobby’s parents rallied behind him to become an actor. Their dream finally came true when their baby’s son got Bobby an audition at MGM Studios for a role in a movie called Lost Angel, directed by Roy Rowland and starring Margaret O’Brien. From when he was six years old, he was a regular actor on TV and in movies. Disney studios cast him in live-action films such as Treasure Island and So Dear to my Heart.
(Pictured above Luana Patten with Walt Disney and Bobby Driscoll)
Bobby Driscoll and another child actor named Luana Patten were the first contracted actors for Walt Disney (Image below left to right: Burt Ives, Luana Patten, and Bobby Driscoll in Disney’s So Dear My Heart (1949)). He and Patten acted in various movies together, so it would be no surprise that you would see them in many roles and scenes. Newspaper outlets termed Driscoll and Patten working together as “Walt Disney’s Sweetheart Team.”
He was so well-regarded during his childhood acting career that he received an Academy Juvenile Award for two roles in “So Dear My Heart” (1949) and “The Window” (1949):
Bobby is best remembered for his voice role as Peter Pan in Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, and it was, unfortunately, his last well-known role.
As all children do, Driscoll went through puberty and growth spurs, and Disney Studios cited that as a reason to end their contract with Bobby and their connection for any movie or tv roles for their studios.
Bobby found it incredibly difficult to find work outside Disney because many studios were still being perceived under Disney Studios’ eyes. Therefore, the studios did not consider him for more grown-up roles, and he mostly did smaller, lesser-known works in various TV shows.
From 1948 until 1957, he was able to find voice role work through radio and was part of various productions. During that time, his parents decided to remove him from Hollywood Professional School and enrolled him in West Los Angeles High School. That is when Bobby’s grades dropped, and he was constantly bullied because he was a child actor. He started to depend on drugs during that time and got into fights. To much of his parents’ dismay at how badly Bobby had adapted to the new school. They reversed their decision regarding schooling and re-enrolled him back at Hollywood Professional School, where he could graduate in 1955.
However, it did not halt Bobby’s drug use. And was dependent on such drugs as heroin and was already arrested for marijuana possession in 1956. He had no luck obtaining movie or TV roles and eloped in December 1956 to his girlfriend, Marilyn Jean Rush. They went on to have three kids. However, the couple divorced in 1960, and Bobby ended up cutting out any contact and relationship with his children due to his reliance on drugs.
He wanted to change his public image and be called Robert Driscoll. However, Robert still had troubles regardless and had some charges against him, such as assault with a deadly weapon and disturbing the peace.
In late 1961, he was formally sentenced as a drug addict and sent to the Narcotic Rehabilitation Center of California Institution for Men located in Chino, California. He was released in 1962 from there, and in 1965, after his parole expired, he decided to move to New York. He wanted to try acting on Broadway, but nothing fruitful was gained, so he became part of Andy Warhol’s The Factory in Greenwich Village.
Bobby excelled as an artist and created some art pieces at Warhol’s Factory. His last movie role was in 1965 for experimental director Piero Heliczer’s movie Dirt:
On March 30, 1968, Bobby Driscoll’s body was found by two boys who were playing in an abandoned East Village tenement. His body was found on a cot alongside two beer bottles and various religious items surrounding him. The cause of death was heart failure caused by hardened arteries due to mixed drug use. Police tried to go around the area where his body was found to have someone identify him, but no one could, so his body became unclaimed and buried in a pauper’s grave at Potter’s Field in New York City’s Hart Island. He was only 31 at the time of death.
In 1969, Bobby’s mother at the time inquired to Disney Studios for them to contact Bobby due to his father’s fatal illness. Disney Studios still had fingerprints and other identifying items in order to help her. The result was able to provide a fingerprint match for the New York City Police Department in aiding in locating the remains of Bobby in Potter’s Field. A sad ending to a talented person.
Until Next time!!
Sources:
Youtube, https://classiccinemacorner.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/bobby-driscoll-disneys-first-fallen-child-star/
ladycultblog 
Hi,
This is a touching post. Let me see if I have the key points of your content.
Bobby Driscoll was a child actor who gained fame for his roles in Disney movies. He started his acting career at a young age and received critical acclaim for his performances. However, as he grew older, he struggled to find work outside of Disney and turned to drugs. He faced legal troubles and his life took a tragic turn. He was found dead at the age of 31, and his body was initially unclaimed before being identified and buried. It was a sad ending for a talented actor.
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