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Bobby Driscoll was an American actor who starred in Disney films such as Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart, and Treasure Island. He also voiced Peter Pan and won an Academy Juvenile Award, but struggled with addiction and died young.
Bobby Driscoll was a child actor who starred in movies like Song of the South, The Window, and Treasure Island. He won an Oscar in 1950, but his career declined and he died in 1968 as a homeless person.
- January 1, 1
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
- January 1, 1
- New York City, New York, USA
Jan 22, 2019 · Bobby Driscoll was a child actor who starred in Song of the South and voiced Peter Pan, but his career and life spiraled downward after being dropped by Disney. He died alone and unclaimed in 1968, buried in a paupers' grave on Hart Island.
- Lynette Rice
- Hollywood Beginnings
- Disney Success and Peter Pan
- Post-Disney Career
- Prison, Drugs, and Andy Warhol
- The Death of A Former Child Star
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Bobby Driscoll was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 3, 1937. He was the only child to parents Cletus, an insulation salesman, and Isabelle, a former schoolteacher. The family moved to California in 1943 on the advice of Cletus’ doctor, who said the elder Driscoll was experiencing health issues due to his work with asbestos. Driscoll was discover...
Driscoll’s breakout role came in the 1946 film, Song of the South, about a boy who visits his grandfather’s plantation. While the film today is viewed negatively for its depictions of slavery and offensive stereotypes, it made Driscoll a household name. Not long after, he signed a contract with Disney, becoming the first male actor to do so. Drisco...
In 1953, Disney unexpectedly terminated Driscoll’s contract, three years earlier than anticipated. While the reasons for this are unknown, it’s speculated it had to do with the young actor’s appearance. Gone were his round cheeks and freckles, and in their place was a lanky teenager with severe facial acne. Driscoll’s parents enrolled him in West L...
By the time he left Hollywood, Driscoll was feeling abandoned, a sentiment from which he never recovered. His relationship with Marilyn was tumultuous, and the pair married and divorced twice. He began hanging out with the wrong crowd, and soon found himself addicted to heroin. While he still found ways to express himself through artistic means, hi...
In March 1968, two children playing in an abandoned tenement in New York City’s Greenwich Villagecame across the body of a deceased male. He was lying in a cot, surrounded by beer bottles and religious pamphlets. There were no signs of foul play and no identification on the body. Attempts to identify him led nowhere. It was determined the man had d...
Bobby Driscoll was a child star who voiced Peter Pan in Disney's 1953 film, but his career declined and he struggled with drugs and crime. He died in 1968 and was buried in an unmarked grave until his identity was revealed in 1972.
Bobby Driscoll was a child actor who won an Oscar for his role in The Window (1949) and voiced Peter Pan (1953). He struggled with acne, drugs and rejection in his teenage years and died in poverty in 1968.
- March 3, 1937
- March 30, 1968
Bobby Driscoll is best known for being an American child actor known for starring in cinema, radio, and television performances from the 1940s and 1950s. Most notably in Disney’s animation film, Peter Pan (1953), starring as the voice for the character Peter Pan.
Bobby Driscoll is best known for being an American child actor known for starring in cinema, radio, and television performances from the 1940s and 1950s. Most notably in Disney’s animation film, Peter Pan (1953), starring as the voice for the character Peter Pan.
