The young actors days of taking on small movie roles were officially overbut this new life would eventually lead him down a dark and dangerous path. Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. It was only a bit role opposite Margaret O'Brien in the 1943 film Lost Angel, but it led to a succession of movies that capitalized on Driscoll's pert nose and freckled face. "If we weren't at Disneyland, we were at collectible stores looking for vintage antiques," says Allender of himself and his dad, who used to write for Tomart's Disneyana Update magazine. And they threw me away like I was nothing. I was scared, desperate, and all alone, says Sweet Pete. Bobby Driscoll was the voice of Peter pan and one of Disney poster child before they basically threw him to the street when he reached puberty. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. or redistributed. A Promising Beginning. Released in early 1962, rehabilitated and ready to make a return, regardless of his past as a criminal and convicted drug addict, Bobby was overlooked by the same community that had once supported and nourished him. Driscoll and his wife separated, then officially divorced in 1960. He was treated so rudely by Hollywood. Driscoll encountered increasing indifference from the other Hollywood studios. Speaking to a judge, Driscoll conceded how far he had fallen. So how to explain a former child star who worked alongside Tinseltown greats like Charles Boyer, Alan Ladd, Roy Rogers, and Joan Fontaine falling so far from a life of klieg lights and Academy awards to become just another indigent in an unmarked grave on Hart Island, where his body remains today? It took even longer for news of Driscolls passing to reach the public. You know, I got my big break when I was just a kid. According to Driscoll, The other kids didnt accept meWhen they rejected me, I fought back, became belligerent and cockyand was afraid all the time. Alone and friendless, Driscoll turned to drugs at the age of 17. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. I heard that he was informed that he was no longer under contract through them by driving up to the entrance and being refused entrance into the studio. The actor earned his Hollywood Star on 1560 Vine Street for his appearance as Jim Hawkins on Walt Disney's Treasure Island (1950), and four years later, in 1954, he came out victorious in the national poll for a Milky Way Gold Star Award. Gray said Driscoll eventually resorted to heroin. He appeared in a variety of anthology and drama series, such as Dragnet (a crime drama) and Medic (the OG medical drama). "We were buddies," said Gray. "A lovely guy, a dear friend. He had normal experiences with his peer groupjust as I did.". The former Disney child star who rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions,". Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. [65], In September 2011, American singer-songwriter Tom Russell released the song "Farewell Never Neverland" on the album Mesabi, an elegy for Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan. Im not really sure why I started using narcotics. From Riches to Rags: The Tragic Life of Peter Pan's Bobby Driscoll A year later, he welcomed his second child, a daughter in 1958. Howard Hughes, an American investor that bought out RKO, thought the film was unworthy of release. To make things worse, he completely dismissed Driscoll, and thought of the young boy as not much of an actor. As a result, Driscolls film wasnt released until the following year, in May of 1949. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. In 1956, the authorities took him in and charged him with possession of marijuana. In 1956, Driscoll eloped with his long-time girlfriend, Marilyn Jeanne Rush, to Mexico, in the hopes of avoiding their parents' objection, but this marriage was later annulled. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Im not really sure why I started using narcotics. He wasn't really part of the crowd," says Eliot, who remembers seeing Driscoll in the '60s in a Greenwich Village club. They separated, then divorced in 1960. Prison sentences were the kiss of death for Hollywood actors in those days, so after briefly working as a carpenter, Driscoll left his young children behind and moved to New York City in 1965, where he forged an unlikely relationship with, of all people, Andy Warhol. EXCLUSIVE: Billy Gray still has fond memories of his beloved pal Bobby Driscoll. 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, Macabre Facts About Wednesday, The Spooky Streaming Sensation, Licentious Facts About Marie-Louise OMurphy, King Louis XVs Little Mistress, Hard-Earned Facts About Pedro Pascal, The Unlikely Star, Hot Facts About Denise Richards, The Real Girl Next Door. "My feeling is that it's not a shameful place to be buried," says Hunt, who hopes to someday see the cemetery accessible to the public. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. With little choice, Driscoll tried to fit in with the other kids at the West Los Angeles University High School, and the results were utterly heartbreaking. But instead of some Harvey Weinsteintype producer or chipmunk-biased studio exec, Chip and Dale discover Sweet Pete(Will Arnett), a former child star whose middle-aged potbelly pokes out from his old Peter Pan costume. TIL of Bobby Driscoll, famous Disney child actor in the 1940s and 50s (including the voice of Peter Pan), who died penniless and alone at age 31 in an abandoned NYC building. 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. "[36][37] At his request, Driscoll's parents returned him the next year to Hollywood Professional School, where in May 1955 he graduated.[38]. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. brochures. The part for Driscoll was a tiny onehe would only be on screen for a grand total of two minutesbut the competition was fierce. News of Driscolls end finally went public, four years after tragedy took the young mans life. Chip certainly gets it, having sacrificed his Hollywood dreams to schlep insurance packages. During all this time Ive hurt a lot of people especially my parents, my wife, my children, and myself, said the former actor. The couple was later rewed in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles in March 1957. Nothing about his early childhood indicated a future career with Walt Disney. In 1972, Disney re-released Song of the South, which reignited public interest in Driscoll, the smiling little boy in the film that brought Disney back from the verge of bankruptcy. "A Tribute to Shirley Booth, paragraph: Dean Martin on Shirley Booth Dean Martin recalling an encounter with Driscoll at a party in the mid-1950s, literally terming him "Pupils In Hollywood School Drew More pay Than Their Teachers", "Strangest Grammar School In Nation Found In Hollywood", "Bobby's graduation at Hollywood Professional School", "The Long Road Back Bobby Driscoll, a Film Star at 6, an Addict at 17, Sent to Chino", "Bobby Driscoll, Friend Denies Narcotic Charge This Is No Act", "Actor Bobby Driscoll, 19, Seized On Dope Charge", "Actor Driscoll reveals To Plan To Rewed Girl, 19", "Actor Driscoll Needs Job As Clerk To Finance Marriage", "The Long Road back Bobby Driscoll, a Film Star At 6, An Addict At 17, Sent To Chino", "A personal Letter to his girl friend of then, which he closes with "Bob". Former Disney child star Bobby Driscoll 'never found his way' before His parents had normal, respectable jobs. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Embittered by this, he said, "I have found that memories are not very useful. He passed away at the age of 31 on March 30, 1968. Bobby Driscoll in "The Window" - A Daughter's Musings - Facebook "Was earning $50,000 a yearworking steadily with good parts. Due to the lack of clear evidence, the burglary charges against Bobby were dropped. The medical report revealed he had suffered from heart failure caused by severe stiffening of the arteries due to his prolonged substance abuse. I think that was Bobby's best role." Driscolls remains were unclaimed and he was eventually buried in a mass, unmarked grave on Hart Island alongside other unidentified bodies. In 1968, two boys discovered his decaying corpse on a cot after playing in a deserted part of Manhattans underground. Ken Goldins Family: His Wife, Daughter Lauras Age, and Son! That's how she lives all alone, estranged from her ex-daughter-in-law and the grandchildren, remembering Bobby, the way it was when . 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 the biggest role of his career, Lunas intense two-season arc will soon wrap filmingbut as he shares on this weeks, Disney Sees Ron DeSantiss Prison-Complex Threat and Raises Him a Pride Nite Extravaganza. Beside his body were two empty bottles of beer and a number of religious tracts. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines,[1] where they stayed until early 1943. TV Shows. She had hoped he would return to California to say goodbye to his dying father. Then I loaned the other video to a friend for her little ones to watch and never received it . The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. People continually saying 'What a cute little boy!' The rest of the Bobby Driscoll story, and the significance of his final years and death, were revealed that the other day during our conversation with his mother, Mrs. Isabelle Driscoll, in California. By all accounts, he was your average little kid living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Family, friends, and fans were left to ponder how a boy who seemingly had it all could fall so far. But contemporary actors like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez willingly left the Mouse House; Driscoll didn't have a choice when the studio unexpectedly dropped its golden child in 1953. [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). His drug use increased; in an interview years later, he stated, "I was 17 when I first experimented with the stuff. When Driscoll left Chino in early 1962, he was unable to find acting work. After going into hiding in Canada, Didi returned to Los Angeles, while Bobby went to New York. "Was earning $50,000 a year working steadily with good parts. 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. Bobby Driscoll was Disney's first fallen child star whose rejection and eventual self-sabotage led him to a bizarre and unfortunate early death. And guess what? On top of that, the head honchos at Disney planned more film projects involving Driscoll. When it was released in May 1949, it became a surprise hit. Per a 2019 story in Entertainment Weekly: When Howard Hughes bought RKO, he, in effect, became the owner of the Disney studio, explains [Disney biographer Marc] Eliot. In 1972, the matriarch described to Movie Digest how drugs changed her son. His parents had normal, respectable jobs. In October 1959, Bobby was convicted on charges of narcotics but was later declared not guilty. It worked. This strategy was only mildly successful. In today's world, it's a familiar and predictable narrativea star who began his or her career on the Disney lot grows up and out of the squeaky-clean confines of the studio. 30S STAR ELISSA LANDI LEFT HOLLYWOOD FOR THIS REASON, BOOK REVEALS: I WASTED 7 GOOD YEARS OF MY LIFE THERE, Bobby Driscoll was the voice of Peter Pan in the 1953 film. Driscoll tried to find workbut reportedly said, No one will hire me because of my arrests. He worked as a carpenter until his 1964 parole, after which Driscoll moved to New York City in the hopes of finding more sympathetic casting agents. While Disney likes to believe it has a squeaky-clean image, one look at Bobby Driscoll will tell you that things are never that simple. 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. Shes played Jack Nicholsons daughter, Gwyneth Paltrows sister, and Nicolas Cages estranged wife. So I decided to take the power back and make my own bootleg movie. Bobby Driscoll was born Robert Cletus Driscoll on March 3, 1937. Driscoll's salary at Disney had been raised to $1,750 per week[26] and compared to his salary, Driscoll had little work from 1952 on. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des Moines, [1] where they stayed until early 1943. "He never showed any fear of people," she said. Driscolls moment of peace was painfully brief. In 1996 when I became a gramma, I gave one copy to my daughter for her little ones.. present and future. Marilyn Jean Rush: All about Bobby Driscoll's Ex-Wife From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. After taking one look at Driscolls adorable little freckled face, the barbers son got Driscoll an acting agent. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. After dating for a while, the couple soon embraced each other as husband and wife. "Obviously he was sick and an addict and broke. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. By Julie Miller May 23, 2022 "This. The onetime Peter Pan, aged 31, was found on a cot with two empty beer bottles and religious pamphlets. Recently, the former Disney child star's friend Billy Gray made a shocking revelation about how his tragic end came about. "I heard that he was informed that he was no longer under contract through them by driving up to the entrance and being refused entrance into the studio. "I don't have very many memories of my dad or my mom," says Don, now in his 60s, in Allender's raw video. All rights reserved. Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for February 18, Gwyneth Paltrow won't collect attorneys fees in ski collision trial, Tim Bachman, guitarist for Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dead at 71, Louis Vuitton transforms South Korean bridge into massive runway, Miranda Lambert shares the 'secret sauce' to her happy marriage, Memorabilia from 'Cheers,' 'Breaking Bad' among items being auctioned in Texas. Both living and deceased artists are eligible to be commemorated with a bronze plaque in the studio's Legends Plaza on the Burbank lot; honorees include Fred MacMurray, Regis Philbin, Betty White, and Oprah Winfrey. In an incredibly sad twist, Driscolls work with Disney made it incredibly difficult for the young actor to find roles. "I became a beatnik and a bum," Driscoll said in the 1961 magazine article. His unclaimed body was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in New York City's Potter's Field on Hart Island. The award was presented as a special miniature Oscar statuette for "the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949" for his roles in So Dear to My Heart and The Window, both released that year. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Driscoll's death was not announced until his first Disney film, Song of the South, was re-released in 1971. The first film they needed Driscoll for was If You Knew Susie, a comedy musical that was right up Driscolls alley. "A barber in Pasadena told me I should be in the movies, so one Sunday he invited us out to his home and his son was there," recalled Driscoll during a 1946 radio interview. Bobby Driscoll - IMDb In the mid-1950s, Driscoll's acting career began to decline, and he turned primarily to guest appearances on anthology TV series. All rights reserved. Disney put a lot of faith into Driscoll for the film, and it definitely paid off. He thought they were precocious, werent real, and were incredibly annoying. late) 1967", "Semina Culture Wallace Berman & His Circle", "A Return Trip to a Faraway Place Called Underground", "Santa Monica Museum Of Art Official Homepage", "DIRT- Review and a downloadable clip of the so-called "Bath-sequence", "Hart Island (Potter's Field) Official Homepage (controlled by the "Department Of Correction" and inaccessible to visitors)", "With Re-Release Of Disney Film Child Star's Tragic Death Described", "Bobby Driscoll Won't Be Around For Reissue Of Song of the South", "Benjy Ferree Come Back To The Five and Dime", "Benjy Ferree Announces New Album, Channels Former Child Star Bobby Driscoll", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Driscoll&oldid=1152450499, University High School (Los Angeles) alumni, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: "S01, E15, The Ordeal of the S-38", Episode: "Incident of Fear in the Streets", Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, hosted by Johnny Mercer, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Walt Disney and James Baskett, hosted by Johnny Mercer, Capitol Records (CDF 3000) narrated by John Beal, RCA Victor (Y-416) narrated by Bobby Driscoll, Byron Haskin interviewed by Joe Adamson, The Directors Guild Of America and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, N.Y. and London, 1984, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 09:07. At 19-years-old, he met a girl named Marilyn Jean Rush in Manhattan. Instead, Driscoll found a place beside an extremely unlikely and eccentric individual: the artist Andy Warhol. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Workin Moms Cast, Sloanes Boyfriend: Pregnancy Ultrasound, Who Portrays the Character? Bobby Driscoll was just five years old when he began his acting career. In no time at all I was using whatever was availablemostly heroin, because I had the money to pay for it., Driscoll estimated that he spent more than $100,000 of his earnings and confessed that he had damaged his most important relationships. I got cast in the biggest movie in the world as the boy who wouldnt grow up: Peter Pan, says Sweet Pete, recalling the memory as a clip from Disneys 1953 classic Peter Pan plays. They charged him, but once again, the charges didnt stick. Rachel McAdams Took a Break From ActingAnd Rejected Some Major Roles, Hope Davis Has Done Everything, and Shes Finally Everywhere. 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. My clothes were at my parents' [house] but I didn't live anywhere. Russ Tamblyn flirted with the idea of doing a movie about his old pal before deciding he'll devote a chapter or two to Driscoll in his upcoming autobiography. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Peter Pan Bobby Driscoll 2012 New DVD Top-quality Free UK shipping at the best online prices at eBay! Both Driscoll and his co-star Patten received critical acclaim for their roles in the film, turning them both into child stars nearly overnight. Action & Adventure. [35] He said later, "The other kids didn't accept me. Inside the Tragic Death of Disney Child Star Bobby Driscoll After three years of taking on minor acting roles, Driscoll got the chance of a lifetime when he caught the eye of the one and only Walt Disney. Outside of his career, Driscolls private life was going just as poorly. "They told him he was no longer able to come to the studio. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). Grim Facts About Bobby Driscoll, Disney's Forgotten Child Star (Wallace Berman died in 1976). On December 3, 1956, Bobby and his long-time girlfriend, Marilyn Jean Rush eloped in Mexico City to escape their parents who objected to their union. He was just another teen boy with a bad case of acne. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. The only son of a salesman and a former schoolteacher, he simply went in for a haircut one day and ended up meeting an agent. Dayz standalone 0-60 times motorcycles. "He sounds like a baseball player to me," offers a patrolling police officer with a shrug. I tried desperately to be one of the gang. Sadly, these small successes were not enough to turn Driscolls life aroundand for one devastating reason. The one where EW follows up with the cast. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. [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. He is commemorated at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, on his father's gravestone. The Fighting Sullivans (1944), 20th Century Fox. "What's the point of poking at it?" "What Disney saw in Driscoll was the perfect, wholesome, all-American kid who dreams of being with pirates and all that," explains Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot, author of Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince. He didnt really recover from being abandoned by Hollywood, Billy Gray recalled in 2019. We didnt know what it was. (United Artists/Getty Images). It was determined that he died from heart failure believed to have been caused by complications from his drug use. Bobby Driscoll was officially married to his wife, Marilyn Jean Rush, for three years from 1957 to 1960.Source: Pinterest. There, his grades dropped substantially, he was the target of ridicule for his previous film career, and he began to take drugs. This decision kept Driscolls career alivefor now. Driscolls burial records, along with many others, were destroyed in a fire. His last major movie success, before his appearance was no longer cute and his speech was not clear enough to be used for voice-over work, was the character of animated Peter Pan (1953). After a few years of experimenting with drugs, Driscoll became a full-blown addict. Unlike the celebrity missteps that are chronicled hourly on news sites and social media today, Driscoll's demise happened in complete and total silence. The news was absolutely devastating. "People make mistakes. That would be the story of Bobby Driscoll, one of Disneys first major child stars, who voiced and modeled Peter Pan in the 1953 animated film before being dropped from the studio. The actor continued to perform successfully on television until 1957 and even managed to secure two final screen roles on The Scarlet Coat (1955) and The Party Crashers (1958). [42] They had two daughters and one son, but the relationship did not last. Today, Gray remembers Driscoll not as the fallen child star, but simply as his friend. But first, Driscolls auspicious beginnings. "I do remember living in Pacific Palisades in a house that my dad owned andseeing a bunch of pot on the table. [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. He thought they were precocious, weren't real, and were incredibly annoying. What happened to Bobby Driscoll? Chip and Dale Rescue - Sportskeeda In a project meeting held after the completion of Peter Pan, Walt Disney stated that Driscoll was better suited for roles as a young bully, and stopped giving Driscoll roles as the likeable protagonist. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the only offspring of his father, Cletus Driscoll (1901-1969), an insulation salesman, and his mother, Isabelle Kratz Driscoll (1904-1981), a former schoolteacher, Bobby moved with his parents to Des Moines, Iowa, where the entire family stayed until 1943. When his body went unclaimed, he was buried in an unmarked grave. 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. Not only did it give Driscoll another chance at a starring role, but Disney planned on filming in the United Kingdom. The Film Plot. Driscoll was born in Iowa on March 3, 1937. As it was common practice in this business, Driscoll and Luana Patten also did promotional radio gigs (starting in late 1946 for Song of the South) and toured the country for various parades and charity events through the years. "I was carried on a silver platter and then dumped into the garbage can. "The way I understand it, it was a rather rude dismissal," says Gray. The former Disney child star who rose to fame at age 9 as "the first human being signed for Disney Productions," won a Juvenile Oscar at age 12 and then went on to voice the title role in 1953's animated film "Peter Pan" at age 16, met a tragic end. Sweet Pete hops onto a treadmill to outline his origin story at an easy three-mph walk. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. He reportedly enrolled in UCLA and Stanford but ended up dropping out of both because he couldn't find his way. Once Driscoll's corpse went uncollected, he was placed in an abandoned pauper's grave in New York City'sPotter's Field on Hart Island. A year after the couple eloped, they re-wed in an official ceremony in Los Angeles in March of 1957. Although his name appears on his father's gravestone at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, his remains are still on Hart Island. "Warhol was so perverse, that he loved having Bobby Driscoll as part of his scene. Alcohol abuse, drug overdose, violent fits, and severe depression. Watch: Jean Hersholt and Bobby Driscoll receiving Special Awards. He had an extremely high I.Q., but the narcotics affected his brain. It mustve felt like one huge adventure for Driscoll, but a huge issue ended Driscolls journey almost as soon as it began. This resulted in a fingerprint match at the New York City Police Department, which located his burial on Hart Island. Here are details about the life he lived. Feb 28, 2021 09:00 A.M. A tragic end befell Bobby Driscoll in 1968. Bobby was arrested for the third time the following month over the possession of opioids. Driscoll even had the honor of voicing Goofy Jr. in two Disney cartoon shorts, Fathers are People and Fathers Lion. Driscoll's parents received encouragement to get Bobby into the movie industry. The cause of death for the penniless 31-year-old was hardening of the arteries, a common side effect of longtime heroin use, Entertainment Weekly reported. Unfortunately, Driscoll could not escape the shadows of his past and ended up dropping out of both prestigious universities. He was a wonderful and talented young actor who left us far too soon. Walt often referred to Driscoll with great affection as the living embodiment of his own youth, wrote Marc Eliot in his 1993 biography Walt Disney: Hollywoods Dark Prince. After filming Treasure Island, when Driscoll was 16, he played Peter Panvoicing the beloved character and reportedly acting as a character model for illustrators. It was so popular that Driscoll reprised his role the following year for a radio adaption of the movie. 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.