*Please be aware that in this post I will be discussing the downfalls of former child actors, I will be talking about suicide, sexual assault and substance abuse. I will, as always try to be as sensitive as I can be without taking away from the facts*
Over the years we have seen many child actors transition into adult stars and their careers have gone from strength to strength. The likes of Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Christian Bale and Elijah Wood have made that successful journey in their careers from childhood stars to more serious artists and actors. But it's not an easy road and in many cases it can go so tragically wrong. The pressures of fame are hard enough on an adult but even more traumatic for a child. There comes a time as a child actor when the reality hits that Hollywood has basically chewed you up and spat you out just because you are no longer that cute kid that was cast in the cutesy roles. It takes a lot to be able to survive that and be able to fight to carry on with your career and be taken seriously in more mature roles. A successful run from childhood actor to adult actor can happen successfully as we've seen but there are many cases where this has not happened.
We like to think of Disney as this wonderful dream-like place where all amazing things happen, a world full of joy, wonder and happiness. The reality is quite sinister in a lot of ways if you delve into the history of Disney and in particular, Walt Disney. There's a lot to unpack there and as many of us have grown up watching Disney movies we were maybe unaware of what was going on behind the scenes, the true lives of the actors and actresses who were behind our beloved Disney characters. Of course if we were to know the truth of the past and what really happened behind the scenes and how various child actors were treated it would take away the magic and the fantasy of it all.
We've heard the stories of MGM where the late, great Judy Garland who blessed us with her iconic performance in the classic Wizard of Oz, was subjected to constant psychological torture behind the scenes. We all watch the movies that Judy appeared in and we smile and sing along but what we didn't know was that Judy had been suffering a lot in her life. Constantly ridiculed for her weight by studio bosses, she was forced to smoke numerous cigarettes per day on an empty stomach and lived on endless cups of black coffee as well as amphetamines. Despite constantly being forced to starve herself, studio heads were still not happy with her weight at the time of her shooting the Wizard of Oz. Judy had been taking amphetamines from a very young age along with another child actor, Mickey Rooney. Shooting movies for hours on end would often leave the children exhausted so to keep up their energy they were fed drugs to stay alert. This would set many child actors and actresses on a road to drug addiction which often resulted in tragic circumstances. Judy herself had battled terribly over the years before sadly passing away from a Barbiturate overdose at the age of just 47 years old.
Whether it be Disney, MGM, Warner Brothers etc, every movie studio in Hollywood has some very dark history and there are so many stories to tell (let me know if you'd like me to write a series on this) about the scandals, the mysterious deaths, the infamous 'casting couch', the substance abuse and the harsh treatment and abandonment of many of it's stars and people we consider to be much loved icons, simply because they weren't bringing in the money or the viewers anymore or that they had gotten older.
With so many stories to tell and so many people who have fallen victim to the harsh side of Hollywood, my focus in this particular post is going to be that of the heart breaking story of Bobby Driscoll. I might possibly do a series where I talk about some of the things that went on with various actors and actresses but in this post, we will be taking a journey back to what happened to Bobby Driscoll.
As the story of fallen child actors go, I think that Bobby's story is one of the most devastating to say the least. For a long time he was a forgotten child star who, thanks to the internet is now being appreciated for all that he gave cinema history as well as the joy and happiness he brought to so many children and adults with his iconic film roles and TV appearances. We mostly have Bobby Driscoll to thank for Disney's Peter Pan because his likeness and voice was used to help bring the character that James Matthew Barrie had created to life and if you look at both a picture of Peter Pan and Bobby you will see it's uncanny.
Bobby was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (USA) on the 3rd of March 1937 to humble beginnings, he was a cute little boy who was adored by his parents and his early childhood was pretty normal. His path to acting began when he was having his hair cut and a Barber's son who was an actor himself, encouraged Bobby's parents to take him along to an audition because he thought that Bobby had the right look and personality for movies. The family moved to California and pretty soon everything was happening so fast for young Bobby, he was a natural on the screen. Despite a short acting career, he had some pretty iconic movie roles under his belt and had won a number of awards including an Oscar at the age of 13. Adults were blown away with his ability (despite his young age) to take direction with ease and give a realistic portrayal. Another one of his well known performances was his leading role in the now buried 'Song of The South' (1946) which a lot of people have not seen, I've not seen it either but for some reason most of us know the song from the film ''Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, my oh my what a wonderful day. Plenty of Sunshine headin' my way, zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay''. The Song of The South was deemed to be a racist movie because of it's portrayal of African-American slaves so it has been canceled. Other star turns for Bobby included So Dear to My Heart (1949), Treasure Island (1950) and probably most iconic of all, Disney's Peter Pan (1953).
It seemed that he was riding high with his career but all was not as it seemed, during filming in England for Treasure Island, there were some issues because Bobby didn't have a passport. Himself and his parents were sent back to California and the crew had to scramble to piece together remaining scenes with a stand-in. Despite this the movie went on to be a success and despite the mix-up Bobby's light was continuing to shine. His next major role was Disney's Peter Pan and this was and is still iconic to this very day, over 70 years later. It was from 1953 that Bobby's career began to slow down considerably and despite the success of Peter Pan, it was decided that Disney would not renew Bobby's contract. The ridiculous reason for Disney letting one their brightest and talented stars go, was because Bobby's appearance had changed quite a lot as he was a growing boy and had developed severe acne. Bobby had a terrible ordeal when it came to his skin, no matter what he tried to do the acne flare ups would be very upsetting for him. It got to the point where makeup artists had to apply very thick layers of foundation and concealer on his skin when he did do any TV appearances of public performances.
Bobby was maturing and growing up and it seemed that nobody wanted him to. With the lack of steady acting work, his parents had taken him out of the Hollywood Professional School which was attended by the well to do kids of Hollywood actors and actresses and sent him to a public school where, instead of being celebrated for his iconic movies and all that he achieved, he was met with jealousy and bullying. The stress and pressure of the bullying led Bobby to experiment with drugs as a form of escape. Eventually after begging and pleading with his parents, they agreed to take him out of that school and return him to the Hollywood Professional school where his grades picked up (they had gone down considerably at the other school) and he eventually graduated.
Not one to give up on his dream, Bobby tried so hard to get his career in a more serious direction but found himself with the reputation of 'Disney's Kid Actor'. He struggled on and off with the drugs but had met and fell in love with a woman by the name of Marilyn Jean Rush who he had known for many years. The pair gotten married and had a son and two daughters together but things soon turned sour because Bobby's addiction took hold.
His relationship with his children was a non-existent one because by this point the drugs became Bobby's sole focus. The relationship with his children was sadly never to be.
He tried to get his act together by doing some radio shows and appearances but just couldn't turn his back on the drugs which he used to escape from the harsh reality that he'd been treated like a product and just discarded when studio bosses decided he was no longer profitable and his only 'crime' was that he grew up.
Another child actor who comes to mind as I write this, is Jonathan Brandis, wasn't he an amazing actor? He'd been in quite a number of shows and movies but I remember his amazing performance in Stephen King's (made for TV movie) 'It'. In his younger days he was known for being a heartthrob and popular with girls but there was more to him than that, he was very talented and had so much more to give but it seemed that certain people couldn't look beyond his looks. Jonathan was so popular that he was frequently on the cover of girls magazines and would be voted the cutest guy in the world in these magazine polls. He would also receive thousands of fan letters every week from girls. As soon as Jonathan began to get a bit older and his style had changed, he wanted more serious roles as an actor, he soon found himself out in the cold. For some reason he was just known as this guy who was a cute kid back in the day even though he was still handsome, he had obviously matured and just struggled to get work. There was some light on the horizon, or so it seemed, when he was offered a role in a Star Wars movie as well as another big blockbuster but for some reason his scenes were cut. Having his scenes cut and struggling with trying to find roles and be taken seriously as now adult actor in Hollywood, it all became too much for Jonathan and he took his own life by hanging himself from a pipe outside of his apartment. It was a heartbreaking loss of such an incredibly talented young man, he was only 27 years old when he died.
Bobby found himself in the same predicament as Jonathan all those years before and the drugs became his crutch. Inevitably the drug addiction soon seen him having brushes with the law and back then in Hollywood's eyes, any sort of criminal activity, drug abuse (even though most of them were up to all sorts behind closed doors), any flaw on someone's character was frowned upon and it would basically mean the end of your career. People would go to great lengths to appear to be a perfect human being in the public eye so they would lie about their sexuality, pretend to be sober or leading a clean-cut life for the sake of their acting career.
When Bobby was first arrested for being in possession of marijuana it was considered to be a big deal back then and people commented that it signaled the official end of his career or any chance of a comeback. He tried his best to brush off this so called scandal by attempting to revamp his career, first with a slight name change from Bobby Driscoll to Robert Driscoll and had appeared in two more lesser known movies and a handful of TV appearances but nothing that really took off the ground. Feeling depressed, he fell into the drugs completely and more trouble with the law continued. He soon found himself behind bars where he was reportedly bullied, regularly beaten and had suffered various sexual assaults.
Bobby had written in a letter to a friend: ''I have found that memories are not very useful. I was carried on a silver platter - and then dumped into the garbage.''
After suffering (and surviving) so may ordeals through drugs, prison, being treated so cold by Hollywood, Bobby decided he was not going to give up when he left prison. He tried to make a go of things in New York with dreams of being a Broadway star. After failed attempts at a musical career he did find an unlikely friendship in a group of people known as 'The Factory'. The Factory were a community of artists and creatives who were put together by artist Andy Warhol.
Bobby seemed to feel comfortable in this community and began to explore other ways in which he could use his talents. It turned out that as well as a talented actor, Bobby was an amazing artist too, he'd create collages and other works of art which were held in high regard amongst his fellow artists. His surviving work was later exhibited at the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art.
It appeared that Bobby had been trying to find his feet after the harsh treatment of Hollywood and the sad realisation that an acting career was not going to happen for him but here he was, a talented artist who was gaining a lot of positive attention for his art work in New York. It should have been the start of a positive chapter in Bobby's life, a fresh start, he was still thought of highly by those who knew him and made friends easily. He'd been through a lot and had experienced life from both sides of the fence.
Sadly, everything was to come to a heartbreaking end and the talented person who gave us Peter Pan and all those iconic roles, the boy who made everyone smile and be in awe of his talent at such as young age, was suddenly no more. The incredibly gifted Bobby Driscoll was found deceased, slumped in a dirty cot in an abandoned building in Manhattan by two boys. It was gut wrenching for a true star to be found in such an undignified manner, beer bottles and papers strewn around him. It's unclear why Bobby had been there, whether he was sleeping rough but he passed away on the 30th of March 1968 at the age of 31. His cause of death was listed as drug-related heart failure.
More heartbreak was to come because Bobby was unidentified for a very long time, nobody knew where he was. His mother who he had lost contact with (it appeared that his relationship with his parents had soured a long time before that point) him decided that she wanted to speak to him because his father was in very bad health and she wasn't sure how long he had left. She originally contacted Disney studios looking for him. A bit of a search ensued and the tragic truth was revealed, Bobby who was considered to be some random homeless man was buried in a pauper's grave on Hart Island. They were able to trace him through fingerprints but his remains will never be found because on that island is a mass cemetery which is purely for the poor, homeless and unidentified to be buried. It's a heartbreaking place with so many unidentified people, people who died alone with nobody to claim their remains. Bobby is amongst them, the boy who gave us Peter Pan, the character who continues to bring joy to children all over the world and encourages you to think positive thoughts and be happy and enjoy life, his remains are with so many lost souls in that heartbreaking place.
To think, all that talent, all that promise, he had it all and they took it away from him. Hollywood took his spirit and when he was no longer making them money they threw him away, just like they've done with so many people. Nobody helped him, nobody wanted to know. From what I've seen of Hollywood, there's not a real friend there, anyone who finds themselves in a spot of hot bother is instantly canceled, fired and dumped by their co-stars, nobody stands by anyone, they are all out for themselves and care only for their own image and careers. It was exactly like that in Bobby Driscoll's day and it's still like that now. I think that we, the public now see behind the smoke and the mirrors. Award shows are no longer about celebrating talents, it's all about political agendas and some would say quite satanic. I wouldn't be able to tell you because I no longer watch them.
So, as we leave this very sad story about Bobby I hope that you take something away from this and that is, that when you next see a picture of Peter Pan, smile and think of Bobby. The boy who was never allowed to grow up. I'm so thankful that Bobby was able to be Peter Pan because nobody else could have done it any better, he is Peter Pan and I feel that it's a beautiful tribute that this character is still celebrated today and Bobby had a huge part of that. He might be somewhere on Hart Island but he remains in our hearts as Peter Pan and remembered for being an important part in Disney's history as well as one of the greatest young artists of all time who would have gone on to even better things if they had just let him be himself. He had such talent as a child that you can only just imagine what he would have been like if he'd been given a proper chance as an adult actor in more serious roles. He may have died before my time but immersing myself in his story, doing this research and learning of what he went through has touched me deeply and I feel a huge sense of loss for an extraordinary talented young man, 31 was no age to be passing away in a cold, dark filthy abandoned building. He didn't deserve it, any of it and neither did Jonathan Brandis and countless others.
RIP Bobby and Jonathan.
This was quite a tough and emotional post to get through and if you have made it this far, I am very grateful. I welcome any thoughts you may have below in the comments or you can email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com
Further Reading & Sources:
- The Bobby Driscoll Archive | Biography
- Bobby Driscoll | Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Bobby Driscoll | Find A Grave
- Bobby Driscoll: Article | Fox News
- Peter Pan (1953) Film | Wikipedia
- Jonathan Brandis | Wikipedia
- Jonathan Brandis | Find A Grave
- Hart Island, New York | Wikipedia
- The Island Project | Hart Island
- Song of The South: Movie | Wikipedia
Until next time, I hope to see you on my Socials and I hope you will join me here in my next post. Stay safe x
A series about Hollywood studios? Yes please, Jo! Fascinating and horrifying at the same time, Luv it!
ReplyDeleteThank you : ) a few people have said they'd like me to delve into it so watch this space! Much love x
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