Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was an American child actor, voice actor, and artist, he appeared in starring roles in several Disney films. He starred in the live-action films: Song of the South as Johnny, So Dear to My Heart as Jeremiah Kincaid, Treasure Island as Jim Hawkins, and Melody Time as himself. He also voiced Goofy Jr., Goofy's son in two animated shorts, Fathers Are People and Father's Lion. Perhaps his most famous role was his last role for Disney, as the voice and close-up model for Peter Pan in the 1953 Disney animated feature film of the same name. Though he was a personal favorite of Walt Disney and well-paid, by the time he hit puberty, he left Disney, and never achieved the level of success he had at Disney. He was originally cast as the main title role in Johnny Tremain.
He died 27 days after his 31st birthday.
Post-Disney Career
By the 1960s, with his career reduced to bit-parts in films and guest spots on TV, he had been arrested for drug charges and sentenced to rehab. After his parole, he tried to establish himself as an avant-garde artist in New York City, including a stint as a member of Andy Warhol's group of artists, The Factory. His last known film role was in the Warhol-produced "Dirt". He left The Factory sometime in 1967 or early 1968, but his addiction to drugs took a toll on his life.
His body was found on March 30, 1968 in an abandoned building, his body was unclaimed and buried in Potter's Field on Hart Island. In 1969, his mother with the help of the Disney Studio tracked down his body and it was confirmed with a fingerprint match provided by NYPD. The public did not know of his death until it was revealed in 1972, when Song of the South was re-released in theaters.
Disney Roles
(So Dear to My Heart)
Gallery
Trivia
- He was born in the same year as the late Suzanne Pleshette, who was born on January 31, 1937. The latter has outlived him by 39 years before her death on January 19, 2008.
- He is also one of the actors who voiced/portrayed a heroic character in a film to be outlived by another actor who voiced/portrayed a villainous character in the same film, as in Peter Pan, he was outlived by Hans Conried (1917 - 1982), who voiced Captain Hook in Peter Pan while the former voiced the titular character.
- He was born in the same year as his Peter Pan co-star Paul Collins (John Darling) with the latter being born four months and 22 days later.
- He is also one of the actors who voiced/portrayed a heroic character in a film to be outlived by another actor who voiced/portrayed a villainous character in the same film, as in Peter Pan, he was outlived by Hans Conried (1917 - 1982), who voiced Captain Hook in Peter Pan while the former voiced the titular character.