Bobby Driscoll

From The Unofficial DisneyWiki

Bobby Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was a child actor, he appeared in starring roles in several Disney films. Driscoll starred in the live-action films Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart, and Treasure Island (1950 film). 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. 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.

[edit] Post-Disney Career

By the 1960s, with his career reduced to bit-parts and guest spot 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 of drugs took a toll on his life. Driscoll's 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 Bobby's death until it was revealed in 1972, when Song of the South was re-released in theaters.