Bobby Driscoll Biography

Fast Facts

• Died in a deserted tenement of advanced hardening of the arteries, and his body was not identified until his mother enlisted police to find her son 19 months later
• Started acting when he secured a bit part opposite Margaret O'Brien in "Lost Angel" at the age of 5
• Costarred alongside Luana Patton in several Disney films, notably "Song of the South" and "So Dear to My Heart․"
• Was in a number of "Family Theater" radio broadcasts during the 1940s and 1950s, even hosting one 1950 program himself
• Was the first actor to be put under contract by Walt Disney, coming to fame in such live action roles as "Song of the South" and "Treasure Island," and leaving an enduring mark in Disney animation as the voice of "Peter Pan․"
• His last known film performance was in the experimental filmmaker Piero Heliczer's underground movie "Dirt․"
• The Benjy Ferree concept album "Come Back to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee" was based partially on Driscoll's life
• Was a member of The Factory, Andy Warhol's Manhattan studio, for two years
• The Tom Russell song "Farewell Never Neverland" was written as an elegy for Bobby Driscoll
• Was the first boy to play Peter Pan, as prior to his voice acting job in the animated classic of the same name, only women had played the role