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"After working on my memoir project, I took a walk in the rain. Today is Bobby Driscoll’s birthday, who was a friend of my parents. I don’t have a strong memory of him, due that I was a little child when he was around the household. But his presence was felt strongly. What I hear about him is mostly from my mom, who was very fond of him. It’s funny that he was the source material for Disney’s “Peter Pan” and in a sense growing up was a huge pain for him. Not as a man, but the way the entertainment industry treats its children, who work in the film world. They always want to freeze time, yet a human can’t remain what he was, he or she can only be “is.”

--By Tosh Berman

Sad Eyes

Bobby is one of those rare people whose blank expression is typically a sweet, good-natured one it seems - except for only a handful of photos.

This is definitely one of those. I can’t tell if he’s trying to channel the character he plays from Party Crashers in this pic or if the camera happened to just catch him looking extra forlorn, but either way he does NOT seem happy here.

What might have been on his mind?

Crying in the Rain

This song was one I’d long forgotten about, but heard again last night, and immediately thought of Bobby.

It’s directed toward a woman and getting over a breakup, of course, as most sad songs are, but I saw extra poignancy in it and thought of Bobby’s life.  He hid so much of his sorrow from sight, something it seems he felt he had to do in order to get through the tough times.  The fact that he died hidden away from his numerous family members and friends testifies to the fact that he was most comfortable suffering quietly.

The most moving quote for me in all this is, “Someday when my cryin’s done… I’m gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun.”  We can’t know at what point in time Bobby finally gave up on that happening on this side of heaven, but I like to believe that he knew he would be going to a place after his death where life would become new and beautiful for him again.

Hats, Hair and Bobby

So this hat is a Stetson.



Why is this important on a Bobby Driscoll page, you may ask?  Well, it isn’t, really, but for my wondering if Bobby ever wore one.  This hat was popular around the time Bobby would have been a working, suburban dad.  

We know Bobby was a dapper, well-dressed guy in all occasions, but I hate I never got to see him in a hat other than the cowboy hats he wore in Rawhide.  He would have looked nice in one, yes?

However, I do get this feeling that Bobby was always super proud of his hair.  It’s perfectly coiffed in almost all his pictures (even in the pic of him sitting there half-shaven smoking a cigarette at the police station after he and Suzanne got popped for stealing from a vet).  I noticed that he was diligent about doing different things with his hair as the eras changed, always keeping up with the latest fashions.  So maybe he felt a hat would distract from that?

Hmm.  Anyway, random thought of the day.  

Old Time Radio

You must go listen to these.  They’re amazing.  Allow me to elaborate on them, particularly as it’s been a little while since I’ve written a substantial post for y’all.

http://www.bobbydriscoll.net/radio-broadcasts/

The Future Is Yours
Probably one of my favorites.  Bobby does a great job here, when he was about 11 years old.

Jamie and the Promise
I had a harder time getting engaged in the storyline here, but Bobby did a great job as usual.


Mahoney’s Lucky Day
This is the show Bobby actually hosted!  He stumbles just a bit for wording during the introduction, but at the very end, he has sweet, poignant words to say about faith.  In all likelihood, his words were scripted, but he seemed very earnest in his delivery.

Knee Pants
So, this is the only one I’ve yet to make it all the way through.  The only copy of this one echoes a bit and the quality isn’t very good.  It caused me to be unable to follow the story, or to tell his voice from the other young boy’s alot of the time.

The Throw Back
This was another of my favorites.  These old radio shows are adorably quirky, and I’ll never forget bursting out laughing upon hearing the background music and sound of a belt as it was supposedly being used on Bobby after he got into trouble with his parents on one occasion.

Treasure Island
The story as recorded for radio.  Bobby does have a small interview at the end, but I am consistently under the impression, upon hearing Bobby’s few interviews, that even they were scripted.  They bear a slight stiffness to them that wouldn’t be present, I don’t think, had he been talking candidly.  At the same time, we have to remember that we in the modern age are spoiled on celebrities talking more colloquially in their interviews, whereas this was a more refined time period.  So that could have truly been “raw Bobby.”

The Day They Gave Babies Away
You MUST listen to this for Christmas!  I think it’s actually my favorite one…

Comic Weekly Man
“Turn your eyes and look, Miss Honey!  I’ve lost my shadow, and that’s not funny.”  That line warms me everytime - it’s Bobby’s first line in the middle of the radio show when he does a spot for Peter Pan.  His voice sounds a bit different here, and his accent is alot more northern/midwestern than usual.  I wonder if this was after he received his voice lessons for Peter Pan, and was taking on a more “ideal” accent for the time period.  Either way, it is absolutely precious.

The Peter Pans
We’ve all seen Peter Pan, and if you’ve seen it, you’ve pretty much heard these.  Just I can definitely notice Bobby’s syllables and how he sounds out his words being quite a bit different from how they were in previous broadcasts.

The Big Sophomore - I can honestly say there that had Bobby’s name not been announced on this radio show, I would never have thought the boy talking was him.  His whole voice sounded different to me, not just the accent.  Listen to it and see what you think.

The Courtship of John Dennis
This one was absolutely adorable, and what I loved the best was the short spot Bobby did right after the broadcast where he and the other actors were discussing the story.  He doesn’t have too many lines, but those he says are poignant.

The Penalty
This one was pretty good!  Bobby was older here, I think 18.

Fair Exchange I think out of all the broadcasts Bobby did as an older teen/early 20-something, this was my favorite.  Not really sure why, I just loved his dynamic here.

A Shot in the Dark
This had a really sweet story, and of course Bobby did his usual awesome.  However, this was another one where I had trouble from time to time - particularly early on - discerning his voice from the other young man’s, especially as they were talking low.

There we go!  My commentary on Bobby's broadcasts.  Hope everyone’s Christmas season is going well!  Thanks for continuing to read me!

Bobby's Most Handsome Adult Picture

Here’s our boy in what is frankly my favorite picture of him as an adult I think.  Ignoring those bars in the background, of course, and despite the fact that we know he was here because he swatted a heckler with a pistol like a Billy Badass…

He looks healthy, handsome, and best yet, grown.  You’ve heard me discuss plenty how we don’t have many adult pictures of Bobby to celebrate.