Bobby's English Hot Dog Party

Sent to me in an eBay alert last night, and it makes me super happy.  I tell you guys what, you CAN still find good Bobby stuff every so often if you really look for it....

Any of you who were once a part of the Bobby Driscoll Yahoo Group know that there once existed an entire set of these.  This was one, there was one of them all sitting around eating hot dogs, and then there was one of Bobby holding up something that looked quite a bit like a rat -- but I surely hope wasn't -- for the other kids to look at. 

So this wasn't an entirely new picture, but when one reads the caption, that's when the feels come in:

It certainly occurred to me that this could have been a publicity thing Bobby was required to do.  But then I recall all the articles in which he talked about wanting a normal childhood, which usually was accompanied by a statement about how lonely he was and how much he wanted friends... and thought it quite possibly could have been his idea, or he at least might have been excited about it.  I feel I've heard alot, over the past couple years, about Bobby's "friends" and it always seemed that there were alot of them, or at least alot of people who liked him and considered themselves to be.  When one looks at his grueling schedule, however, it becomes apparent that the problem was probably more that he didn't get to spend adequate time with them than that he wasn't able to find them in the first place.  By accounts, Bobby was a very friendly child who loved to play with and spend time with other kids when he could, which wasn't much.  That's why I think I felt so sorry about his childhood all over again...

I was out with unsuspecting friends when I saved these images in between conversations and sent them to my Mom, saying to her, "Awww, read those.  He always wanted friends.... everywhere he went he gathered them up like treasures."

Of course my Mom, with the patience of a saint but no understanding of my whole Bobby Driscoll Thing responded, "That's sweet, babe."

"No, it wasn't, it was sad!"

"Right, yes, it was."

Gotta love how I continue to engage her about this stuff and she continues to try to listen even though she probably wants to say things like "You've already told me that," or "Some of us have real things to do," or "How old are you again?"

Anyway, I digress.  I've mentioned before how much Bobby was said to have loved his whole England experience -- and maybe this was partially why, as for this one night, he might have been able to be a kid.  That is, unless he had photographers constantly saying "That's it, now turn a little to the left," or "Let's get one of you biting into your hot dog" or "Smile bigger!"  But his grace with all that has repeatedly been made apparent, so even if he had to endure a little of the forced stuff, something tells me he still had fun that night.

Living in Color - a piece of amazing Bobby art!

I keep promising things I'm not doing, so I can see the loss of confidence by those of you waiting for the "Day is Done" commentary.  But the good news is, it is almost done!  I intend actually for that to be my very next post.

For this post, I want to share with y'all something an artist named Terra Gedeon did that is BEAUTIFUL -- and something I know Bobby would be so proud of.




Crystal came to me specifically requesting a portrait of this legendary actor, Bobby Driscoll. She envisioned him coming from black and white to color. Essentially rising from his internal darkness to becoming free from his fatal addiction. The only photos that can ever be found of Bobby are in black and white. There are articles talking of what his skin color, hair color and eye color were. So, we brought him to life in color! Crystal described him as this: “He was more or less a "child actor", the first, actually, to be hired by Disney. He was in Treasure Island, he was the voice AND live action model for Peter Pan, etc. He ended up falling into addiction, as have so many child actors since him (he was one of the original child actors in America), becoming so broken he left everything behind and went to NYC, where he died of drug-induced health problems (a heart attack) a homeless John Doe, buried on Hart Island. No one recognized him or even knew he died until his mother sent a private investigator to see if they could find him, and they matched up fingerprints to figure out that that's what had happened. And all that's very sad and hard, but it makes it ten times more poignant when you learn, as I have after TONS of research, that he was such a person of light and love until he was ruined by drugs. I feel he is at peace now. I've just felt so very drawn to his memory.” 

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I was obviously jazzed to see this, and had to share it with all of you, even though some people might be tired by now of me posting so much artsy stuff.  I absolutely love the premise of Darkness to Light -- and this girl did a really great job nailing the color that I can imagine Bobby's eyes might have been.  That sort of light, in-between green and brown color.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this beautiful thing for post-Valentine's Day!

Another "New" Pic!

Okay so I saw this one last night on the Disney Archives Facebook page, because guess what?  Peter Pan was released 65 years ago yesterday!

I had completely forgotten, but am glad they didn't.  And this variation of the window scene tells us that Disney Archive probably has far more pictures of Bobby than we'll ever know about.  I can only hope that over time, they will leak more.

It always makes me happy to see Bobby as Peter Pan.  I do realize that that particular role for him has been over-emphasized because of the metaphors of "lost boy" and Neverland's parallels to paradise or heaven.  I myself grew my Bobby affection from having first seen him in a Peter Pan costume.  But it's kind of a funny thing, because I don't really know how much he actually identified with the role, or would have wanted to have been considered so synonymous with the character himself for the next sixty-five years.  We know from later interviews and statements that Bobby seemed to want to be a serious professional not associated as much with his childhood work. 

So how would he really have felt about being immortalized as Peter Pan? 

Another way to look at this is to regard the statement made by one of his girls telling that he was known to have loved children.  This definitely seems to have been true by other accounts.  Maybe, now, he would see how much joy this role has brought to kids from all over the world, and would relish that. 

In all likelihood, the answer is probably something in between.  We all go through different phases of our lives when we see various experiences we've had through different lenses, disdaining some things when we look back on them during certain periods, and embracing them during others.  The thing is, Bobby didn't live long enough to get the chance to appreciate his childhood work again.  We see his life from a totally different vantage point now than he probably saw it back then.  For him, his childhood adulation did him no favors as an adult, trying to find purpose and make his own way in the world.

But all that said, I still think that if he had lived to see this day -- the day after the 65th anniversary of his most famous work -- he would have been proud.

Really bad quality picture and some ponderings

This!

Found on a copy of The Anchor, a Catholic newsletter, in an article concerning the canonization of Father Patrick Peyton, a priest who started the Family Theater radio series in which Bobby did voice work from time to time.

You can barely see details, but the caption reads as follows:

IN THIS photo Father Peyton, center, speaks with Hollywood stars who participated in
Family Theater radio programs. .From left: Ruth Hussy, Jimmy Durante, William Lundigan
(rear), Bobby Driscoll (front), Rita Johnson, Father Peyton, Gigi Perreau, Jeanne Cagney,
Ann Blyth and Jeff Chandler.

I have often wondered if Father Peyton ever tried to reach out to Bobby during his time of trouble.  We know from several sources that Bobby was religious, and according to would-be-biographer O'Hara, "leaned Catholic", and he starred on several episodes for Family Theater... even hosting one.  I've never read any comments made by either man concerning a personal relationship -- but one must wonder.

It's hard to know who reached out to Bobby during his trouble, and who didn't.  We have to remember, before we judge the people who may have shunned him, that this was a different time and people didn't understand the reaches of drug addiction and how it could change someone.  Up until the last twenty years, it's mostly been viewed as just "bad behavior."  Particularly, I'm sure, in the pristine 1950's, when America was largely about maintaining an image.

I've asked the publication if I can buy an actual copy, and if I can, I may be able to get us a slightly better quality picture.  Stay tuned for that!