Thanks to a tip from a sweet lady on the coast, I knew this was due to come out about any time -- so you can best believe I was ON IT when it hit the internet last night. Some of you may have read it, but if not, please do!
Oscars flashback: The tragic life and death of former Disney star Bobby Driscoll
The above photo can only be seen in the hard copy of the article in the January 25th edition of Entertainment Weekly. Go to Barnes & Noble and grab it!
This is a really great read, and gives a really raw depiction of how all-consuming addiction is. You can see the denial with which Bobby carried out his addiction, probably thinking he could get back on his feet AND keep the heroin at the same time. It was so good to read a little about him from some of his contemporaries...
I was also pleased to see the Bobbydriscoll.net site owner finally receiving high-level credit for all her work, and Jordan's documentary discussed.
I would, however, like to look into the claims that RKO and Howard Hughes were the real reasons Bobby was dismissed from Disney. From the things I've read over the years, it sounds as though HH DID dislike child actors and wasn't too hip on Bobby starring in The Window, yet really came to eat his words after he saw what a brilliant actor he was in the movie once it was released. Therefore, I was surprised to read Marc Eliot's theory that Hefner was behind Bobby being let go. If anyone has more information for us they'd like to share, please feel free.
I also cringed to see Dan Driscoll's name being cited as "Don." But heck, I guess magazine editors are allowed to make mistakes too...
Finally! I was so pleased to see it confirmed that Bobby is buried in the northern part of Hart Island. I had always suspected this, and it was good to see someone finally solidify a general location.
So we see, Bobby hasn't been forgotten by everyone in the media. It broke my heart to be reminded yet again that part of the legacy he left behind was probably not at all what he'd hoped it would be -- his drug use -- but I think he knows there are those of us who accept that humanity is flawed, and this was simply Bobby's particular demon. His bad decisions couldn't smother the true person the rest of us are able to see underneath all the brokenness.
Oh and one more thing...
On a personal note, I want to thank those of you who come here to read my blog. Reading that amazing article last night and seeing the other people out there doing much more impressive things for Bobby's memory, such as the website owner and Jordan with the documentary, made me feel a little insignificant about my own contribution at first. I never started this blog to get attention, necessarily... I just did it because I love writing about Bobby. But I realize that compared to alot of the other things you could be reading out there, I'm pretty colloquial and informal in my writing style. I'm "fluffy," not very professional... and that could lead alot of people to dismissing me as just some hack, some lovesick fan. I also might go way off base in my musings and ponderings. Thing is though, I have to be at peace with the fact that some people might think those things, just as we ALL have to come to terms with the unflattering pictures other people have of us... and know that this is just me. The fact that some of you still come here and read the things I have to say, and find them important, means alot to me. Believe me, if I thought I had the talents for it, I'd be writing my own book about Bobby. But it goes without saying that some of us just aren't biographers. We do what we can, in our own way.
So... thanks for hanging with me. It helps me feel at least a little validated in my more emotion and creativity-based postings. I know things have been slow the past few months, but hopefully I will always come up with a few interesting things to say!
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