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ALLTHATSINTERESTING.COMInside The Tragic Life And Death Of Bobby Driscoll, The Original Voice Actor For Disneys Peter PanWikimedia CommonsA publicity photo of Bobby Driscoll in 1950.Whether you realize it or not, you probably know of Bobby Driscoll. After all, he was the voice of the titular character in Disneys 1953 animated film Peter Pan, still a beloved classic to this day.He also had a notable role in Disneys Song of the South and earned an Academy Juvenile Award for his work in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. But his further success in acting would be limited.After Disney ended Driscolls contract, he struggled to land notable acting roles. He was also bullied in school and had trouble fitting in with his peers. Eventually, he turned to drugs, which led to numerous arrests, dwindling funds, and a debilitating heroin addiction. Tragically, he met an untimely demise at the age of 31 in 1968 in an abandoned New York City tenement.This is the heartbreaking story of Bobby Driscolls life and death.How Bobby Driscoll Became One Of Disneys First Child StarsWikimedia CommonsBobby Driscoll, pictured in 1946.Robert Cletus Driscoll, better known as Bobby Driscoll, was born on March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Not long after his birth, his family relocated to Des Moines, where Bobby would spend the first few years of his life.Bobbys father, Cletus, was beginning to suffer health consequences from handling asbestos for his job as an insulation salesman. Under the advice of Cletus doctor, the family moved out to Altadena, California in 1943. As The Bobby Driscoll Archive describes it, Bobby was discovered when he was just five years old. The son of his fathers barber helped Bobby land his first audition for a small role in the drama Lost Angel. The young boy impressed the films director with his astute observations especially when he asked the director where the water was for the ships he saw on set and Bobby ultimately landed the role. Bobby later went on to play Al Sullivan in 1944s The Fighting Sullivans. That same year, he also appeared in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier and Big Bonanza.In addition, he was in So Goes My Love and other films in 1946. But during this time, Bobby was also on contract with Walt Disney Studios, which became interested in him after his performance in The Fighting Sullivans.Walt Disney Productions/RKO Radio PicturesDisneys now-controversial Song of the South first helped Bobby Driscoll rise to fame.By late 1944, Bobby Driscoll had been confirmed for a starring role as Johnny in Disneys Song of the South, which was released in 1946. Though the movie has been widely criticized in recent years for perpetuating racist stereotypes and Old South tropes, the film was once best known for the Oscar-winning song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah and for launching young Bobby to fame.Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, who both appeared in the movie, were actually the first child actors that Walt Disney put under contract. The two were affectionately dubbed the Sweetheart Team by the press, and the pair would later go on to star in So Dear to My Heart together.By 1949, Bobby had signed a new seven-year-long contract with Disney. One year later, he starred in Disneys 1950 film Treasure Island. While he was with Disney, Bobby would also sometimes be loaned out to other studios to act in different films, including RKO Pictures The Window. 1950 was a big year for Bobby, as it was the year he was given an Academy Juvenile Award for his performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window. But his early record of successes wouldnt last forever.Bobby Driscolls Famous Role In Peter Pan And His Sudden Dismissal From DisneyWikimedia CommonsA theatrical release poster for Disneys 1953 animated film Peter Pan.Beginning in 1951, Bobby Driscoll was involved in early development of 1953s Peter Pan, including live-action rehearsals. Unbeknownst to him, discussions about cutting off his contract early were already floating around the studio.Though Walt Disney himself reportedly considered Bobby his favorite young actor, seeing him as the perfect, wholesome, all-American kid, the boy was clearly getting older, with a deepening voice and noticeable acne.In 1953, the same year Peter Pan was released, Bobby was dropped from Disney. Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot told Entertainment Weekly that Bobbys fate was sealed after a new studio owner arrived: When Howard Hughes bought RKO, he, in effect, became the owner of the Disney studio. He controlled the money and he hated Bobby Driscoll. He hated Hollywood kids. He thought they were precocious, werent real, and were incredibly annoying. He didnt want Bobby Driscoll to be with Disney anymore.And Bobby, who was 16 when he voiced Peter Pan, was reportedly dismissed in a rather rude way. Actor Billy Gray, a friend of Bobbys, later said: I heard that he was informed that he was no longer under contract through them by driving up to the entrance and being refused entrance into the studio. That was his notification that he was no longer needed there.Naturally, Bobby was devastated by the firing. Not only was he forced to cope with the sudden loss of work, but he also struggled mightily to fit in at public high school, as his parents withdrew him from his old school that was specifically meant for child actors. His peers often bullied him for his career.As Bobby later said: The other kids didnt accept me. They treated me as one apart. I tried desperately to be one of the gang. When they rejected me, I fought back, became belligerent and cocky and was afraid all the time.Before long, Bobby began experimenting with drugs.Bobby Driscolls Drug Use And Legal TroublesThe Bobby Driscoll ArchiveA photo of Bobby Driscoll during one of his arrests in the early 1960s.After being let go from Disney, most of Bobby Driscolls acting jobs were in anthology television series. He landed small roles in M Squad, The Best of the Post, and The Brothers Brannagan. He also continued to do some work in radio, which he had originally begun doing back in 1948. But Driscoll struggled to find anything that would help him succeed like Disney, especially since he had difficulty shedding his child star reputation.Meanwhile, Driscoll had found increasing comfort in drugs, especially heroin.In 1956, around the age of 19, Driscoll joined the Beat Generation, a social, artistic, and literary movement centered around a bohemian lifestyle. Drug use was also common amongst members of the Beat Generation, so Driscoll wouldve had even more access to various substances.That same summer, Driscoll was arrested for possession of marijuana, but the charge was later dismissed. One Los Angeles Times columnist wrote at the time: This could cost this fine lad and good actor his career.Unfortunately, this was just the start of a long list of arrests for Driscoll, who would be charged multiple times for a variety of crimes like drug possession, assault, forging checks, and burglary. Eventually, Driscoll was committed for drug rehabilitation at Chino Mens Prison in 1961.By that point, Driscoll was already struggling to find steady work amidst his worsening heroin addiction and legal troubles, but his prison sentence made it especially difficult. By 1965, he had largely given up on acting and decided to move to New York City in the hopes of reinventing himself there.In doing so, he also left behind his young children, whom he had fathered with his ex-wife Marilyn Rush. The former couple had eloped back in 1956, but they were divorced by 1960. Driscoll had never been a very present father, but he would reportedly lose contact with his children entirely during his final years, largely due to his ultimately deadly drug addiction.Inside Bobby Driscolls Death And How His Body Went Unidentified For Over A YearThe Bobby Driscoll ArchiveBobby Driscoll in 1962, pictured soon after he was released from prison.Not long after his move to New York City, Bobby Driscoll joined the Factory, Andy Warhols art studio and cultural hub. It was during his time with the Factory that Driscoll would appear in his last known movie, Dirt.Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot explained Driscolls time with the Factory as such: Bobby was a curiosity. He wasnt really part of the crowd. Warhol was so perverse, that he loved having Bobby Driscoll as part of his scene. That was Warhols perversity in full play you know, dissipated Hollywood.There were sparse sightings of Bobby Driscoll in the lead up to his death, and its still unclear exactly what happened to him during his final days.On March 30, 1968, two children playing in an abandoned New York City tenement discovered Bobby Driscolls body. The 31-year-old was lying on a cot, surrounded by empty beer bottles and religious pamphlets, and disturbingly, no one knew who he was. Authorities declared that he died of hardening of the arteries, a side effect of longtime heroin abuse.He was buried in a paupers grave on the Bronxs Hart Island, alongside other bodies of unidentified people, many of whom also met tragic ends.Bjoertvedt/Wikimedia CommonsA modern aerial view of the Bronxs Hart Island, where Bobby Driscoll was buried after his untimely death.Shockingly, it wasnt until a year and a half later that Bobby Driscolls mother learned about his death. She actually hadnt seen or heard from him in years, but she was reportedly hoping to arrange once last reunion between Bobby and his father Cletus, as Cletus own death was apparently near.This led to Bobby Driscolls remains being identified via a fingerprint match by New York City police. But it wasnt until 1972 that the general public learned about the former child stars death, and that was largely because the movie Song of the South was being re-released that year.Today, his body remains in the same unmarked grave in New York. Melinda Hunt, the president of the Hart Island Project, working to make it easier to learn about the people buried there, told Entertainment Weekly, Hes somewhere on the northern part of the island. We just dont know where.My feeling is that its not a shameful place to be buried, Melinda Hunt added. Its a really, really beautiful location. There are herds of deer, these red raccoons, and a whole bird sanctuary. So for Bobby Driscoll, its the perfect place to be buried. Its just like Never Never Land.After reading about the tragic life and death of Bobby Driscoll, learn some other heartbreaking stories of child stars. Then, go inside the shocking stories of Hollywoods most infamous stage parents.The post Inside The Tragic Life And Death Of Bobby Driscoll, The Original Voice Actor For Disneys <em>Peter Pan</em> appeared first on All That's Interesting.0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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ALLTHATSINTERESTING.COMThe Death Of O.J. Simpson, The Former Football Star Whose Life Was Filled With ControversyZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock PhotoO.J. Simpson died of metastatic prostate cancer in April 2024.Some people knew him as an athlete. Others knew him as an actor. Today, many remember him as a man accused of murder. No matter how you looked at him, however, its clear that O.J. Simpsons death left behind a complicated legacy. Throughout his life, Simpson wore many hats. Once at the height of fame and fortune, he later fell into severe debt. When O.J. Simpson died in 2024, he reportedly owed more than $100 million.To try and earn a living, the disgraced former star resorted to posting on TikTok and publishing the book If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, a hypothetical memoir about the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, from her attackers perspective.Then, Simpson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. On April 10, 2024, it took his life and what a tumultuous life it had been. Early Years Growing Up In San FranciscoOrenthal James Simpson was born on July 9, 1947, in San Francisco, and he had a difficult upbringing. According to an ESPN feature on the former football star, he contracted rickets at the age of two, which left him bow-legged and pigeon-toed. He was raised by a single mother in the housing projects of Potrero Hill, and he found himself in trouble frequently from a young age.He joined his first gang when he was just 13, and he was arrested three times as a teenager. At 15, a fight landed him in a juvenile correctional facility. On top of that, his grades were poor. But young O.J. did have one thing going for him: He was an excellent football player. While he didnt receive any scholarship offers in high school, he went on to break records at the City College of San Francisco. At that point, he was heavily recruited, and he decided to play for the University of Southern California in 1967. There, he blossomed into one of the greatest collegiate players in history. Don Cormier, Los Angeles Times/Wikimedia CommonsBefore O.J. Simpsons death, he was a football legend and the subject of one of the biggest controversies of the 1990s.In his first season, he propelled the Trojans to a national championship. The following year, he ran for 1,709 yards and made 22 touchdowns, winning the 1968 Heisman Trophy. Charismatic and photogenic, Simpson became a national celebrity. Advertisers courted him; sportswriters hailed him as the future of professional football. Simpson was not only the greatest player I ever had he was the greatest player anyone ever had, said USC coach John McKay.Simpson also made sure to keep a clean-cut public image, a particularly important move that endeared him to people across racial lines at a time when tensions were still high. And unlike his athletic contemporaries like Muhammad Ali, Simpson largely avoided political activism, which helped him gain even more mainstream endorsements. It was only a matter of time before he went pro. Professional Football Career And Hollywood Film RolesBy 1969, Simpson was one of the most sought-after up-and-comers in the NFL. In the draft that year, the Buffalo Bills selected him as the first overall pick. Almost immediately, he proved that their bet had paid off. It was in 1973, however, that he truly found his stride.Marsha Traeger, Los Angeles Times/Wikimedia CommonsO.J. Simpson carrying the Olympic Torch in 1984.That year, Simpson won the AP Most Valuable Player award and became the first player to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a single season. The Juice had secured himself permanent status as a football legend. Even after O.J. Simpsons death and the trials that marked his later life, hes remembered for his accomplishments on the field.For five straight seasons, he rushed for over 1,000 yards, led the league in rushing four times, and was selected for six Pro Bowls. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1978 and retired two years later. In 1985, he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame. By then, however, Simpson was more than just an athlete he was one of the most recognizable celebrities in America. Leveraging his fame and success, Simpson pivoted into entertainment though, as ESPN noted, no one ever mentioned him in the same breath with [Laurence] Olivier. Simpson became a commentator for Monday Night Football, appeared in various television roles, and starred in films such as The Towering Inferno (1974) and the cult classic Naked Gun series in the 1980s. Public DomainO.J. Simpson at a Thanksgiving Day football game in 1990.Perhaps more famously, he was the face of Hertz rental cars, sprinting through airports in a series of beloved commercials. By the tail end of the 1980s, Simpson had done what few others managed to do. He had reached the highest acclaim in his chosen sport and turned that into a successful Hollywood career, all while keeping a stellar public image. He was largely uncontroversial on the surface, but behind the scenes, his personal life was crumbling. Soon enough, his name would be synonymous with a controversy that not even O.J. Simpsons death could erase.Domestic Troubles And Allegations Of AbuseBack in June 1977, Simpson met an 18-year-old waitress named Nicole Brown, and the two began flirting and talking constantly. At the time, Simpson was in the middle of a separation from his first wife, Marguerite Whitley. After the divorce was finalized in 1979, things between Simpson and Brown started to get more serious.I think everyone saw us as the perfect couple, including Nicole, but as the months turned into years she began to drop not-so-subtle hints about getting married, Simpson recalled in If I Did It, which was written with the help of ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves and based on a series of conversations the two had. I kept trying to put her off, of course, because Id failed at marriage once, and because Id seen plenty of other couples fail, but Nicole kept pushing.Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoO.J. Simpson and his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.According to Simpson, this led to a series of arguments between the two and despite getting married in 1985, things only seemed to continuously escalate. By 1989, police had been called to the couples home multiple times, and that year, Simpson pleaded no contest to spousal abuse. Three years later, their marriage ended in divorce. Simpson claimed that Brown often got physical with him, as well, especially if they were drinking, and that many of her allegations of physical and emotional abuse existed only in Nicoles own mind. Alan Light/Wikimedia CommonsO.J. Simpson holding his daughter with Nicole Brown, Sydney, as a fan asks for a photograph. 1986.Did I physically drag Nicole out of the bedroom and push her out into the hallway? Yes, Simpson recalled. Did I beat her? No. I never once raised my hand to her never once and if Nicole were alive today shed tell you the same thing.After the divorce, Brown confided in friends that she feared for her safety. The media, meanwhile, turned on O.J. Simpson, as the severity of the allegations was difficult to ignore. No one could have imagined what happened two years later, though.The Double Murder Of Nicole Brown And Ron GoldmanOn June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman were found brutally murdered outside her condominium in Brentwood. Almost immediately, suspicion fell on O.J. Simpson. Four days later, he was ordered to surrender to the police. Instead, he fled in a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend Al Cowlings. The low-speed chase across Los Angeles, broadcast live to an estimated 95 million viewers, became one of the most unforgettable spectacles in television history. When Simpson finally surrendered, America braced for what the media dubbed the Trial of the Century.Find a GraveRon Goldman, the friend of Nicole Brown who visited her the night of her murder and became a victim himself.But what happened before the chase? In the hypothetical scenario presented in If I Did It, Simpson had gone to talk with Brown at her home when Goldman showed up. Simpson, already angry, began shouting at the two, and Brown screamed like a banshee, lunged at him, lost her balance, and flipped over the stoop, cracking her head against the concrete. Simpson then snatched a knife from his friend, removed his right glove and, hypothetically, blacked out. When he came to, Brown was in a pool of blood in front of him, lying in the fetal position. A few feet away, Goldman was also slumped over in a puddle of blood. Public DomainThe scene of Nicole Brown Simpsons murder.I again looked down at myself, at my blood-soaked clothes, and noticed the knife in my hand, Simpson wrote. The knife was covered in blood, as were my hand and wrist and half of my right forearm.But Simpsons theoretical account of that night didnt come out until 2007, and he never claimed it was a true confession of what really happened. The version of events jurors heard in the ensuing trial, on the other hand, was not quite so explicit. The Trial Of The CenturyThe murder trial began in January 1995 and became a nine-month spectacle as people across the country tuned in. The prosecution, led by Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, presented DNA evidence linking Simpson to the crime. Los Angeles Police DepartmentO.J. Simpsons mug shot after fleeing from police in a white Bronco.The defense, a dream team that included Robert Kardashian, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, and Alan Dershowitz, countered with allegations of police misconduct and racism. The thing that secured Simpsons freedom, however, was nothing more than a glove. Prosecutors presented a bloodied glove found at the crime scene and asked Simpson to try it on. Simpson infamously struggled to pull it over his hands, seemingly unable to make it fit. He shrugged. In his closing argument, Cochran declared, If it doesnt fit, you must acquit.On Oct. 3, 1995, Simpson was acquitted of both murders. The verdict split public opinion largely along racial lines. To some, it was a victory against a biased system. To others, it was a miscarriage of justice. A civil court did find Simpson liable for Brown and Goldmans wrongful deaths two years later, however, and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages a demand that was never fulfilled before O.J. Simpsons death.This trial wasnt the last time Simpson found himself in hot water, though.O.J. Simpsons Death And Complicated LegacyBy the 2000s, Simpson had largely faded from public view, but the release of his hypothetical memoir and an incident in Las Vegas once again saw him at the center of a media firestorm. In September 2007, Simpson held a group of men hostage in a Las Vegas hotel room, supposedly to retrieve sports memorabilia he claimed they had stolen from him. The confrontation quickly turned violent.In 2008, a Nevada jury convicted Simpson of armed robbery, kidnapping, and related charges. As a result, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with the possibility of parole in 2017, just seven years before O.J. Simpsons death. He was indeed granted parole that year.A free man once more, Simpson settled into a quiet life in Las Vegas, though not an entirely silent one. He maintained a strong presence on social media TikTok, in particular and mostly talked about things like sports, golf, or current events. He never addressed his past controversies, other than to tell the Associated Press in 2019 that he was done talking about it. dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock PhotoSimpson during the Trial of the Century.We dont need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives, Simpson said. The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the no negative zone. We focus on the positives.Then, in 2023, reports emerged that he was battling prostate cancer. There were few updates until an announcement that O.J. Simpson died at his Las Vegas home on April 10, 2024. He was 76 years old. The public reception was understandably mixed, as his passing reignited conversations about his legacy and innocence. How should O.J. Simpson be remembered asa pioneering athlete whose accomplishments were overshadowed by tragedy, or a murderer who escaped justice?After learning the cause of O.J. Simpsons death, find out how Aaron Hernandez went from beloved football star to murderer. Then, read the horrifying story of Rodney Alcala, the killer who appeared on The Dating Game.The post The Death Of O.J. Simpson, The Former Football Star Whose Life Was Filled With Controversy appeared first on All That's Interesting.0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSNEW: FBI Ends Comey-Era Partnership With Prominent Censorship OrganizationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has ended its partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday. The bureaus partnership with the notorious censorship0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSWATCH: VP Vance RIPS Schumer for Shutting the Government Down to Benefit Illegal Aliens Says Hes Terrified of AOCVice President JD Vance tore into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, crediting him for the government shutdown, which Senate Democrats are using for the benefit of illegal aliens.0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSMessage of the Cross Brings Michigan Man to Comfort Community Mourning Church ShootingDan Beazley prays with Ed Chandler, a Michigan pastor, at a Sept. 30 vigil in Grand Blanc, Mich., for victims of the shooting at a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc.0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSTattooed brute kills himself inside NJ jail cell one day after being convicted for wifes murderA tattoo-covered brute who strangled his wife to death died by suicide in his New Jersey jail cell just one day after a jury convicted him of the 2021 murder, prosecutors said. Shawn Lichtfuss, 53, was0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSJoe Rogan Slams Progressives Who Celebrated Charlie Kirks Assassination: Opened Up My Eyes (VIDEO)Joe Rogan discusses the lefts reaction to the murder of Charlie Kirk Screencap of Twitter/X video. During a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan called out progressive leftists for celebrating0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSWednesday's Final WordWednesday's child is full of tabs ...SHOCKING: Democrats quietly plan a Napa Retreat, two-day getaway (Oct. 13-14) at the five-star Hotel Yountville, with an evening wine tour and dinner at Staglin0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views
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YUBNUB.NEWSCNNs Dana Bash Laughs Along as Hanoi Jane Fonda Describes Hollywoods Newest Effort to Resist Trump (VIDEO)Elderly actress Jane Fonda on CNN Screencap of YouTube video. Far left actress Jane Fonda recently appeared on CNN to describe liberal Hollywoods latest efforts to resist Trump and host Dana Bash0 Comments 0 Shares 14 Views