Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 â€" c. March 30, 1968) was an
American child actor and artist, known for his film and TV
performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney
Studios' best known live-action pictures of that period, such as Song
of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island
(1950). He served as animation model and provided the voice for the
title role in Peter Pan (1953). He received an Academy Juvenile Award
for outstanding performance in two feature films released in 1949, for
his roles in So Dear to My Heart and The Window.In the mid-1950s,
Driscoll's acting career began to decline, and he turned primarily to
guest appearances on anthology TV series. He became addicted to
narcotics and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use.After his
release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. In ill
health due to his substance abuse, and with his funds depleted, his
body was discovered on March 30, 1968, in an abandoned building in the
East Village of Manhattan.He was born Robert Cletus Driscoll in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, the only child of Cletus (1901â€"1969), an insulation
salesman, and Isabelle (née Kratz; 1904â€"1981), a former
schoolteacher. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des
Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. The family moved to Los
Angeles when a doctor advised the father to relocate to California
because he was suffering from work-related handling of asbestos.
American child actor and artist, known for his film and TV
performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney
Studios' best known live-action pictures of that period, such as Song
of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island
(1950). He served as animation model and provided the voice for the
title role in Peter Pan (1953). He received an Academy Juvenile Award
for outstanding performance in two feature films released in 1949, for
his roles in So Dear to My Heart and The Window.In the mid-1950s,
Driscoll's acting career began to decline, and he turned primarily to
guest appearances on anthology TV series. He became addicted to
narcotics and was sentenced to prison for illicit drug use.After his
release, he focused his attention on the avant-garde art scene. In ill
health due to his substance abuse, and with his funds depleted, his
body was discovered on March 30, 1968, in an abandoned building in the
East Village of Manhattan.He was born Robert Cletus Driscoll in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, the only child of Cletus (1901â€"1969), an insulation
salesman, and Isabelle (née Kratz; 1904â€"1981), a former
schoolteacher. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Des
Moines, where they stayed until early 1943. The family moved to Los
Angeles when a doctor advised the father to relocate to California
because he was suffering from work-related handling of asbestos.
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