Instagram story viewer> @bobbydriscolldevotee> Posts

𝐁𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐞

@bobbydriscolldevotee

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Circa 1960s
Photo by Joe Shere

This isn’t a rare photo of Bob, but it is my favorite. In the angle of his face, the gentle expression, and the kindness reflected in his eyes despite the gravity of his despair, I feel as though we are given a glimpse of his soul.

As an artist of over thirty years myself, discovering that Bobby became immersed in it through his collage work, poetry, and unbounded creative expression resonates with me. It also negates the often promoted belief that he is simply a victim. Myriad publications have and will continue to strip him of his agency and his creativity, and in the process reduce him to a tragic martyr for a particular narrative.

But Bobby Driscoll was a complex human being who crafted beauty amidst his suffering. That weighs heavy on the heart, but it’s also profound because you can recognize the kind of quiet strength he wielded. I strive to see the whole man — the artist, the victim, but most importantly, the survivor.

In stating this, I grieve for him when his light is being dimmed by those who only choose to see the shadows. There is hope and there is beauty in his story without minimizing the abuse, and it shouldn’t define him forever. Through awareness, discovery, and compassion, I hope we can continue to give Bobby back his humanity. He is more than a cautionary tale, or a tragedy.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1960s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

72

11

2 months ago

I am the sort of person to live and let live, and I still am. But something has been made clear to me the last few months and I can no longer stay silent. So I will state this as diplomatically as possible: The level of disrespect from a specific Bobby Driscoll Fan page is simply unacceptable.

Enough is enough.

I don’t care how many reels you post, how you choose to relay your content, or how many followers you have — none of that defines who you are as a person. It becomes an issue when this stops being about honoring Bobby Driscoll, and more about your own need to feel morally superior. How you choose to present yourself and your actions define you, and have from the very beginning. From the moment the negativity was swept into my direct messages over whether or not Bobby had friends — in which I told you we can agree to disagree and still respect one another.

His is a life none of us have never lived, and yet some are so eager to speak on behalf of it with arrogance and disrespect to the people he knew and loved and think themselves a savior, a keeper of the flame to his name, slandering anyone who utilizes sources such as friends of Bobby’s at certain periods of his life that they don’t approve of. I can only surmise they are jealous because they don’t have access to these same resources. So therefore, it must be fake. Perhaps they were expecting a home phone number and address to verify the source.

However, if said fan page had been more receptive to community and not quick to become defensive and combative towards the rest of us (and I do literally mean every other active Bobby page I am aware of and have befriended), they would have been involved and could have asked their own questions. This isn’t a clique or a paid membership — it’s a gathering of people who want to have discussions, camaraderie, and celebrate a life cut too short without fixating on his death, the shadows in his life, or deeming him a tragedy constantly. I genuinely believe Bobby would have appreciated that.

[ Continued in comments.]
#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood by @bobbydriscolldevotee

71

17

2 months ago

When I created this page, my aim was to honor Bobby Driscoll in a way that felt honest, while retaining the empathy I hold for his story and his character.

Over the years, we have discovered a lot about a person that was once thought to be just the voice of Disney character Peter Pan, thanks to people like Brian Keith, the Remembering Bobby blog, and The Bobby Driscoll Archive.

As our understanding of him evolved, we are privileged to delve deeper and discover a poet, an artist of various mediums, and a deeply sensitive individual who fought for the underdog and seen the best in others, even when it came at his own disadvantage or despair.

I don’t like to speak in absolutes when it comes to Bob’s personal life without facts or accounts by people that cared for him, otherwise we are reaching in the dark and shouldn’t assume. Opinions are not truth, and truth doesn’t bend to feelings. I do know that religion mattered to him, and I personally feel this attributed to the good will he gave and hoped for in others in return. Despite being treated poorly throughout his life by myriad connections, Bob continued to represent a person I feel is radiant by his intrinsic values and kindness.

When I post content on this page, I do it for two reasons, primarily: to share Bob’s lesser known moments with the world, and to allow others to see fragments in time from a life that was cut short. I often think back on his letter to Truman Capote, yearning for his story to be told. But not just that, I also recount what he desired within the context of the information.

“I have a story; that story could be a very interesting, moving, quite surreal biography — if it is done without attempting to shock, ridicule, accuse or enlighten, but simply, delicately, to reveal.”

This was important to Bobby, and it’s important to me. This has been and will continue to be my intention, to share with the community, to celebrate a life once shrouded in more questions than answers, and to reveal the man within, 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦.

Thank you all for your love of Bob, and your support for this page. 🩶

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee by @bobbydriscolldevotee

50

10

4 months ago

1955 Hollywood Professional Yearbook featuring Bobby Driscoll.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #childstar by @bobbydriscolldevotee

27

6

2 months ago

Hollywood Professional 1954 Yearbook | My Collection

Prior to his return to Hollywood Professional, Bobby Driscoll struggled with isolation, bullying, and the pain of no longer being the boy the world once applauded while attending Westwood University High.

It was during this time that he fell in with the wrong crowd and began to experiment with drugs. Presumably, this was for acceptance and protection due to his smaller stature, which made him an easy target. His friend Greg Schafer has recounted instances where he had to physically remove other male students from Bobby in an attempt to end such torment.

In September of 1954, Bobby returned to Hollywood Professional School for his junior year, and graduated in 1955.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1950s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

37

0

2 months ago

Disney’s So Dear To My Heart | My Collection

When I saw this film again for the first time in years in 2024, I was immediately taken back to my childhood. It’s incredible to me just how prevalent Bobby was in my life, without me directly knowing it. I suspect he was for many, and his legacy will endure so that he may continue to be.

This does not include my various lobby cards and press kits, but does feature my unique piece done by a close friend of mine in my display case. We collaborate very well together in bringing my visions to life.

What are your memories of So Dear to My Heart? Have any favorite scenes? Memories keep these classics and the people that brought them to us alive.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #sodeartomyheart #disney by @bobbydriscolldevotee

28

6

2 months ago

Quotes

This quote is taken from a very insightful interview Bobby had for Movie Land and TV Time magazine in 1961, titled “The Nightmare Life of An Ex-Child Star”, and it can be read in its entirety on bobbydriscoll.com.

I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already, as it gives insight into Bob’s tender-hearted and self aware nature, his views on the transition from childhood to adulthood, and how that sense of isolation affected him.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1960s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

49

1

a month ago

Quotes

This has been a quote delivered with slight variations in different articles post Bobby’s death, but several have printed it as this statement in the years he was interviewed and still active in film and television. It further emphasizes the point that publications can and do have alterations, and may have flaws due to human error or the passage of time, or personal bias.

The altered version is as follows: “I was carried on a silver platter and then dumped into the garbage can.”

With the basis of historical archive and what was printed, both versions would then be accurate. The one posted seems the most relevant to me given the time and the trajectory of Bob’s career, but even the altered version of the quote still equates to the same basic principle, which is this: Bobby felt discarded by the industry once he was no longer able to be type cast as a cute youngster.

Regardless of a slight variation of text or a misprint, we should focus on the honesty of the statement and how it summarizes the challenges he was facing.

*Wife Marilyn is misidentified as Marjorie.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1950s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

65

9

a month ago

Quotes | Modern Screen, August 1964

This article carries with it relevancy in our modern time. People still carry judgment, dismissal, and misconception about addiction. At the time Bobby struggled there was far less known about it, with little help and education available. I commend him for his strength and his desire to understand himself, it would have been a very daunting task as it is for any addict, but especially so sixty years ago.

Drug use in the art scene during that era was especially widespread, highly experimental, and deeply intertwined with the aesthetic and cultural shifts. Different substances shaped different circles, and then shifted from the underground to the mainstream.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1960s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

51

5

a month ago

December 1948 | The Radio Flash

This pictorial layout shows the schedule that Bobby Driscoll participated in on his Chicago trip. It features his arrival to radio appearances, television, at the Live Stock Show, in a Horse Show, at 4-H press reception and at 4-H banquet.

The photos are detailed in the last slide, I did my best to capture and crop all of them on the page.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #disney #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood by @bobbydriscolldevotee

22

2

a day ago

1951, Movie Pix Magazine
Hollywood’s Star Buds

In this article, Bobby is featured among a collection of young stars with photographs and short biographies that are shining examples of gifted young professionals. It includes Dean Stockwell, Natalie Wood and others on several pages.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #vintagehollywood #1950s by @bobbydriscolldevotee

43

6

22 days ago

Interview with Bobby Driscoll’s friend, Greg Schafer: Part One
Collaboration with @bobbyscornerbooth

Greg Schafer shares with us his memories of Bobby and gives us a personal take on the man that left such a warm, caring impact on those he knew during that time. It’s wonderful hearing that he retained such a grounded, kind personality despite being in Hollywood so young.

*Minor edits have been made to preserve privacy.

#bobbydriscoll #bobbyscornerbooth #bobbydriscolldevotee #oldhollywood #disney by @bobbydriscolldevotee

32

5

5 days ago