LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 April Music & Entertainment #688  / 

31389

Letter from Bobby Driscoll, 1951

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Autographs - Original Start Price:260.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
Letter from Bobby Driscoll, 1951
<B>Letter from Bobby Driscoll, 1951.</B></I> "I was carried on a silver platter and then dumped into a garbage can," said Bobby Driscoll. Indeed, few child actors faced the downfall and demons that awaited this immensely winning young star. For Walt Disney, Driscoll played such roles as Johnny in <I>Song of the South</B></I> (1946) and Jim Hawkins in <I>Treasure Island</B></I> (1950), and was the voice of <I>Peter Pan</B></I> (1953); he also received an Oscar for "Outstanding Juvenile Actor" of 1949. A severe acne problem allegedly derailed Bobby's career; he faced legal perils with drugs; and in 1968, two boys found his body in an abandoned East Village tenement. Hence the former Academy Award winner was buried in a pauper's grave on Hart Island. Heritage offers this series of letters that a high-spirited Bobby wrote in happier times, at age 14 in 1951 -- extremely touching in retrospect. This letter, accompanied by its Park Sheraton Hotel, New York City envelope postmarked November 30, 1951, tells his girlfriend Pat about his flight to New York, his rehearsals (probably for the 1951 Walt Disney Christmas Show, in which he played Peter Pan), and coyly notes, "Well honey I sure wish you were here not only so I could see you but maybe you could keep me warm." He signs off "With Love Bob" and adds the P.S., "write soon." A sweet letter, and hardly the sentiments of a self-absorbed child star, this item is very sad in the light of later events. The letter on Park Sheraton Hotel stationery is two pages long, written in black ink and has a small tear in the left margin; Bobby had added "Bob Driscoll Room 2141" to the return address on the envelope; Very Good condition. A charming memento from a wonderful but sadly forgotten performer associated with classic Disney. <I>Accompanied by a COA from PSA/DNA.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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