Sunday, April 11, 2010

Bobby Driscoll; Marty Greenberg



The blog The Night Editor posts today about my cousin the child movie actor of the Forties and early Fifties Bobby Driscoll. He was said to be Walt Disney's favorite employee for years before teenage acne ruined his chances for going before a camera for several years and he let heroin take over his life. My other cousin Terry Butler, whom some of you know as a writer of fine noir fiction, and I were both beneficiaries of Bobby's very pricey clothes as he outgrew them. Jackets, trousers, shirts in very good condition and fitting perfectly. Bobby's father was my mother's brother so we saw Bobby a few times over the years. Terry saw him once (I think) in LA and got to know a number of people who'd known Bobby. All any of us could do was watch from afar as Bobby self-immolated.

The Night editor talks about Bobby's story being familiar by now--"but my research led me to a blog by a writer named Don Brockway called Isn't Life Terrible. His piece, Bobby Driscoll 1937-1968, is largely a reprint of an article by Florence Epstein which first appeared in Movie Digest in 1972. Give it a look. The tragedy of this forgotten actor makes for compelling--if heartbreaking--reading."


for the rest go here:


http://thenighteditor.blogspot.com/
--------------------Marty Greenberg

I talked to Marty this morning and he was 65% his old self. He laughed when I told him a story I'd picked up about one of our favorite topics, The Three Stooges. He even said "I think we've turned the corner." Roz sounded very up and happy, too. Made my day




http://thenighteditor.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the good news about Marty!

pattinase (abbott) said...

So glad to hear this.

Bob Levinson said...

Great news about Marty. : )

Cap'n Bob said...

And anyone who likes the Three Stooges has to be righteous.

Brian Keith O'Hara said...

I was reading your post about Bobby and hand me downs, it occurred to me that you might information to share. I am researching Bob and am looking for all the information I can find. I ran across the last letter he wrote at the Andy Warhol Museum. It was addressed to Truman Capote asking if he might be interested in telling his Surreal Life Story. Andy never delivered. His photographer, Billy Name, took the last photo of Bob on the famous Pink Couch in the Factory on Union Square. If you would like to read the letter and see the photo, let me know. Brian Keith O'Hara