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| Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 11:28 am EDT 09/30/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:22 am EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: Tommy Kirk, child star of 'Old Yeller' and a Disney Legend, dies at age 79 - WaymanWong 08:10 pm EDT 09/29/21 | |
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| Kirk was an incredibly talented teen actor, primarily in the 50's. He appeared on various drama anthology series like Playhouse 90 and Matinee Theatre, which presented live plays on TV. He also had a featured role in Disney's remake of Babes in Toyland, which was a movie version of Victor Herbert's Broadway operetta. It's kind of ironic that Kirk crossed paths with Bobby Driscoll back in '54 while auditioning for Ah, Wilderness!. Driscoll had been a popular child actor for the Walt Disney stable from 1946 through 1953, won a juvenile Oscar in '49, and starred in such Disney blockbuster films as Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart, Treasure Island, Peter Pan, and others. His contract was terminated in '53 due to severe acne. Kirk was featured on Disney's original The Mickey Mouse Club in serials like The Hardy Boys and others in '56 and '57. He was never an official Mouseketeer but (if I recall correctly), he did occasionally introduce the cartoon at the end of the show wearing mouse ears and one of those white turtleneck sweaters with his name emblazoned below the collar. In an interview he gave about 10 years ago, Kirk revealed that he got caught kissing another boy in some secluded alcove during a break from filming. He related how he was brought into Walt's office and told gently but firmly that he needed to "start liking girls real soon" because plans were in motion to launch him on a film career. For several years Kirk had lead and/or prominent roles in such hit films as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and others. Often he was cast opposite upcoming female actors like Roberta Shore, Janet Munro, and Annette Funicello. Disney PR people often concocted fake stories linking Kirk romantically with his co-stars to muffle any gay rumors that might pop up. During these years Kirk struggled with his sexuality and occasionally brought his emotional problems with him onto the sets of various films. This unfortunately earned him the ire of frequent co-star Fred MacMurray and the hatred of the homophobic Jane Wyman. Eventually the troubled Kirk informed Walt Disney that he was indeed gay and could not change. Walt promptly fired him, but them re-hired him to make one last film, a sequel to the popular Merlin Jones film. Tommy Kirk remained friends all his life with former Disney performers like Paul Petersen, Kevin Corcoran, and Tim Considine. He lived a long, fulfilling, but private life away from the movie industry. An interesting, slightly related side note: Cubby O'Brien, a former Mouseketeer who worked with Kirk in the 50's, played the drums in 3 Broadway shows that I saw decades ago, Annie Get Your Gun, The Producers, and Gypsy. I noticed his name in the Playbills. |
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| re: Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's | |
| Posted by: clothedboysinging 11:52 am EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's - BroadwayTonyJ 11:22 am EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| He eventually reconciled with the Disney Organization, and made some personal appearances on their behalf. | |
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| re: Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:33 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's - clothedboysinging 11:52 am EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| Kirk had a rough time for a number of years. He suffered from drug use in the 60's and early 70's, left acting, and was then able to kick his addiction. He eventually had a successful business and was able to retire comfortably. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2006 and made appearances at retro film conventions. About 10 years ago I saw an interview he did with Tim Considine. Leonard Maltin may have been the moderator. Kirk talked about his TV and film career. He seemed very at ease and had no bitterness toward anyone in the film business. The interview may have been a bonus track on the Disney DVD of the first Hardy Boys serial. As a kid, I read all the Hardy Boys books and was a huge fan of The Mickey Mouse Club. My parents took me to see all the Disney films, many of which featured Tommy Kirk. I loved Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson -- still do. |
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| Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 05:01 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Tommy Kirk -- Some Theatre Related Credits & Being Gay in the 50's - BroadwayTonyJ 12:33 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| in Vanya’s rant in Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike. | |
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| re: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:15 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang - TheOtherOne 05:01 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| It's been a long time since I saw the play. Can you summarize the rant? | |
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| re: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 10:16 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang - BroadwayTonyJ 05:15 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| I'll quote from it. After talking about how much he liked him in the movie Old Yeller, Vanya says "I wondered what happened to Tommy Kirk, and I did a Google search and I learned that sometime after he was in Son of Flubber, Walt Disney found out that Tommy Kirk was gay and he fired him. He dropped his contract. Meanwhile, Tab Hunter was gay, too but HIS studio just saw to it that he went on pretend dates with starlets. They didn't fire Tab Hunter. They starred him in movies opposite Sophia Loren, for God's sake. Tommy Kirk on the other hand was mistreated, and I TAKE IT PERSONALLY. As I expect he does, too. He stopped making movies. He took drugs for a period. And then later he got better and became a minister. And now he runs a cleaning business. I guess he's alright." Essentially, his impassioned rant about all that the world has lost between the seemingly quaint 1950s and the tweet-crazy 00s leads him to use his childhood crush on Tommy Kirk to come out to the audience at his play's performance, which has been so rudely interrupted by the straight and sexy Spike. I knew nothing about Tommy Kirk until I saw (and later read) the play, but I was struck by how his obituaries covered the very same ground. |
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| re: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 10:51 am EDT 10/01/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Of Course, His Story Was Immortalized by Christopher Durang - TheOtherOne 10:16 pm EDT 09/30/21 | |
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| Thanks for refreshing my memory. I saw Vanya, Sonia twice but forgot about the Tommy Kirk reference. I was a huge fan of Kirk's TV and film work in the 50's and 60's and was disappointed when he suddenly stopped making Disney movies. It wasn't until decades later that I learned the whole story. The details revealed a lot about the dark side of Walt Disney. | |
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