| 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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