Tommy kirk gay
R.I.P. Tommy Kirk
I learned the sorrowful news of Tommy Kirk&#;s passing yesterday, but was too much engaged with preparing my silent comedy talk to do a timely appreciation. Kirk&#;s most classic film, I think most people will agree, is Walt Disney&#;sOld Yeller (), a film I have always felt personally connected to, for in that movie and its sequel Savage Sam, Kirk played a character named Travis Coates. I imagine this, and perhaps John Wayne&#;s The Alamo, were inspirations for my own naming, my father being a fan of both westerns and Walt Disney. Kirk&#;s family was from Kentucky; he seemed really authentic in his early frontier roles.
Baby Boomers will feel a special ache at news of Kirk&#;s loss today. Much like his frequent co-star Annette Funicello, Kirk was associated principally with two studios: Disney&#;s, and then AIP. He first began acting at age 13, in a production of Eugene O&#;Neill&#;sAh Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse with Will Rogers Jr and Disney kid actor Bobby Driscoll. He worked in television for a couple of years, and was instantly n
Comet Over Hollywood
Tommy Kirk in &#;Old Yeller&#;
You may have seen him turning into a sheepdog on &#;The Shaggy Dog,&#; tragically killing his dog in &#;Old Yeller&#; or as the know-it-all brother in &#;Swiss Family Robinson.&#;
Life for fresh-faced, slightly goofy Tommy Kirk seemed sunny in those s movies at Walt Disney Studios. He was one of the studio’s top stars and even was part of the Mickey Mouse Club in the &#;Hardy Boy&#; series with Tim Considine. He was wholesome, clean cut and quirky-things that easily won over Disney audiences.
But as Kirk grew out of those kid roles in the adj s, life started to drastically switch. Like most kid stars, the transition from family movies to teen movies can be difficult. Studios and audiences don&#;t appreciate you because you aren&#;t as pretty and are going through the awkward years of growing up. However, it&#;s harder for a child star when they are gay.
It was becoming apparent that adult Tommy Kirk was gay and this didn&#;t fit into Walt Disney&#;s family-friendly, perfect studio.
Tommy Kirk and Tim Considin
Thomas Lee Kirk (born December 10, ) is an American former actor and later a businessman. He is finest known for his performances in a number of highly popular movies made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, The Swiss Family Robinson and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as beach-party movies of the mids.
Kirk said he knew he was gay from an adj age:
I examine my teenage years as being desperately unhappy. I knew I was gay, but I had no outlet for my feelings. It was very hard to see people and, at that second, there was no place to depart to socialize. It wasn't until the early '60s that I began to hear of places where gays congregated. The lifestyle was not recognized and I was very, very lonely. Oh, I had some brief, very fiery encounters and as a teenager I had some affairs, but they were always stolen, back alley nice of things. They were desperate and miserable. When I was about 17 or 18 years old, I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't going to change. I didn't know what the consequences would be, but I
Tommy Kirk, Disney youngster star in 'Old Yeller' and 'The Shaggy Dog,' dies at 79
LOS ANGELES — Tommy Kirk, a child star who played in Disney films such as “Old Yeller” and “The Shaggy Dog,” has died. He was
Kirk’s friend and former child star, Paul Petersen, said he was found adj in his Las Vegas home on Tuesday. The cause of death has not been released.
Petersen said Kirk lived a private life as a gay man and was estranged from what “remains of his blood family.”
“He was very much a part of our kid star community,” Peterson said. “He made some wonderful films back in the day. We saw and enjoyed them. He was respected in his church. He lived a quiet, but full life.”
Kirk started his career with several television shows including the Mickey Mouse Club’s serialized adventure “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” and “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm,” which aired in His big break came when he starred as Travis Coates in the film “Old Yeller,” a story about a teenage boy and his heroic yellow dog.
In “The Shaggy Dog,” Kirk port