Tommy Kirk

Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk (December 10, 1941 – September 28, 2021) was an American actor and businessman. He was best known for his work with the Disney Studios.

Career
Kirk's Disney career began in 1956 when he played Joe Hardy in The Mickey Mouse Club serial The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure. The Disney movies Old Yeller (1957),  The Shaggy Dog (1959), and Swiss Family Robinson (1960) made him a popular teen star. 

The Disney Studios dropped Kirk's contract when a woman complained to the Studio about the young actor's relationship with her 15 year old son. He went to American International Pictures. He appeared in their low-budget teen movies such as Pajama Party and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. 

Kirk was arrested for drug possession on Christmas Eve 1964. In 1970, he retired from movies and sought help for his dependency issues. He ran his own carpet and upholstery cleaning business. He wrote, and sometimes acted. Kirk became a Disney Legend on October 9, 2006.

Personal life
Kirk was openly gay. He was interviewed by the National Enquirer of January 2013 and said: "I don't blame anybody but myself and my drug abuse for my career going haywire. I'm not ashamed of being gay, never have been, and never will be. For that I make no apologies. I have no animosity toward anybody because the truth is, I wrecked my own career."

Kirk was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He died at his Las Vegas, Nevada home on September 28, 2021 at the age of 79.Tommy Kirk, ‘Old Yeller’ and ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ Star, Dies at 79

Filmography
 Attack of the 60 Ft. Centerfold (1995)
 My Name Is Legend (1976)
 Mars Needs Women (1968)
 Catalina Caper (1967) as Don Pringle
 It's a Bikini World (1967) as Mike Samson/Herbert Samson
 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) as Chuck Phillips
 Village of the Giants (1965) as Mike
 The Monkey's Uncle (1965) as Merlin Jones
 Pajama Party (1964) as Go-Go
 The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) as Merlin Jones 
 Son of Flubber (1963) as Biff Hawk
 Savage Sam (1963) as Travis Coates
 Moon Pilot (1962) as Walter Talbot
 Bon Voyage! (1962) as Elliott Willard
 The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) as Bill Hawk
 Babes in Toyland (1961) as Grumio
 The Snow Queen (1960) as [Voice of] Kay
 Swiss Family Robinson (1960) as Ernst Robinson 
 The Shaggy Dog (1959) as Wilby Daniels 
 Old Yeller (1958) as Travis Coates
 Down Liberty Road (1956) as Jimmy Rawlins

References

Other websites
 TCM: Tommy Kirk
 Curzon, Daniel. 2005. Dropping Names. IGNA Books. pp. 39-40.
 Griffin, Sean. 2000. Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out. NYU Press. pp. 99-101.

Category:LGBT actors
Category:1941 births
Category:2021 deaths
Category:American LGBT people
Category:Gay men
Category:American movie actors
Category:American television actors
Category:American stage actors
Category:American voice actors
Category:Actors from Louisville, Kentucky
Category:Businesspeople from Kentucky
Category:LGBT businesspeople
Category:American child actors