The location where Bobby Driscoll was found dead

This is the building where Bobby Driscoll was found dead.

It is located at 371 East 10th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Driscoll was a famous child actor who starred in films such as Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), The Window (1949), and Treasure Island (1950).

He also voiced the title role in Disney's animated film Peter Pan (1953).

Decline

Driscoll developed severe acne during puberty and required extensive makeup for performances and guest appearances.

This ultimately led to Disney Studios releasing him from his contract shortly after he turned 16.

Following his release, he mostly appeared on TV and radio shows, as Hollywood studios showed little interest in hiring him.

When his career declined, Driscoll's parents decided to withdraw him from a private school for child actors and move him to a public high school in West Los Angeles.

The move proved difficult, as he was shunned by the other students and incessantly teased about his former Disney roles. Feeling ostracized and humiliated by his peers, he began experimenting with drugs.

Driscoll started taking heroin at the age of 17. As he got older, his drug use increased, and he faced charges such as burglary, assault, and drug possession.

In 1965, he left the West Coast and moved to New York, hoping to start over. Although he dreamed of establishing a career on Broadway, it never materialized.

Following his move to New York, he rarely contacted his parents.

Death

On March 30, 1968, two children exploring an abandoned tenement at this address on East 10th Street found Driscoll's body lying on a cot. Beside him lay two empty bottles of beer and some religious pamphlets.

The coroner determined that the 31-year-old had died of heart failure.

His frequent heroin use had led to arteriosclerosis, a disease that causes plaque to build up inside the arteries.

The authorities were unable to identify the former child star. When they searched his clothes, they found no money or identification. Furthermore, nobody in the neighborhood recognized him.

Consequently, he was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave at a potter's field on Hart Island.

One year later, when Driscoll's father became critically ill, his mother attempted to track him down. With the help of officials at Disney, she submitted his fingerprints to the New York Police Department.

Shortly afterward, the NYPD ran the prints and confirmed that Driscoll had been found dead two years prior.

Although his name was eventually added to his father's tombstone, his remains were never moved from Hart Island.