Tommy Kirk, who starred in Old Yeller and The Shaggy Dog as a youngster, has died. He was 79 years old at the time.
“TOMMY KIRK 9/28/2021,” stated his buddy and young actor Paul Petersen on Facebook, announcing his death.
“Tommy Kirk, a long-time buddy of mine, died yesterday night. You’re probably familiar with his Disney films, such as ‘Shaggy Dog.’ ‘Ol’ Yeller,’ and so on “Petersen penned the piece. “Tommy was a very reserve individual. In Las Vegas, he remained alone, close to his buddy ‘Ol Yeller’ co-star, Bev Washburn… She was the one who woke me up this morning.”
“Tommy was gay,” Petersen said, “and alienated from what remained of his blood family.” “We are Tommy’s parents in A Minor Factor. Without remorse. This will be taken care of by us.”
He said, “Tommy Kirk adored his followers, so please realize that. When a business let him down in 1965, you helped him get back on his feet. He wasn’t resentful. He was consoled by his church. God have pity on him and his soul.”
In a communique, other Mouseketeers Tommy Cole and Bobby Burgess paid tribute to their old buddy.
“As youngsters, Tommy and I used to hang together and occasionally double date,” Cole recalled. “He was a Disney idol to me.” Burgess responded with a chuckle, stating, “Tommy attended school on the set with all us Mouseketeers while he was making Old Yeller. I recall our teacher asking us which languages we wanted to study. We all selected Spanish apart from Tommy, who stated that he wish to learn German, which he did!”
Tommy Kirk: All you need to know
Kirk starred in numerous Disney pictures, notably Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, as Well as the Misadventures of Merlin Jones, among others. He was dismissed from Disney in 1963 until he was 21 years old after it had been discovered that he was having an affair.
Kirk stopped up performing in the mid-1970s after overcoming his substance abuse. He worked in restaurants and a chauffeur before starting his own carpet-cleaning service in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, where he managed for 20 years. Kirk admitted to being “poor” in 1990. He appeared in a few more films, such as the R-rated comedy Invasion of the 60 Foot Centerfold. Kirk had much more than 30 feature picture roles under his belt as of 2006. He also liked to write and attending vintage cinema conferences occasionally.