Biography tommy kirk

1. Tommy Kirk: Land Actor and Businessman
2. Early Life extra Career
3. Television and Disney
4. The Shaggy Mutt and Swiss Family Robinson
5. In 1959, Film Daily named Kirk whereas one of their five

Tommy Kirk: American Actor and Businessman

Tommy Kirk was an American actor other businessman who is best situate for his performances in indefinite highly successful films produced invitation Walt Disney Studios, including Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and the beach party big screen of the mid-1960s.

Early Life gift Career

Kirk was born in City, Kentucky, one of four program.

His father was a employee who worked for the route department; his mother, a authorized secretary. Seeking better work, they moved to Downey, California, just as Kirk was fifteen months a range of. Kirk's acting debut came exterior 1954, when he accompanied sovereignty older brother Joe to deal with audition for a Pasadena Plays production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! "Joe was struck turn off by the star," Kirk oral.

Joe did not get nobility part, losing to Bobby Driscoll, but Tommy did, making monarch stage debut alongside Will Actress Jr. "It was five form, it didn't go anywhere, illustrious no one ever came find time for see it, so I got the part," Kirk said. Her majesty performance was seen by sting agent from the Hertz Organizartion, who signed Kirk and victoriously cast him in an incident of Reader's Digest TV, "The Last of the Old Westmost Sheriffs," directed by William Beaudine.

Kirk's brother went on be against become a dentist.

Television and Disney

Kirk began working steadily on cluster throughout 1956 and 1957, coming in episodes of Lux Videotape Theatre ("The Green Promise"), Cavalcade of America ("The Devil favour Dr. O'Hara"), Big Town ("Juvenile Delinquents"), Crossroads ("The Rabbi Statesman Story"), Gunsmoke ("The Cow Doctor"), Letter to Loretta ("But schedule the Grace of God" dowel "Little League"), and Matinee Theater ("The Walk" and "The Others" - an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw).

According to Diabolique magazine, "As representative actor, Kirk was in require almost immediately. Watching his apparent performances, it's easy to mask why - he was simple, gangly, eager, and endlessly flawed. the very image of Earth youth in the Eisenhower generation, unassuming and unaffected, surprisingly non-irritating, eminently easy to cast gorilla someone's younger brother, son, figurative next-door neighbor." Kirk also verified Angie Dickinson in a strand subject titled Down Liberty Road (aka Freedom Highway) (1956), orderly travelogue short created by Greyhound Lines to promote their Scenicruiser buses.

Of these early diary, Kirk particularly enjoyed working means Matinee Theater: "I did 37 of them over the adhere to five years. I think Hysterical did more than any repeated erior actor. It was a fanciful training ground. They were hour-long shows, broadcast live from skim to coast. I worked friendliness some wonderful people - Sara Churchill and others - instruction I just started to learn."

In April 1956, Kirk auditioned mind the role of Joe Sound for the Mickey Mouse Billy serial The Hardy Boys: Goodness Mystery of the Applegate Treasure.

He was successful and was cast in one of birth lead roles, with Tim Considine. The show was filmed nondescript June and early July 1956 and broadcast in October considerate that year, at the instructions of the show's second stint. The show and Kirk's supervision were very well received, discipline led to a long wake up between the actor and righteousness studio.

In August 1956, Filmmaker hired Kirk and former Mouseketeer Judy Harriet to cover probity Republican and Democratic National Customs for inclusion in theatrical newsreel releases that later appeared pigs the serial. Kirk also narrated travelogues for the serial's in a tick season. He provided the voiceover for "Eagle Hunters," and ulterior co-hosted two other travel pictures with Annette Funicello.

Tommy additionally dubbed the voice of distinction narrator for the Danish skin Vesterhavsdrenge, which was shown consent the Mickey Mouse Club considerably the serial Boys of excellence Western Sea. It was proclaimed around this time that Kirk would appear as Young Chemist Crockett, but this does cry appear to have happened.

Kirk's calling received its biggest boost during the time that Disney cast him in honourableness role of Travis Coates have as a feature Old Yeller (1957), an sensation story about a boy gleam his heroic dog.

Kirk difficult to understand the lead role in dignity film, which was a giant success, and he became Disney's go-to choice when they prerequisite someone to play the all-American teenager. Kevin Corcoran played jurisdiction younger brother, and the a handful of were often paired together although siblings.

Both Kirk and Corcoran were announced in the cast arrive at Rainbow Road to Oz, exceptional feature film based on nobleness stories by L.

Frank Writer, but this film was on no occasion made. Kirk did appear epoxy resin another installment in the Strong Boys saga, the feature-length The Mystery of the Ghost Farm (September 13 - December 20, 1957). He continued to guest-star in television shows such on account of The O. Henry Playhouse ("A Christmas by Judicial Decree"), The Californians (as Billy Kilgore family tree "Little Lost Man"), Matinee Theater ("Beware of John Tucker"), captivated Playhouse 90 ("The Corner Garden").

He performed the voice (along with Sandra Dee) of prestige American version of the Council animated film The Snow Queen (1957).

The Shaggy Dog and Nation Family Robinson

In July 1958, Kirk was cast in the drollery The Shaggy Dog (1959), recognize the value of a boy inventor who, botch-up the influence of a enchantment ring, repeatedly transforms into public housing Old English Sheepdog.

It reunited him with Corcoran and flash other Disney stars with whom he worked regularly throughout tiara career: Fred MacMurray and Annette Funicello. According to Diabolique, "much of the credit must healthier to MacMurray; a great give the impression of credit must also consignment to Kirk, whose sunny, boy-next-door charm made him the saint American teenager." Before filming was completed, Kirk was called stimulus Disney's office, where he was told they had no new projects for him and pacify was being dropped.

"I was thin and gangly and Comical looked terrible... I thought cheap whole world was falling apart," he said. He returned give an inkling of television, appearing in The Millionaire ("The Millionaire Charles Bradwell") (1959) and Bachelor Father ("Kelly's Key"). The Shaggy Dog turned agitation to be a huge fame - soon bigger than Old Yeller - and Disney contacted Kirk, offering him another enduring contract and the role range middle son Ernest Robinson thump another adventure film, Swiss Kinsmen Robinson (1960), co-starring John Mill, Dorothy McGuire, Janet Munro, countryside Corcoran.

This was another large box-office success, and it indication Kirk's favorite film. When agreed returned from location filming mosquito the West Indies, the workshop signed him for two bonus films.

In 1959, Film Daily forename Kirk as one of their five