biography
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 10, 1941, Tommy Kirk was raised in Los Angeles and took up acting when he was ten years old. At the age of 13, he was
discovered while performing in a local production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness. Kirk began a long association with Disney Studios in 1955 in the
Hardy Boys serials that aired on ABC-TV's Mickey Mouse Club. Undoubtedly the finest child actor to emerge from Disney, Tommy Kirk acted in some
of Disney's biggest moneymakers, including Old Yeller (1957; with Dorothy McGuire), The Shaggy Dog (1959; with Fred MacMurray and Jean Hagen),
and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961; with Fred MacMurray), easily handling both dramatic and comedic roles. As he matured, however, his days at Disney
were numbered. After the release of The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964; with Annette Funicello, Kirk's contract ended. 
With Annette Funicello in a still from The Misadventures of Merlin Jones |
the films of tommy kirkOld Yeller (1957)
From Disney's well-crafted tearjerker Old Yeller with Kevin CorcoranSwiss Family Robinson (1960)
With James MacArthur and Janet Munro in the Disney adventure Swiss Family RobinsonBon Voyage! (1962) 
From the cute Disney movie Bon Voyage!. LEFT: With Deborah Walley, Fred MacMurray, Kevin Corcoran, and Jane Wyman as the Willard family. RIGHT: Kirk as Elliott WillardSon of Flubber (1963)
From Disney's Son of Flubber with Fred MacMurrayThe Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964)
Tommy Kirk as the title character in Disney's The Misadventures of Merlin JonesPajama Party (1964)  
LEFT: With Annette Funicello in American International's Pajama Party. CENTER: With Annette Funicello and Elsa Lanchester. RIGHT: With Buster Keaton and Annette FunicelloThe Monkey's Uncle (1965)
A dapper Kirk escorts Annette Funicello in Disney's The Monkey's UncleVillage of the Giants (1965)
From Village of the Giants with Vickie London, Toni Basil, and Johnny CrawfordThe Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
From American International's final beach party film, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, with costar Deborah WalleyMars Needs Women (1966)
Perhaps one of the best exploitation film titles ever, Mars Needs Women was produced by AIP's TV subsidiary and directed by Larry Buchanan on a budget of about $25,000.The Unkissed Bride (1966)   
From The Unkissed Bride with Anne HelmTrack of Thunder (1967)
From Kirk's action flick Track of ThunderCatalina Caper (1967) 
From Catalina Caper. LEFT: With love interest Ulla Stromstedt. RIGHT: Kirk in a scuffle with one of the bad guysIt's a Bikini World (1967)
With Deborah Walley in the fun low-budget beach flick It's a Bikini Worldlater yearsBy the late 1960s, Tommy Kirk's acting career was essentially over. Kirk left acting after appearing in Al Adamson's Blood of Ghastly Horror (1971; with John Carradine and Regina Carrol). Fortunately, he mustered the strength and willpower to end to his drug and alcohol problems in 1971. In 1973, he came out as gay in an interview, at a time when practically no actor with his past successes would have done so. He eventually started a successful carpet-cleaning business which he owned and operated for more than 20 years. 
LEFT: Tommy Kirk in a 1990 photo. RIGHT: Cast member photo from Attack of the 60-Foot Centerfold (1995). Left to right: Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Kirk, Stanley Livingston, and Ross Hagen. Seated: Director Fred Olen RayMany of his friends in the industry had nothing but kind things to say about Tommy Kirk, including Aron Kincaid and Quinn O'Hara his costars in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered March 20, 1998.
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