Tommy Kirk
Encyclopedia
Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk (born December 10, 1941) is a former American actor
, and later a businessman.
's Ah, Wilderness!
at the Pasadena Playhouse
in Pasadena
, California
. In 1956, he appeared in the NBC
western
anthology series Frontier
in the episode entitled "The Devil and Dr. O'Hara". In the same year, he appeared in Freedom's Highway, a short commercial travelogue produced by Greyhound Lines
to promote their Scenicruiser buses.
Hired by Walt Disney Productions, he was cast as a clean-cut teenager in The Hardy Boys
serial feature which was aired in the Mickey Mouse Club
television series in 1956 and 1957. Kirk played Joe Hardy opposite Tim Considine
as older brother Frank Hardy
in two serials: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure (September 21, 1956 - February 1, 1957), based on the book The Tower Treasure
, and the original story The Mystery of Ghost Farm (September 13 - December 20, 1957).
Kirk went on to starring roles in a succession of successful Disney feature films, in both dramatic and comedic settings. He played Travis Coates in Old Yeller
(1957), an adventure story about a boy and his heroic dog. He then played a dog himself in The Shaggy Dog
(1959), a comedy about a boy inventor, Wilby Daniels, who is repeatedly transformed into an Old English Sheepdog
under the influence of a magic ring. He had a more straightforward role as middle son Ernst Robinson in another adventure film, Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Kirk then played the "scrambled egghead" student inventor Merlin Jones in two comedies, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
(1964) and The Monkey's Uncle
(1965). Other major Disney roles for Tommy Kirk included that of college student Biff Hawk in The Absent-Minded Professor
(1961) and its sequel, Son of Flubber
(1963), and as Grumio in the fairy tale
fantasy Babes in Toyland.
In several of these films, Kirk played the older brother of child actor Kevin Corcoran
, better known as Moochie. Veteran actor Fred MacMurray
starred in at least four of Tommy Kirk's films, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and Bon Voyage!. Annette Funicello
played Kirk's girlfriend in the two Merlin Jones films and the girl Wilby passes over in The Shaggy Dog. MacMurray once reportedly gave Kirk "the biggest dressing-down of my life" during the filming of Bon Voyage!, one that Kirk says he deserved. But Kirk maintained good relationships with his fellow actors. "Tommy played my brother in a lot of films and put up with a lot of things that I did to him over the years," Corcoran says in a commentary on the DVD release of Old Yeller. "He must be a great person not to hate me." Tim Considine calls Kirk "a monster talent".
In 1963, however, Disney chose not to renew Kirk's contract upon discovering Kirk had been having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Walt Disney himself fired Kirk after receiving a complaint from the boy's mother. Yet in a bow to audience wishes, the studio re-hired him for the Merlin Jones sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.
Kirk describes the situation himself: "Even more than MGM, Disney was the most conservative studio in town.... The studio executives were beginning to suspect my homosexuality. Certain people were growing less and less friendly. In 1963, Disney let me go. But Walt asked me to return for the final Merlin Jones movie, 'The Monkey's Uncle,' because the Jones films had been moneymakers for the studio."
after being arrested on Christmas Eve 1964 for possession of drugs. He played in several of the 1960s beach party films and teen movie films, notably in American International Pictures
' Pajama Party
(taking Frankie Avalon
's usual lead role opposite Annette Funicello
while Avalon only appears in cameo role
), The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
(with Deborah Walley
), and later in the independent It's a Bikini World
(paired again with Walley). He starred in Village of the Giants
(1965
) and appeared in a cameo in AIP's spy-spoof film, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
. In 1966
, Kirk starred in The Unkissed Bride (Mother Goose a Go-Go). He made two films for Texan director Larry Buchanan
, Mars Needs Women
, where he costarred with "Batgirl
" Yvonne Craig
, and It's Alive!
. He appeared with Lyle Waggoner
in the beach movie/crime comedy Catalina Caper
(1967
), which along with Village of the Giants were eventually lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000
.
Kirk's acting career tapered off during the 1960s, hampered by the transition to adulthood, drug use, and "personal problems." Eventually he left show business, gave up drugs, and succeeded in starting his own carpet-cleaning business in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. He continued to act occasionally, however, including in the R-rated spoof, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold
. As of 2006, Kirk had more than thirty feature film roles to his credit.
on October 9, 2006, alongside his old co-stars Tim Considine and Kevin Corcoran
. His other repeat co-stars, Annette Funicello and Fred MacMurray, had already been inducted (in 1992 and 1987, respectively). Also in 2006, the first of Kirk's Hardy Boys serials was issued on DVD in the fifth "wave" of the Walt Disney Treasures
series.
Short Subjects:
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and later a businessman.
Disney years
Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'NeillEugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 2 October 1933.-Plot summary:...
at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1956, he appeared in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
anthology series Frontier
Frontier (1955 TV series)
This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
in the episode entitled "The Devil and Dr. O'Hara". In the same year, he appeared in Freedom's Highway, a short commercial travelogue produced by Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
to promote their Scenicruiser buses.
Hired by Walt Disney Productions, he was cast as a clean-cut teenager in The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional teenage brothers and amateur detectives who appear in various mystery series for children and teens....
serial feature which was aired in the Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
television series in 1956 and 1957. Kirk played Joe Hardy opposite Tim Considine
Tim Considine
Timothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
as older brother Frank Hardy
Frank Hardy
Francis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky...
in two serials: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure (September 21, 1956 - February 1, 1957), based on the book The Tower Treasure
The Tower Treasure
The Tower Treasure is the first volume in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 55th on Publishers Weekly's All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List for the United States, with 2,209,774 copies sold as of 2001...
, and the original story The Mystery of Ghost Farm (September 13 - December 20, 1957).
Kirk went on to starring roles in a succession of successful Disney feature films, in both dramatic and comedic settings. He played Travis Coates in Old Yeller
Old Yeller (1957 film)
Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...
(1957), an adventure story about a boy and his heroic dog. He then played a dog himself in The Shaggy Dog
The Shaggy Dog (1959 film)
The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney film about Wilby Daniels, a teenage boy who is transformed into an Old English Sheepdog by an enchanted ring of the Borgias. The film was based on the story, The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten...
(1959), a comedy about a boy inventor, Wilby Daniels, who is repeatedly transformed into an Old English Sheepdog
Old English Sheepdog
The Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from early herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog has very long fur covering the face and eyes...
under the influence of a magic ring. He had a more straightforward role as middle son Ernst Robinson in another adventure film, Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Kirk then played the "scrambled egghead" student inventor Merlin Jones in two comedies, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge...
(1964) and The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
(1965). Other major Disney roles for Tommy Kirk included that of college student Biff Hawk in The Absent-Minded Professor
The Absent-Minded Professor
The Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 black-and-white Walt Disney Productions film based on the short story A Situation of Gravity, by Samuel W. Taylor....
(1961) and its sequel, Son of Flubber
Son of Flubber
Son of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...
(1963), and as Grumio in the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
fantasy Babes in Toyland.
In several of these films, Kirk played the older brother of child actor Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran is an American director, producer, and former child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie...
, better known as Moochie. Veteran actor Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
starred in at least four of Tommy Kirk's films, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and Bon Voyage!. Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
played Kirk's girlfriend in the two Merlin Jones films and the girl Wilby passes over in The Shaggy Dog. MacMurray once reportedly gave Kirk "the biggest dressing-down of my life" during the filming of Bon Voyage!, one that Kirk says he deserved. But Kirk maintained good relationships with his fellow actors. "Tommy played my brother in a lot of films and put up with a lot of things that I did to him over the years," Corcoran says in a commentary on the DVD release of Old Yeller. "He must be a great person not to hate me." Tim Considine calls Kirk "a monster talent".
In 1963, however, Disney chose not to renew Kirk's contract upon discovering Kirk had been having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Walt Disney himself fired Kirk after receiving a complaint from the boy's mother. Yet in a bow to audience wishes, the studio re-hired him for the Merlin Jones sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.
Kirk describes the situation himself: "Even more than MGM, Disney was the most conservative studio in town.... The studio executives were beginning to suspect my homosexuality. Certain people were growing less and less friendly. In 1963, Disney let me go. But Walt asked me to return for the final Merlin Jones movie, 'The Monkey's Uncle,' because the Jones films had been moneymakers for the studio."
Post-Disney career
Kirk was fired from The Sons of Katie ElderThe Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder is a 1965 Technicolor western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. The movie was filmed principally in Mexico....
after being arrested on Christmas Eve 1964 for possession of drugs. He played in several of the 1960s beach party films and teen movie films, notably in American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
' Pajama Party
Pajama Party (film)
Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures...
(taking Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
's usual lead role opposite Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
while Avalon only appears in cameo role
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
), The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is the seventh of the American International Pictures beach party films and was released in 1966. The entire film takes place in and around a haunted house with no beach in sight, with the teenage gang instead cavorting in and around it and the adjacent swimming...
(with Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley was an American actress.-Biographical Information:Deborah Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen she was playing summer-stock theatre. She...
), and later in the independent It's a Bikini World
It's a Bikini World
It's a Bikini World is an American musical comedy film released in 1967 starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Bobby "Boris" Pickett of "Monster Mash" fame. The film features cameos by the music groups The Gentrys, The Animals, Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Castaways and R&B girl group The Toys...
(paired again with Walley). He starred in Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants is a 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie with many elements of the beach party film genre. It was produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon, and based loosely on H.G. Wells's book The Food of the Gods...
(1965
1965 in film
The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) and appeared in a cameo in AIP's spy-spoof film, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley...
. In 1966
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
, Kirk starred in The Unkissed Bride (Mother Goose a Go-Go). He made two films for Texan director Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan was a film director, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a "schlockmeister". Many of his titles have landed on "worst movie" lists, but all at least broke even and many made a profit.Buchanan was born in Mexia, Texas. He was orphaned as a baby, and was raised in Dallas in...
, Mars Needs Women
Mars Needs Women
Mars Needs Women is an American International Pictures made for TV science fiction film filmed in 1966 and released in 1967 which features Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, and Byron Lord. it was shot during a two week period in Houston and Dallas, Texas...
, where he costarred with "Batgirl
Batgirl
Batgirl is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, frequently depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman...
" Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig is an American actress best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s TV series Batman, and as the Orion Marta in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Whom Gods Destroy”.-Early life and career:...
, and It's Alive!
'It's Alive!'
'It's Alive!' is a 1969 American film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is about a mad farmer who tries to feed a stranded couple to a dinosaur he keeps in a cave. Its tagline is: "Trapped In a Cave of Terror!" It was filmed in the Ozark Mountain area of northern Arkansas and Tennessee...
. He appeared with Lyle Waggoner
Lyle Waggoner
Lyle Wesley Waggoner is an American actor and former model, best known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1974 and for playing the role of Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman television series from 1975 to 1979...
in the beach movie/crime comedy Catalina Caper
Catalina Caper
Catalina Caper is a 1967 comedy musical mystery film starring Tommy Kirk. It is one of the last in the beach party film genre. This entry blends the beach format with a standard crime-caper comedy...
(1967
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
), which along with Village of the Giants were eventually lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
.
Kirk's acting career tapered off during the 1960s, hampered by the transition to adulthood, drug use, and "personal problems." Eventually he left show business, gave up drugs, and succeeded in starting his own carpet-cleaning business in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. He continued to act occasionally, however, including in the R-rated spoof, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold
Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold
Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold is a 1995 science fiction film starring J.J. North, Ted Monte, Tammy Parks, Raelyn Saalman, Nikki Fritz, John Lazar, Michelle Bauer, Tim Abell, and Jay Richardson...
. As of 2006, Kirk had more than thirty feature film roles to his credit.
Disney legend
Tommy Kirk was inducted as a Disney LegendDisney Legends
Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. The honor is awarded annually during a special ceremony....
on October 9, 2006, alongside his old co-stars Tim Considine and Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran is an American director, producer, and former child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie...
. His other repeat co-stars, Annette Funicello and Fred MacMurray, had already been inducted (in 1992 and 1987, respectively). Also in 2006, the first of Kirk's Hardy Boys serials was issued on DVD in the fifth "wave" of the Walt Disney Treasures
Walt Disney Treasures
The Walt Disney Treasures is a two-disc DVD set of classic Disney works. They cover work from the studio's earliest days to their more recent work...
series.
Filmography
Features- The PeacemakerThe Peacemaker (1956 film)The Peacemaker is a western film directed by Ted Post and starring James Mitchell, Rosemarie Bowe, and Jan Merlin. Hal Richards based the script on the novel of the same name by Richard Poole....
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - The Snow QueenThe Snow Queen (1957 film)The Snow Queen is a 1957 Soviet animated film directed by Lev Atamanov. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) (voice in 1959 English dubbed version) - Old YellerOld Yeller (1957 film)Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...
(1957) - The Shaggy DogThe Shaggy Dog (1959 film)The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney film about Wilby Daniels, a teenage boy who is transformed into an Old English Sheepdog by an enchanted ring of the Borgias. The film was based on the story, The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - Swiss Family RobinsonSwiss Family Robinson (film)Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - The Absent-Minded ProfessorThe Absent-Minded ProfessorThe Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 black-and-white Walt Disney Productions film based on the short story A Situation of Gravity, by Samuel W. Taylor....
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Babes in ToylandBabes in Toyland (1961 film)Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
(1961) - The Horsemasters (1961) (TV)
- Moon PilotMoon PilotMoon Pilot is a 98 minute Techicolor science fiction satirical comedy released in 1962 by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Robert Buckner's 1960 novel Starfire, it was directed by James Neilson and reflects Disney's interest in America's early space program during the John F. Kennedy...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - Escapade in Florence (1962) (TV)
- Bon Voyage!Bon Voyage! (1962 film)Bon Voyage! is a 1962 Walt Disney film directed by James Neilson and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. Following their practice of the time, it was also issued as a comic book...
(1962) - Son of FlubberSon of FlubberSon of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...
(19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - Savage SamSavage SamSavage Sam is the 1963 film sequel to Old Yeller written by Fred Gipson. It was inspired by the story of former Apache captive Herman Lehmann, whom Gipson had seen give an exhibition when he was a child....
(1963) - The Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin JonesThe Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. Kirk plays a college student who experiments with mind-reading and hypnotism, leading to run-ins with a local judge...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - Pajama PartyPajama Party (film)Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures...
(1964) - The Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's UncleThe Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Village of the GiantsVillage of the GiantsVillage of the Giants is a 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie with many elements of the beach party film genre. It was produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon, and based loosely on H.G. Wells's book The Food of the Gods...
(1965) - Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini MachineDr. Goldfoot and the Bikini MachineDr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley...
(1965) - The Unkissed Bride (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - The Ghost in the Invisible BikiniThe Ghost in the Invisible BikiniThe Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is the seventh of the American International Pictures beach party films and was released in 1966. The entire film takes place in and around a haunted house with no beach in sight, with the teenage gang instead cavorting in and around it and the adjacent swimming...
(1966) - Mars Needs WomenMars Needs WomenMars Needs Women is an American International Pictures made for TV science fiction film filmed in 1966 and released in 1967 which features Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, and Byron Lord. it was shot during a two week period in Houston and Dallas, Texas...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - It's a Bikini WorldIt's a Bikini WorldIt's a Bikini World is an American musical comedy film released in 1967 starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Bobby "Boris" Pickett of "Monster Mash" fame. The film features cameos by the music groups The Gentrys, The Animals, Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Castaways and R&B girl group The Toys...
(1967) - Track of Thunder (1967)
- Catalina CaperCatalina CaperCatalina Caper is a 1967 comedy musical mystery film starring Tommy Kirk. It is one of the last in the beach party film genre. This entry blends the beach format with a standard crime-caper comedy...
(1967) - It's Alive! (1969)
- Ride the Hot Wind (19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - Blood of Ghastly HorrorBlood of Ghastly HorrorBlood of Ghastly Horror is a 1972 horror film directed by Al Adamson and starring John Carradine. Much of the footage in the film was previously released in 1965 as part of a crime thriller feature entitled Psycho A-Go-Go...
(19721972 in filmThe year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) - My Name Is Legend (19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - Streets of Death (19871987 in film-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
) - Attack of the 60 Foot CenterfoldAttack of the 60 Foot CenterfoldAttack of the 60 Foot Centerfold is a 1995 science fiction film starring J.J. North, Ted Monte, Tammy Parks, Raelyn Saalman, Nikki Fritz, John Lazar, Michelle Bauer, Tim Abell, and Jay Richardson...
(19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
) - Little Miss Magic (19971997 in film-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
) - Billy Frankenstein (19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
) - Club Dead (20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
) - The Education of a Vampire (20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
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Short Subjects:
- Down Liberty Road (19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot (1965)