Actor Tommy Kirk dies at 79; The child star was known for her role in “Old Yeller” – San Bernardino Sun

Associated press

LOS ANGELES Tommy Kirk, a child star who has appeared in Disney films such as “Old Yeller” and “The Shaggy Dog”, has passed away. He was 79 years old.

Kirk’s longtime friend and former child star Paul Petersen said he was found dead in his Las Vegas home on Tuesday. The cause of death has not been released.

Petersen said Kirk led a private life as a gay man and was separated from what “remains of his blood family”.

“He was really part of our community of young stars,” said Peterson. “He made some wonderful films back then. We have seen them and enjoyed them. He was respected in his church. He lived a quiet but full life.

Kirk began his career with several television shows, including the Mickey Mouse Club soap opera “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” and “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm”, which aired in 1956. -1957. His big break came when he played the role of Travis Coates in the 1957 film “Old Yeller,” a story about a teenager and his heroic yellow dog.

In “The Shaggy Dog” Kirk portrayed a teenager who was cursed to sometimes turn into a sheepdog. He played the second son alongside James MacArthur and Kevin Corcoran who played his brothers in the 1960 film “Swiss Family Robinson”.

Kirk starred in many other films in the 1960s, including “The Absent-Minded Professor” and its sequel “Son of Flubber”. He also starred in “The Misadventures of Merlin Jones”.