"Old Yeller" star Tommy Kirk passes. Disney fired him when he was outed as gay.

[Behind the Aegis]

Tommy Kirk – the legendary child actor who starred as Travis Coates in Old Yeller and whose work for Disney came to an end when he was outed as gay – has passed away at the age of 79.

“Please know that Tommy Kirk loved you, his fans,” longtime friend Paul Petersen wrote on Facebook, informing the public of Kirk’s death.

Originally from Kentucky, Kirk started acting as a teenager and had some success on television. Shortly after getting a role on The Micky Mouse Club, he got his biggest break when he got the lead role in Disney’s 1957 film Old Yeller, about the adventures of a boy and his dog.

The film was a success for Disney and Kirk went on to star in a number of films, including Swiss Family Robinson and The Shaggy Dog, in the late 1950s. By the 1960s he was acting in comedies for Disney, like The Absent-Minded Professor.

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[Sneederbunk]

1. Had affair with 15 year old boy.

Boy's mother notified Disney and Disney did not renew Kirk's contract.

[Lithos]

3. Pretty sure if it was a girl

They would not have cared. Hell, they do not care now - ex: Demi Lovato

L-

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Right!

It was a convenient excuse then, as now. It is unsurprising as someone ignoring the other aspects, but then again, that is what it is to be gay in the US.

[dsc]

7. He was 21 at the time

and I am assuming not in a position of power over the 15 year old. While not a great thing, in many states this would fall under the Romeo and Juliet exception to statutory rape.

[Effete Snob]

2. (spoiler alert)

I'm surprised they didn't shoot him.

[marble falls]

4. Seems to me he was an evolved human being. He sounds like a person who I wish I could ...

... had coffee with a couple of time a week. So sorry to hear of his passing. Only six years older than me.

[Susan Calvin]

6. Only somewhat on topic,

I still remember that song. Here Yeller come back Yeller. Best doggone dog in the West.