Tommy Kirk

Acting

Tommy Kirk

Born 1941-12-10 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Thomas Lee Kirk (December 10, 1941 − September 28, 2021) was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as the beach party films of the mid-1960s. He frequently appeared as a love interest for Annette Funicello or as part of a family with Kevin Corcoran as his younger brother and Fred MacMurray as his father. Kirk's career with Disney ended when news of his homosexuality threatened to become public. He struggled with drug addiction and depression for several years, appearing in a series of low-budget films before leaving the acting business in the mid-1970s. Kirk opened a carpet cleaning business and lived a mostly ordinary life, occasionally appearing at fan conventions. He died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, in September 2021, aged 79.

Acting credits

Old Yeller poster
6.9

Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.

Old Yeller

1957

The Horsemasters poster
7.0

American students are having a difficult time at a prestigious English riding school. Dinah Wilcox is overly cautious because of memories of an accident, but Danny Grant gives her confidence. The strict, but admired, instructor fears she must sell her favorite horse because of school tradition, but the students end up taking up a collection to buy it back for her.

The Horsemasters

1961

Swiss Family Robinson poster
6.8

After being shipwrecked, the Robinson family is marooned on an island inhabited only by an impressive array of wildlife. In true pioneer spirit, they quickly make themselves at home but soon face a danger even greater than nature: dastardly pirates.

Swiss Family Robinson

1960

The Absent-Minded Professor poster
6.6

Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.

The Absent-Minded Professor

1961

Babes in Toyland poster
5.9

All roads lead to magical, merry Toyland as Mary Contrary and Tom Piper prepare for their wedding! But villainous Barnaby wants Mary for himself, so he kidnaps Tom, setting off a series of comic chases, searches, and double-crosses! The "March Of The Wooden Soldiers" helps put Barnaby in his place, and ensures a "happily ever after" for Tom and Mary!

Babes in Toyland

1961

Pajama Party poster
4.8

A Martian teenager sent to prepare for an invasion falls in love with an Earth girl.

Pajama Party

1964

Savage Sam poster
5.2

Travis, Arliss, and Lisbeth are captured by Apaches while Old Yeller's son, Sam, tracks their trail.

Savage Sam

1963

The Shaggy Dog poster
6.3

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....

The Shaggy Dog

1959

Son of Flubber poster
6.1

Beleaguered professor Ned Brainard has already run into a pile of misfortunes with his discovery of the super-elastic substance "Flubber." Now he hopes to have better luck with a gravity-busting derivative he's dubbed "Flubbergas." Ned's experiments, constantly hampered by government obstruction, earn the consternation of his wife, Betsy. But a game-winning modification to a football uniform may help Ned make the case for his fantastic new invention.

Son of Flubber

1963

Backstage Party poster
7.0

Party, enterianment, and Behind the scenes

Backstage Party

1961

The Wrecking Crew poster
7.4

A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.

The Wrecking Crew

2008

Bon Voyage! poster
5.6

The Willards from Terre Haute, Indiana travels abroad for the once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Paris, France. Harry Willard believes that the greatest problem will be avoiding tap water, but bringing his three children will prove to be more troublesome

Bon Voyage!

1962

The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics poster
7.3

Along with his legendary cartoons, Walt Disney produced a marvelous array of live-action classics that came about through the use of his singular style, hard work and an unwavering belief in this vision.

The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics

2008

Moon Pilot poster
5.5

An Air Force captain inadvertently volunteers to make the first manned flight around the moon. He immediately falls under the watchful protection of various security agencies, but despite all their precautions, a young woman who may be an enemy spy succeeds in making contact with the captain. The captain eventually discovers that this woman is not an enemy but rather a friend from a very unusual source.

Moon Pilot

1962

Village of the Giants poster
3.7

"Genius" accidentally invents "goo" which causes living things to rapidly grow to an enormous size. Seeing an opportunity to get rich, some delinquent teenagers steal the "goo" and, as a result of a sophomoric dare, consume it themselves and become thirty feet tall. They then take over control of the town by kidnapping the sheriff's daughter and dancing suggestively.

Village of the Giants

1965

Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold poster
3.9

Among the finalists for "Centerfold Of The Year" are Angel and her spiteful rival Betty. However, no one is aware of Angel's involvement in a secret medical beauty enhancement program headed by Dr. Lindstrom. Desperate to win, Angel overdoses on Lindstrom's formula, with disastrous results. Soon she has grown to monstrous but shapely proportions, causing all sorts of complications, the most dangerous being Betty's jealousy of Angel's new-found attention. Betty discovers Angel's secret and takes the formula herself, causing her to grow into an equally gorgeous giant. As the girls battle it out on Hollywood Blvd., Dr. Lindstrom races to find an antidote.

Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold

1995

Disneyland '59 poster
7.3

Walt Disney and Art Linkletter co-host a live celebration of Disneyland's 1959 expansion that consisted of the debuts of Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail, and the Submarine Voyage, a project so massive that it was called "The Second Opening of Disneyland". Highlights include a mammoth, star-studded parade and the official launching of the Disneyland submarines by U.S. Navy officers. Among the guests are then-Vice-President Richard Nixon and family, Clint Eastwood, and Meredith Willson, who leads the Disneyland band in his own "76 Trombones." Sponsored by Kodak, the commercial spokespersons include Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.

Disneyland '59

1959

Disney's Greatest Dog Stars poster
8.0

This installment looks at the dogs who have starred in Disney films, past and present. The program ends with a preview of the upcoming theatrical film The Shaggy D.A., in which host Dean Jones just happens to star. The program also features a song called "Hollywood Hound", written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. The program reaired in 1981, updated to promote The Fox and the Hound. Another version was released on home video overseas in the 1980s.

Disney's Greatest Dog Stars

1976

Little Miss Magic poster
5.0

An adolescent sorceress-to-be has to pass a special test in order to become a full-fledged witch.

Little Miss Magic

1997

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini poster
5.1

A corpse has 24 hours to mastermind a good deed without leaving his crypt, to go "up there" and have his youth restored.

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini

1966

Down Liberty Road poster
9.0

On a cross-country Greyhound bus, passengers give historically dubious summaries of major landmarks. Riders include a grieving father of a fallen soldier and C-list celebrities of the 1950s.

Down Liberty Road

1957

Mars Needs Women poster
3.9

Tommy Kirk leads his fellow Martians to Earth on an interplanetary quest for females. Kirk proves that Martians have impeccable taste when one of his first conquests turns out to be sexy scientist Yvonne Craig.

Mars Needs Women

1968

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones poster
6.5

Merlin Jones, a precocious and intelligent high-school boy, experiments with hypnosis and creates a mind-reading machine. However, his experiments land him in deep trouble with the law.

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones

1964

The Monkey's Uncle poster
5.9

College whiz-kid Merlin Jones concocts a method for teaching advanced information to a chimpanzee, then creates a flying machine of his own design, ultimately raising havoc on the campus.

The Monkey's Uncle

1965