A Life Well Lived

What constitutes a successful life, a time on this physical plane well-spent?  The accumulation of wealth?  Gaining fame or making something with your name on it?  Is it raising a family or just simply being a decent, honest & responsible person?

I'm currently (well, not THIS second) watching every Disney movie possible, uncut & in order, and am up to a string of films featuring young Bobby Driscoll.  Bobby got his first gig, THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS, at 6 & had several credits already when he became the first live actor signed by Walt Disney.  He starred in one of my favorite childhood movies, the great SONG OF THE SOUTH (1946), TREASURE ISLAND (1950), & was PETER PAN (1953).  Many others.  The kid won an Outstanding Juvenile Academy Award, got a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, had a hit record, & toured the country (parades, radio & such) for years as America's #1 young star.  Then he turned 14.  Acne.  His voice changed.  His contracts were dropped.  He returned to public school & was made fun of.  Some TV (2 RAWHIDES!) & stage work followed over the next decade, but drug & alcohol abuse had already started in high school.  The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up did so...poorly. 

Arrests & jail, paroles & rehabs...Robert was broke & homeless by age 30 &, in 1967, disappeared into the harsh streets of New York.  When his father's health failed, Driscoll's mother hoped to reunite them all.  Some Disney Studios help got wheels turning but, sadly, they discovered that Bobby Driscoll had died & been buried anonymously in Brooklyn's Potter's Field, months earlier.  When SONG OF THE SOUTH was re-released in 1972, I went to see it at the beautiful Alabama Theatre & wished I could be that boy, with all his human and animal friends.

Bobby had accomplished SO much at such a young age & will live on for generations in his exceptional work.  But was his a 'good life'?  How many would trade theirs for his?  So, popularity & art & legacy...nice-to-haves, but don't necessarily determine a life well-lived.

To be continued...