Tommy Kirk

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For the Australian rugby league player, see Tommy Kirk (rugby league footballer).

Tommy Kirk

Born	December 10, 1941 Louisville, Kentucky

Tommy Kirk (born December 10, 1941 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former American child actor, and later a businessman and adult actor.

Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of 13 in a production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. Hired by Walt Disney Productions, he was cast as a clean-cut teenager in The Hardy Boys serial feature which was aired in the The Mickey Mouse Club television series in 1955 and 1956.

Kirk starring roles in a succession of successful Disney feature films including Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey's Uncle.

While Kirk's contract with Disney expired in 1963, the studio chose not to renew the contract upon the discovery that Kirk was gay. Walt Disney himself reportedly fired Kirk. He was re-hired for the Merlin Jones sequel The Monkey's Uncle.

Kirk also played a part in several of the 1960s Beach Party film and teen movie genres, with appearances in American International Pictures' Pajama Party (taking Frankie Avalon's usual role with Annette Funicello, while Avalon played a Martian leader!) and Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (opposite Deborah Walley), and later in the independent It's a Bikini World (paired again with Walley), plus starring in 1965's memorable Village of the Giants and in 1966 starred in The Unkissed Bride (Mother Goose a Go-Go). He costarred with "Batgirl" Yvonne Craig in AIP's Mars Needs Women, released in 1968. He appeared with Lyle Waggoner in Catalina Caper (1967), which was eventually lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Kirk's career slumped after the 1960s when he reached adulthood. He experienced many of the same troubles other former child and teen stars did when they matured. A successful business owner, he continued to act occasionally. This included a role in the R-rated spoof Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold. He has, as of 2006, a total of more than 30 feature films roles to his credit.