The actor opened up 20 years later that he realized he was gay at age 17 or 18 and that his career was destroyed by his sexual orientation. In 1973, Kirk publicly came out as gay during an interview. Kirk played in a slew of 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.” He played the middle son alongside James MacArthur and Kevin Corcoran - who played his brothers - in the 1960 film “Swiss Family Robinson.” In “The Shaggy Dog,” Kirk portrayed a teenage boy who was cursed with occasionally turning into a sheepdog. His big break came when he starred as Travis Coates in the 1957 film “Old Yeller,” a story about a teenage boy and his heroic yellow dog. Kirk started his career with several television shows including the Mickey Mouse Club's serialized adventure “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” and “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm,” which aired in 1956-1957. “He made some wonderful films back in the day. “He was very much a part of our kid star community,” Peterson said. Memorable scene from this classic Disney film 1 hour and 13 minutes in.Amazon. He was discovered by animal trainer Frank Weatherwax, who by paying a 3 adoption fee gave the Labrador Retriever. A former shelter dog named Spike portrayed Old Yeller in the Disney movie. Petersen said Kirk lived a private life as a gay man and was estranged from what “remains of his blood family.” Old Yeller is a work of fiction, but a true tale told to Gipson by his grandfather about a dog named Rattler served as inspiration for the story.
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