Marilyn Jean Rush: All about Bobby Driscoll's Ex-Wife

Marilyn Jean Rush is best known as the ex-wife of Bobby Driscoll. Her ex-husband was an American actor known for his television and film performances between 1943 and the early 1960s. Driscoll was a child star who starred in some of Walt Disney Studio’s live-action pictures of that era. He performed in Disney’s Song of the South, Treasure Island, So Dear to My Heart, and RKO’s The Window. He is also the voice of Peter Parker. Unfortunately, Driscoll’s stardom went down the drain in his teenage years when his face and voice changed due to adolescence.

If you came looking for answers about what happened to Marilyn’s ex-husband, this post is for you. Keep on reading for a detailed narration.

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Marilyn Jean Rush Bio

Marilyn was not a popular name or face on the screen back in the ’50s and ’60s. she gained the spotlight as Bobby Driscoll’s wife. Neither Marilyn’s nor Driscoll’s parents approved of their relationship for undisclosed reasons. The couple met when Driscoll’s acting career was fizzling, and Marilyn was 19. Driscoll and Marilyn eloped to Mexico in December 1956 to marry despite their parents’ objections. They later renewed their vows in March 1957 in a ceremony that took place in Los Angeles.

The pair had an unstable relationship due to Driscoll’s uncertain career life. They married, divorced twice, and had three children: two daughters and one son. Despite them trying, the relationship did not work, and they finalized their divorce in 1960. Driscoll soon began chilling with the wrong crowd and got addicted to heroin. On the other hand, Marilyn moved away from Driscoll and the limelight. Not much was heard of her after her divorce.

Marilyn Jean Rush Children

As aforementioned, Marilyn and her ex-husband had three children, a son, and two daughters. The children are Dr. Daniel Abram Driscoll, Aaren Hope Driscoll Keely, and Katherine Ann Driscoll Grundmeier. Her daughter Aaren Hope died on 28 March 2022 from heart complications. She had been battling colorectal cancer.

Marilyn Jean Rush Ex-Husband

Bobby Driscoll began acting at the tender age of five when he was discovered in a barber shop in Altadena, California. The natural-born actor ended up with a successful 17-year career from 1943 to 1960 with notable movie screen appearances in 1944’s The Fighting Sullivans, 1946’s Song of the South, 1948’s So Dear to My Heart, and 1948’s The Window. The latter earned him an Academy Award in 1950.

Driscoll was the first actor to sign a long-term deal with Walt Disney’s animation department. Following Jim Hawkins’s role in Disney’s Treasure Island in 1950, Driscoll received his Hollywood Star on 1560 Vine Star. He also emerged top in a nationwide poll for a Milky Way Gold Star Award for his work on both TV and radio. After the release of the 1953 Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, in which he was the voice of the animated title character, Walt Disney prematurely terminated his contract. That marked the down spiral of Driscoll’s life. His attempts to get back into the world of film and television were fruitless after his face suffered severe acne and his voice broke due to adolescence.

He would later become addicted to drugs, especially heroin, and live in dilapidation after he ran out of money. On 30 March 1968, two children found his dead body in an abandoned shelter in East Village.