Donnie Dunagan, Original Voice of Bambi, Dies at 92

According to author and film historian Tom Weaver, Donnie Dunagan died Wednesday of lung cancer. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Dunagan provided the voice of the white-tailed character for the original Disney classic and acted alongside Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone in two films. Born Donald Roan Dunagan in San Antonio on Aug. 16, 1934, he won a $100 prize at age 3 in a Memphis talent contest, which caught the eye of an RKO talent scout and brought him to Los Angeles. His big-screen debut came in Mother Carey’s Chickens (1938), followed by roles in Son of Frankenstein, Tower of London, The Forgotten Woman, Vigil in the Night, and Meet the Chump. Walt Disney personally reached out to Dunagan's family in Westwood, asking the child actor to help animators capture a child's expression on a deer. Dunagan spent more than a year working on Bambi through early 1941, noting that the hardest part was being serious while enjoying the studio and the ice cream in the dining room. Adolescents later voiced Bambi in the film, and the release was delayed months because of Pearl Harbor. After his parents divorced, Dunagan boxed and played football in high school, supporting himself before joining the Marines in 1952 at age 18. He served a quarter-century in the military, becoming the youngest drill instructor in Marine history and serving three tours in Vietnam. He retired as a major in 1977, earning three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with V device, an Army Commendation Medal, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. During his military career, he kept his Hollywood past a secret to avoid being called "Major Bambi" or appearing like a showoff. Following his service, he worked for financial companies and as a CEO of the Pace Corp. in L.A. When the Disney company discovered he was alive, he participated in a DVD release of Bambi and spoke at conventions and festivals as a company ambassador.