Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 â€" February 20, 1985)
was an American voice actor, best known as the original voice of the
Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural
community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and a street in that town is named in
his honor. In 1993, he was posthumously made a Disney Legend for his
contributions to Walt Disney films.Nash made a name for himself in the
late 1920s as an impressionist for KHJ, a Los Angeles radio station,
on their show, The Merrymakers. He later was employed by the Adohr
Milk Company for publicity purposes. Dubbed "Whistling Clarence, the
Adohr Bird Man", Nash rode the streets with a team of miniature horses
and gave treats to the children. In 1932, Nash happened by the Disney
Studio with his team of horses, and decided to leave a copy of his
Adohr publicity sheet with the receptionist. As it turns out, his name
was recognized from a reprise appearance on The Merrymakers a few days
previous, and Walt Disney himself had been impressed by Nash's vocal
skills. He was asked to make an informal audition.One source indicates
Nash auditioned before a casting director for Walt Disney Studios and
did a voice impression of a billy goat that Nash had started doing as
a child in Watonga. The director then reached for the intercom and
told Walt Disney, "I think we have found our duck." Another version
indicates Nash went through several of his voices, and Walt Disney
happened by when Nash gave his impersonation of a family of ducks.
Disney declared Nash perfect for the role of a talking duck in their
upcoming animated short, The Wise Little Hen. The duck was Donald
Duck, who Nash went on to voice for 51 years, in over 120 shorts and
films. The last film to feature Nash's famous voice was 1983's
Mickey's Christmas Carol, although he continued to provide Donald's
voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous material until
his death.As early as 1938, promoters from lecture circuits were
approaching him on his unique voice of Donald. Disney reportedly
didn't like the engagements at first, feeling that a human doing the
voice would be spoiling the illusion, but then long after he had
second thoughts. In early 1941, Nash was traveling on an personal
appearance tours sponsored by Disney. During World War II, Nash, with
his ventriloquist puppet of Donald, which was built by Disney's
character modeling department, became a regular performer at bond
rallies and other events to support the war effort. In the mid-1940's,
Roy and Walt approved the Donald puppet and they decided to harness it
for the theater premiere 1944 reprint of Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs. RKO and Disney were unsure how the film would do in the box
office, so they did a promotional campaign with Disney characters
including Nash performing with the Donald puppet. During the
promotional period of Fun and Fancy Free, he did multiple radio
appearances from May to September 1947, with one of those appearances
starring Disney himself. He voiced Donald for 1950's TV commercials.
was an American voice actor, best known as the original voice of the
Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural
community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and a street in that town is named in
his honor. In 1993, he was posthumously made a Disney Legend for his
contributions to Walt Disney films.Nash made a name for himself in the
late 1920s as an impressionist for KHJ, a Los Angeles radio station,
on their show, The Merrymakers. He later was employed by the Adohr
Milk Company for publicity purposes. Dubbed "Whistling Clarence, the
Adohr Bird Man", Nash rode the streets with a team of miniature horses
and gave treats to the children. In 1932, Nash happened by the Disney
Studio with his team of horses, and decided to leave a copy of his
Adohr publicity sheet with the receptionist. As it turns out, his name
was recognized from a reprise appearance on The Merrymakers a few days
previous, and Walt Disney himself had been impressed by Nash's vocal
skills. He was asked to make an informal audition.One source indicates
Nash auditioned before a casting director for Walt Disney Studios and
did a voice impression of a billy goat that Nash had started doing as
a child in Watonga. The director then reached for the intercom and
told Walt Disney, "I think we have found our duck." Another version
indicates Nash went through several of his voices, and Walt Disney
happened by when Nash gave his impersonation of a family of ducks.
Disney declared Nash perfect for the role of a talking duck in their
upcoming animated short, The Wise Little Hen. The duck was Donald
Duck, who Nash went on to voice for 51 years, in over 120 shorts and
films. The last film to feature Nash's famous voice was 1983's
Mickey's Christmas Carol, although he continued to provide Donald's
voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous material until
his death.As early as 1938, promoters from lecture circuits were
approaching him on his unique voice of Donald. Disney reportedly
didn't like the engagements at first, feeling that a human doing the
voice would be spoiling the illusion, but then long after he had
second thoughts. In early 1941, Nash was traveling on an personal
appearance tours sponsored by Disney. During World War II, Nash, with
his ventriloquist puppet of Donald, which was built by Disney's
character modeling department, became a regular performer at bond
rallies and other events to support the war effort. In the mid-1940's,
Roy and Walt approved the Donald puppet and they decided to harness it
for the theater premiere 1944 reprint of Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs. RKO and Disney were unsure how the film would do in the box
office, so they did a promotional campaign with Disney characters
including Nash performing with the Donald puppet. During the
promotional period of Fun and Fancy Free, he did multiple radio
appearances from May to September 1947, with one of those appearances
starring Disney himself. He voiced Donald for 1950's TV commercials.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.