The key facts
- Donnie Dunagan died on November 4 at the age of 92; the cause was lung cancer
- He voiced Bambi in 1942 at age six and never acted again, becoming a Marine
- He retired in 1977 with the rank of major; his fellow servicemen knew nothing of his past
The voice of Bambi has passed away
American actor Donnie Dunagan, who voiced the little fawn in Disney's 1942 animated film Bambi, has died in the United States. He was 92 years old; the cause of death was lung cancer. The Hollywood Reporter reported the news; Life.ru wrote about the death on November 9. The actor died on November 4, but it only became known several days later.
A role at age six and leaving the film industry
Dunagan went down in animation history thanks to a role he performed at just six years old. Before working on Bambi, he had already appeared in six feature films, including Son of Frankenstein and the 1939 Tower of London. Despite a successful start to his career, he never returned to acting after voicing the fawn.
Military career and return to Disney
As an adult, Dunagan chose a different profession and joined the United States Marine Corps. He served in the Vietnam War, worked in intelligence units, and retired in 1977 with the rank of major. During his service he carefully concealed his acting past: his fellow servicemen long had no idea that the officer had once given his voice to one of Disney's most famous characters. Only in the early 2000s did representatives of Walt Disney contact him and offer to renew their collaboration, after which he began taking part in company events and meeting fans of the film.
The voice of K-9 from Doctor Who has also passed away
In the same November, another well-known voice actor died: according to Life.ru, on November 1, after a long illness, the Briton John Leeson died at the age of 83, the voice of the robot dog K-9 in the series Doctor Who. His son Guy Dakker announced the death; colleagues remembered Leeson as a performer whose voice remained part of the famous science fiction series for decades.
