 |
 |
|
|
| Clarence Nash & Donald Duck |
|
| Forecourt Ceremony held on Wednesday, May 21, 1984 |
| |
Clarence Nash
Born: December 7, 1904, in Watonga, Oklahoma Territory
Age at the time of the ceremony: 79
Died: February 20, 1985, Burbank, California, age 80
Donald Duck
Released: June 9, 1934, in Silver Lake, California
Age at the time of the ceremony: 50
|
| |
Clarence Nash and Donald Duck just go together like ham and eggs. Nash had only done one project for Disney before assuming the voice of the irascable Donald (Walt, of course, did the voice of Mickey), and before long, legions of fans were trying to imitate his voice and manners.
Born in the very small town of Watonga Oklahoma, Nash grew up imitating bird calls, becoming a proficient whistler. Excellent at working crowds on the vaudeville stage, Nash sought fame in Hollywood, and by the mid-1920s, he was doing impressions for The Merrymakers show on Los Angeles radio station KHJ. As "Whistling Clarence, the Ahohr Bird Man" Nash made neighborhood appearances driving a team of miniture horses for the Adohr Farms dairy.
While making a stop at the Disney studio in Silver Lake for Adohr, Nash dropped off his resumé, which caught Disney's attention; he had been a fan of The Merrymakers. While auditioning, Nash ran through all of his duck impressions, one of which struck Disney as being perfect for a new character they were creating named Donald Duck, allthough Nash's first Diney credit is for voicing a giant spider in Gulliver Mickey (released in May 1934).
Donald Duck made his debut in the short film
The Wise Little Hen (released in June 1934), and he became an instant hit around the world. Nash provided his unique vocalization for Donald in all of the languages Disnay made dubs for at the time.
Donald, of course, was created to be the flip side of Mickey Mouse's character, who was becoming an international symbol of good. Mickey conducts
The Band Concert (which played the Chinese in May 1935) in a tornado but does his best, while Donald flies into all sort of rage and anger — with hilarious results. Nash filled in many supporting roles in these films. He voiced a Kitten and a Cat Judge in Pluto's Judgement Day (released in August 1935), and voiced the Frogs in The Old Mill (released in November 1937).
Donald Duck was a very popular character. He appeared in seven shorts in 1936, and nine more in 1937. When it came to be time that Donald got his own series of short films, he was given a girlfriend named Donna in Don Donald (released in January 1937), Nash provided the voice for her as well. Donna would be made over into Daisy Duck in 1940.
As a solo act, Donald held his own in Donald's Lucky Day (released in January 1939), Donald's Cousin Gus (released in May 1939); he even made a loan-out appearance in the comedy Bachelor Mother (released in August 1939), with Ginger Rogers and David Niven.
Nash did the voice of Pluto in Mickey's Surprise Party, (released in February 1939), and gave voice to Figaro, the Roughhouse Statue and several Donkeys in Pinocchio (released in February 1940). A top Donald short is Donald's Dog Laundry (released in April 1940), and Daisy makes her re-introduction in Mr. Duck Steps Out (released in June 1940).
We get to see Nash as himself at the Disney studio in The Reluctant Dragon (released in June 1941). He also did Bullfrogs in Bambi (released in August 1942). He did the voices for Figaro and Cleo (released in October 1943), when they were given their own films.
Nash voiced ten Donald Duck shorts in 1941 alone. During the war years, Donald seemed to personify many of the things Americans were thinking and feeling. Classics during this time include: Donald's Snow Fight (released in April 1942), Der Fuehrer's Face (released in January 1943), and Donald's Crime (released in June 1945).
Donald appeared in the "omnibus" films, Saludos Amigos (released in February 1943), The Three Caballeros (released in February 1945), and Fun and Fancy Free (released in September 1947), while Nash whistled Mr. Bluebird in Song of the South (released in November 1946), and did voices for Chip an' Dale (released in November 1947), and did Ichabod's Horse in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (released in October 1949).
Donald continued to be a popular character in theatrical shorts like
Rugged Bear (released in October 1953), and the classic Donald in Mathmagic Land (released in June 1959), and on television; he appeared on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in 23 episodes from November 1954 to December 1971.
Nash's last film doing Donald was
Mickey's Christmas Carol (released in December 1983). He was the subject of the premiere episode of Disney Family Album, aired over The Disney Channel in June 1984. Nash died of lukemia in February, 1985 at the age of 80. Since then, Donald has been voiced by Nash's personally trained replacement, Tony Anselmo.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| Mann's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Clarence Nash / Donald Duck Forecourt block. Executed by John Tartaglia, Wednesday, May 21, 1984. 50 x 67 inches. |
|
 |
|
| Mann's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Clarence Nash / Donald Duck Forecourt ceremony, Wednesday, May 21, 1984. A character as large as Donald Duck needs a large block of cement. |
|
|
