Donnie Dunagan, voice of young Bambi and Marine veteran, dies at 92

Donnie Dunagan, who voiced young Bambi in Disney’s 1942 film and earned three Purple Hearts during 25 years as a Marine, died Nov. 4 at 92.

His agents, Kris Jones and Nery Lemus of CelebWorx, told Variety that lung cancer was the cause. They said Dunagan had asked them “not to be sad due to the great life I lived.”

Dunagan’s childhood screen work included a Universal horror film and a Disney animated feature before he joined the U.S. Marines in 1952 at 18. He hid his Bambi work throughout his military career, partly to avoid ridicule and the nickname “Major Bambi.”

“One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I didn’t have the courage to tell my close personal friends in the Marine Corps that I had been a part of the wonderful work of Mr Disney,” Dunagan said earlier.

He was born Donald Roan Dunagan in San Antonio, Texas, on Aug. 16, 1934, and his family relocated to Memphis when he was a toddler. There, he won a talent contest at age 3. A scout noticed him, prompting his family’s move to Los Angeles.

Dunagan first appeared on screen in “Mother Carey’s Chickens” in 1938. The following year, he played Peter von Frankenstein in Universal’s “Son of Frankenstein.” Basil Rathbone portrayed his father, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, while Boris Karloff played the monster.

Dunagan said earlier that he and Karloff frequently played checkers on set while Karloff wore his full monster makeup. Dunagan’s other credits included “Tower of London” and “Vigil in the Night.”

A call from Walt Disney

Walt Disney personally called the family’s Westwood home about the Bambi part. Dunagan was six when chosen as the young deer’s voice and worked on the film for more than a year at Disney’s new Burbank studio lot.

He described the recording booth as relaxed and easy, with rudimentary technology.

“A coach, I think it was a nice lady at the studio, asked me how I would cry out loud if my own real mother was lost and in great danger. That made it easy,” Dunagan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011, recalling the scene where Bambi calls for his mother.

Dunagan recalled later that the original version showed Bambi’s mother dying on screen, but Disney altered the scene in the edit. The attack on Pearl Harbor delayed the film’s release. Afterward, Dunagan received substantial hate mail from people in the hunting community.

“Bambi” was his seventh and final film.

Three tours in Vietnam

Dunagan’s childhood became unsettled after his parents divorced, and he supported himself.

His Marine duties took him from work as a drill instructor and counterintelligence officer to command of a Force Recon unit. Variety reported that no drill sergeant in Marine Corps history had been younger than Dunagan when he took that role.

He served three tours in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. In 1977, he retired with the rank of major.

Dunagan went into finance after military service and later headed Pace Corp. Disney brought him back for a home entertainment release of “Bambi” after learning he was still alive, and he spent years speaking at conventions and festivals as its ambassador.

In 2015, Dunagan said children would care little if he worked in the White House, but treated him as an adopted grandfather after learning he had voiced Bambi. He described that response as an unmatchable joy and a real responsibility.

“We were proud to represent a Marine, beloved by fans around the world for his roles in ‘Bambi’ and ‘Son of Frankenstein,’” Jones and Lemus said.

Dunagan is survived by his wife, Dana, whom he married in 1992.

“He had an infectious smile, a warmth and charisma that never shook the child-like spirit of his acting youth. He rallied other veterans, loved his fans, and above all else, loved his wife,” his agents said.