Clarence Nash
Encyclopedia
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American
voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck
for the Walt Disney Studios
. He was born in the rural community of Watonga
, Oklahoma
, and a street in that town is named in his honor.
, 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 horse
s 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.
Nash went through several of his voices, and Walt Disney happened by when Nash gave his impersonation of a family of duck
s. Disney declared Nash perfect for the role of a talking duck in their upcoming animated short, The Wise Little Hen
. The duck, of course, was Donald Duck, who Nash went on to voice for almost 50 years, in over 120 shorts and films. The last film to feature Nash's famous voice was Mickey's Christmas Carol
, released in 1983 although he continued to provide Donald's voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous material until his death.
Donald Duck went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world, and a great part of this was due to Nash's distinctive voice. It may well be one of the most recognizable character voices in history. The voice is distinctive both for its ducklike quality and the fact that it is often very difficult for anybody to understand, especially when Donald flew into a rage (which happened fairly often). To keep Donald's voice consistent throughout the world, Nash voiced Donald's voice in all foreign languages the Disney shorts were translated to (with the aid of the phonetic alphabet
), meaning Donald retained his same level of incoherency all across the globe. Mad
magazine, in its 1950s comic-strip style satire of Disney characters, featured a "translation" of "Darnold" Duck's "quacky, incomprehensible" voice.
(in her earliest appearances, when she was little more than a female version of Donald), as well as Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
. He provided the voice for PJ
in the cartoon 'Bellboy Donald' and for a bullfrog in Bambi
. Nash also provided the meows of Figaro
the kitten in a handful of shorts.
Several Tom and Jerry
cartoons directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
featured a third main character, a duckling named Little Quacker
. Red Coffee
provided Little Quacker's voice, though the voice is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Nash due to the similarity of Donald Duck's.
album in the 1970s. (Contrary to popular belief, however, Nash did not perform the duck voice for Rick Dees
' "Disco Duck
")
Nash's performance as Donald in Mickey's Christmas Carol
made Donald the only character in the film to be voiced by his original actor. Despite the fact that the Scrooge is voiced by his most famous voice actor Alan Young
, voice actor Bill Thompson
was in charge of the voice in the 1967 cartoon Scrooge McDuck and Money
.
In the late 1970s, Nash was known for often taking walks in the neighborhood around Fremont Elementary School in Glendale, California
, entertaining children with his Donald Duck voice.
Nash appeared as on on-screen actor in the 1941 movie The Reluctant Dragon
. He was also a contestant on a 1954 episode of What's My Line and was a guest on a 1976 episode of The Mike Douglas Show
. He was in a cameo in 1984 for a Donald Duck 50th Birthday television special.
at the age of 80 and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery
in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California
. The tombstone of the grave he now shares with his wife Margaret Nash (who died in 1993) depicts a carving of Donald and Daisy Duck holding hands.
, who was trained under Nash personally. Anselmo is also among the many voiceover artists to have also voiced Huey, Dewey and Louie over the years. Later characters whose voices owe considerable credit to Nash's duck voice have been voiced by actors such as Jimmy Weldon
, Frank Welker
, Luba Goy
and Red Coffee
. The most prominent of these is Weldon's Yakky Doodle
for Hanna-Barbera
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
for the Walt Disney Studios
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. He was born in the rural community of Watonga
Watonga, Oklahoma
Watonga is a city in Blaine County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,658 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Blaine County.-Early History:...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and a street in that town is named in his honor.
Beginning his career
Nash made a name for himself in the late 1920s as an impressionist for KHJKHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
, a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, 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 horse
Miniature horse
Miniature horses are found in many nations, particularly in Europe and the Americas. The designation of miniature horse is determined by the height of the animal, which, depending on the particular breed registry involved, is usually less than as measured at the last hairs of the mane, which are...
s 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
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
himself had been impressed by Nash's vocal skills. He was asked to make an informal audition.
Donald Duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s. Disney declared Nash perfect for the role of a talking duck in their upcoming animated short, The Wise Little Hen
The Wise Little Hen
The Wise Little Hen is a Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoon, based on the fairy tale The Little Red Hen. This cartoon marked the debut of Donald Duck. Donald and his friend Peter Pig try to avoid work by faking stomach aches until Mrs. Hen teaches them the value of labor. This cartoon was...
. The duck, of course, was Donald Duck, who Nash went on to voice for almost 50 years, in over 120 shorts and films. The last film to feature Nash's famous voice was Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company. It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson...
, released in 1983 although he continued to provide Donald's voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous material until his death.
Donald Duck went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world, and a great part of this was due to Nash's distinctive voice. It may well be one of the most recognizable character voices in history. The voice is distinctive both for its ducklike quality and the fact that it is often very difficult for anybody to understand, especially when Donald flew into a rage (which happened fairly often). To keep Donald's voice consistent throughout the world, Nash voiced Donald's voice in all foreign languages the Disney shorts were translated to (with the aid of the phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet can mean:* phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing.** International Phonetic Alphabet : the most widespread such system...
), meaning Donald retained his same level of incoherency all across the globe. Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine, in its 1950s comic-strip style satire of Disney characters, featured a "translation" of "Darnold" Duck's "quacky, incomprehensible" voice.
Other characters
In addition to Donald's voice, Nash also voiced Daisy DuckDaisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1940 by Walt Disney Productions as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. Like Donald, Daisy is an anthropomorphic white duck, but has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse, and shoes...
(in her earliest appearances, when she was little more than a female version of Donald), as well as Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
. He provided the voice for PJ
Pete Junior
Peter Pete, Junior is a fictional character created by The Walt Disney Company. As his full name suggests, he is the son of the company's oldest recurring character, Pete...
in the cartoon 'Bellboy Donald' and for a bullfrog in Bambi
Bambi
Bambi is a 1942 American animated film directed by David Hand , produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten...
. Nash also provided the meows of Figaro
Figaro (Disney)
Figaro is a fictional character who first appeared in Disney's Pinocchio.-History:He is probably best known as the pet cat of Mister Geppetto and Pinocchio too. Figaro has also starred independently in a number of Disney shorts, as the pet of Minnie Mouse, which was a common theme for Disney...
the kitten in a handful of shorts.
Several Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
cartoons directed by William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
featured a third main character, a duckling named Little Quacker
Little Quacker
Little Quacker is a 1950 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 47th Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. It is the first Tom and Jerry short to be released in the 1950s...
. Red Coffee
Red Coffee
Red Coffey was a voice actor and comedian best known for playing Quacker in the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM from 1950 to 1957.Coffey's first role in animation appears to have been in Little Quacker , and he subsequently was hired to play the little duck in another seven cartoons...
provided Little Quacker's voice, though the voice is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Nash due to the similarity of Donald Duck's.
Later years
When Disney shut down their shorts department in 1962, Nash continued to voice Donald in various projects over the next two decades, notably performing the song "Macho Duck" on the Mickey Mouse DiscoMickey Mouse Disco
Mickey Mouse Disco is an album released by Disneyland Records in 1979. A late entry in the genre of disco, Mickey Mouse Disco included disco-fied versions of Disney classics and Disney-fied versions of disco classics...
album in the 1970s. (Contrary to popular belief, however, Nash did not perform the duck voice for Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
' "Disco Duck
Disco Duck
"Disco Duck" is a satirical disco novelty song performed by Memphis disc jockey Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots. It became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in October 1976 . It also made the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at number 15...
")
Nash's performance as Donald in Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company. It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson...
made Donald the only character in the film to be voiced by his original actor. Despite the fact that the Scrooge is voiced by his most famous voice actor Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
, voice actor Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson may refer to:*Bill Thompson , 42nd New York City Comptroller and Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor*Bill Thompson , voice actor who played Droopy Dog and in a number of Disney films...
was in charge of the voice in the 1967 cartoon Scrooge McDuck and Money
Scrooge McDuck and Money
Scrooge McDuck and Money is a short animated cartoon made by Walt Disney Studios in 1967.-Synopsis:In this cartoon, Scrooge McDuck tries to teach his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie how to save money...
.
In the late 1970s, Nash was known for often taking walks in the neighborhood around Fremont Elementary School in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, entertaining children with his Donald Duck voice.
Nash appeared as on on-screen actor in the 1941 movie The Reluctant Dragon
The Reluctant Dragon (film)
The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American combined live action and animated film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 20, 1941...
. He was also a contestant on a 1954 episode of What's My Line and was a guest on a 1976 episode of The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
. He was in a cameo in 1984 for a Donald Duck 50th Birthday television special.
Death
Clarence Nash died in 1985 of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
at the age of 80 and was interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located at 11160 Stranwood Avenue in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, near the San Fernando Mission....
in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California
Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California
Mission Hills is a suburban community in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.It is located near the northern junction of the Golden State Freeway and the San Diego Freeway . The Ronald Reagan Freeway bisects the neighborhood. Mission Hills is the northern...
. The tombstone of the grave he now shares with his wife Margaret Nash (who died in 1993) depicts a carving of Donald and Daisy Duck holding hands.
Successor
After Nash's death, Donald's voice has been taken up by Disney animator Tony AnselmoTony Anselmo
Tony Anselmo is an Animator, cartoon voice actor and, since 1985, the voice of Donald Duck. Anselmo was trained by the original voice of Donald, Clarence Nash. Anselmo has also shared voice-over duties for Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie since 1999. He voiced the nephews on Mickey...
, who was trained under Nash personally. Anselmo is also among the many voiceover artists to have also voiced Huey, Dewey and Louie over the years. Later characters whose voices owe considerable credit to Nash's duck voice have been voiced by actors such as Jimmy Weldon
Jimmy Weldon
Jimmy Weldon is an American voice actor, ventriloquist, and former television host.He is best known as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yakky Doodle Duck and the host and ventriloquist in the locally-produced television series, "The Webster Webfoot Show".-History:Born James Weldon...
, Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
, Luba Goy
Luba Goy
-Life and career:Goy was born in Haltern, Germany to Ukrainian parents and raised in Ottawa. They emigrated to Canada in 1951. She is a graduate of the Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, and later graduated from Canada's National Theatre School, before acting in theatre productions in...
and Red Coffee
Red Coffee
Red Coffey was a voice actor and comedian best known for playing Quacker in the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM from 1950 to 1957.Coffey's first role in animation appears to have been in Little Quacker , and he subsequently was hired to play the little duck in another seven cartoons...
. The most prominent of these is Weldon's Yakky Doodle
Yakky Doodle
Yakky Doodle is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Yakky's name is an obvious takeoff of Yankee Doodle.-History:...
for Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
.