Clarence Nash

Clarence Charles Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor and impressionist best known for creating the iconic voice of Donald Duck, a role he inhabited for more than five decades. Born in the rural community of Watonga in the Oklahoma Territory, Nash first entertained local audiences by mimicking a nervous baby goat, a skill that later evolved into the distinctive buccal speech technique used for Donald’s unmistakable quack. He began his professional career in the late 1920s as an impressionist for Los Angeles radio station KHJ’s program “The Merrymakers,” where his quirky vocalizations earned him the nickname “Whistling Clarence, the Adohr Bird Man.” A chance encounter with a Disney studio receptionist in 1932 led Walt Disney to hear Nash’s audition, and the studio immediately recognized his talent, appointing him the voice of the plucky duck in the 1934 short The Wise Little Hen. Over the next 51 years Nash provided Donald’s voice in more than 120 shorts and films, as well as in countless commercials, television specials, and promotional tours, even recording foreign‑language versions with the aid of a phonetic guide to preserve the character’s unique sound worldwide. Beyond Donald, Nash supplied voices for Huey, Dewey and Louie, Daisy Duck, and even performed brief moments as Mickey Mouse, Figaro the kitten, and assorted animal sounds in classics such as Pinocchio, Bambi, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. During World War II he toured USO bond rallies with a ventriloquist duck puppet, boosting troop morale and showcasing his versatile performance style. Although Disney initially hesitated to let a human voice public‑appear as Donald, Nash’s popularity soon forced the studio to embrace his live appearances, and he remained a beloved ambassador for the character until his final studio work on the 1983 feature Mickey’s Christmas Carol. In his later years Nash devoted time to charity, visiting hospitals and children’s homes, and he continued to record in short sessions despite the strain his famed vocal technique placed on his throat. He passed away from leukemia at the age of 80 in Burbank, California, and was interred beside his wife Margaret, who he had married in 1930 and with whom he raised two daughters, Kay and Peggy. Posthumously, Nash was honored as a Disney Legend in 1993 and remembered as the man who gave Donald Duck his unforgettable, irreplaceable voice.

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