The Story of Clarence Nash.
When people think of Disney, they usually think of Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, and Minnie Mouse. However, that was not the case for the man that will be talked about today; his name is Clarence Nash. He is perhaps one of the most famous voice actors to ever be employed by Walt Disney. However, his life was a lot more complex than what most people think it to be. Thankfully, his legacy still lives on in every native to Watonga, Oklahoma. It is a shame he is no longer alive as he would have had some of the greatest stories to tell everyone. His life is full of twists and turns that will soon come to life today.
This story starts on December 7, 1904 in Watonga, Oklahoma. On this day, Clarence Charles Nash was born to Everett and Katherine Nash. He was one of six children that were in the Nash family. He was native to Watonga, but he also grew up in Missouri, and Southern California. As a child, he would imitate birds, insects, and barnyard animals; this earned him the nickname, "Ducky". His career actually did not start with Walt Disney.
His career began in the 1920's when he moved into the entertainment industry in Illinois and moved back to California after he married to Margaret Seamans in 1930. He made his name as an impressionist for KHJ, a Los Angeles Radio Station, on their show, The Merrymakers. He was then later employed by the Adohr Milk Company. He rode the streets with a team of miniature horses and gave treats to children. During this time, he was given the nickname, " Whistling Clarence, the Adohr BirdMan". In 1932, he happened to pass by Disney Studios with his team of horses. He left a copy of his Adohr publicity sheet with the receptionist. Quite surprisingly, his name was already recognized from an appearance of The Merrymakers a few days earlier. Walt Disney himself was impressed by Nash's vocal skills. Because of this, Nash was asked to make an informal audition, and this is where things get really started.
In 1933, he was hired to craft the voice of a newly created cartoon character, Donald Duck, in his first movie, The Wise Little Hen (1934). From 1934 to 1972, he voiced every single member of the Duck Family. The major Duck family members he voiced were Donald Duck, his nephews, Huey, Louie, and Dewey, as well as Daisy Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. On some occasions, he voiced Mickey Mouse when Walt Disney was out of the country. He also recorded (uncredited) animal sounds heard in Silly Symphonies and in movies that included Bambi (1942), The Three Caballeros (1944), Song of the South (1946), and 101 Dalmatians (1961).
In 1962, Disney shut the shorts department down, but Nash continued to voice Donald for many projects over the next two decades, even teaching his soon to be successor, Tony Anselmo. He would sadly retire in 1971. In the late 1970's, he would sometimes take walks around the Fremont Elementary School in Glendale, California; he would entertain children with his Donald Duck voice. He started limiting how much he did his voice because his harsh voice was starting to strain his vocal cords. Because of this strain, he would have to take breaks between voice acting to drink plenty of water. He would sadly retire in 1971.
Nash's final performance was in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), which made Donald the only character in the film to be voiced by his original actor. With 50 years having elapsed since the first appearance of Donald Duck in The Wise Little Hen, he and Mel Blanc both retained the distinction of performing the same characters longer than any other voice actor in animation history up to that time. They have since been surpassed by June Foray of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Sadly, he wouldn't get to perform anymore.
On January 4, 1985, he had to visit Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, but was released on the 10th. He would return to Saint Joseph Medical Center again a month later. Clarence Charles Nash died on February 20, 1985 from leukemia at the age of 80. He was then 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.
After he passed away, Mr. Anselmo, who trained with Nash personally, was given the job of voicing Donald Duck after Nash passed. Anselmo is also among the many voiceover artists to have 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 Coffey. The most prominent of these is Weldon's Yakky Doodle for Hanna-Barbera. In his honor, the town of Watonga has named a street that passes through the town in his honor. This street is Clarence Nash Boulevard, and is on modern day State Highway 8. So even though he is gone from the world everyone lives in, his legacy still lives on in everyone's hearts from all the way in California to the little rural town of Watonga.