Clarence Nash
Nash made a name for himself in the late 1920s as an impressionist for KHJ, 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 horses 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 ducks. 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 more than 50 years, in over 120 shorts and films.
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 consistant throughout the world, Nash voiced Donald's voice in all foreign languages the Disney shorts were translated to, meaning Donald retained his same level of incoherency all across the globe.
In addition to Donald's voice, Nash also voiced Daisy Duck (in her earliest appearances, when she was little more than a female version of Donald, temper and all), as well as Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. Nash also provided the meows of Figaro the kitten in a handful of shorts.
When Disney shut down their shorts department in 1965, Nash continued to voice Donald in various projects over the next two decades, notably performing a duet with Rick Dees for the song "Disco Duck" in the 1970s. Nash's final performance as Donald was in Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983, making Donald the only character in the film to be voiced by his original actor.
Clarence Nash died in 1985 of leukemia. The tombstone of the grave he now shares with his wife Margaret (who died in 1993) depicts a carving of Donald and Daisy Duck holding hands.
After Nash's passing, Donald's voice has been taken up by Disney animator Tony Anselmo, who was trained under Nash personally. Later characters whose voices owe considerable credit to Nash's duck voice have been voiced by actors such as Jimmy Weldon, Frank Welker and Luba Goy. The most prominent of these is Weldon's Yakky Doodle for Hanna-Barbera.
