Clarence "Ducky" Nash died from leukemia on February 20, 1985, at the age of 80. Nash was the only voice of Donald Duck in more than 150 cartoons during the last 50 years.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Nash developed his repertoire of animal imitations as a youth. He performed in Chicago and on the Chautauqua vaudeville circuit before settling in California. In 1933, Nash auditioned for Walt Disney and made his debut six months later as the voice of Donald Duck in "The Wise Little Hen" (1934), the cantankerous canard's first appearance.
Also created by Nash were the voice characterizations for Donald's mischievous nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, his paramour Daisy and his Uncle Scrooge (in the 1967 short "Scrooge McDuck and Money"). Nash even lent his distinctive quacking to foreign language versions of the cartoons by reading from phonetically written scripts.
Besides the Duck family of characters, Nash had been called upon by the Disney Studio to provide many other vocal services. Nash performed as a bullfrog in Bambi, various dogs in 101 Dalmatians and, for a time, as Jimmy Cricket after the death of the character's originator, Cliff Edwards.
[img]In June 1984, Clarence Nash (center, kneeling, between ducks) added his signature to the cement honoring his fowl friend Donald at the Hollywood Chinese Theater.[/img]
After Nash officially retired from Disney in 1971, he spent the last 14 years of his life making personal appearances with a special model of Donald, performing at children's hospitals and schools. In the 1983 Oscar-nominated featurette, "Mickey's Christmas Carol," Nash supplied his vocal talents to Donald Duck one final time.
Last year, Nash celebrated Donald Duck's 50th birthday with a cross-country trip that culminated in a visit to the White House.
"I started out to be a doctor," Nash told the New York Daily News in 1980. "And here I am now, the biggest quack in the world." The world will miss Clarence Nash.
— Carr D'Angelo
