Dunagan said he’d become accustomed to being around Hollywood bigwigs from his early run in films, but while most execs ruled by fear and kept a distance from their employees, “Mr. Behn remembers Disney taking him to the zoo he’d set up on the Disney lot so the animators could study the movements of young animals. Their interactions with the legendary studio head were limited but impressionable. (Watch above for exclusive archival footage of the Disney animators approach to drawing realistic animals for Bambi.)īehn and Dunagan at a recent ‘Bambi’ event at Disney Studios (Disney) Eventually, Walt Disney asked Dunagan’s mother if he’d also lend his voice to the lead character of the studio’s fifth animated feature, following Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. “So the animators at Disney would have me sit on a stool, look left, look right, look afraid, and I did, and they would draw,” he said. He was initially hired as the model for Disney animators to capture the eponymous fawn’s facial expressions. The curly-haired blond worked at a Shirley Temple-esque pace, making seven films (including Son of Frankenstein and Tower of London) between 19. And both ultimately lead successful (if “normal”) lives as in the private business sector.Īt 3, Dunagan won a local talent show in Memphis that led his family to Hollywood. Both later enlisted to serve their country. Both were showbiz tykes who left Tinseltown shortly after the release of Bambi. It’s more than their Disney connection that binds Dunagan and Behn. I certainly never talked about it in the Marine Corps.” military for 25 years: “We didn’t talk about it. “When I got married for the second time, it was about a year so after that my wife finally found out.”Įxplained Dunagan, a decorated veteran who served in the U.S. “I never really spoke about it to others,” Behn revealed to Yahoo Movies at a press event for the film’s 75th anniversary and release of the new Walt Disney Signature Collection DVD/Blu-ray. They didn’t even share this intel with some of the people closest to them. Neither did Peter Behn, also 82, who was also a 4-year-old whippersnapper when he dispensed those oft-quoted words to the wise as the young rabbit Thumper. But throughout most of his lifetime, Donnie Dunagan, now 82, rarely mentioned his credential as the voice of the young deer in Disney’s 1942 animated classic. Well, I played him when I was 4.” Maybe throw in a “ Biiiiiird“ for a good measure. “Ever seen Bambi? Of course you’ve seen Bambi. You’d think it’d be a great party conversation starter. The voices of Bambi (Donnie Dunagan, left) and Thumper (Peter Behn, right) in ‘Bambi’ (Disney/ Everett)

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