The original voice of “Bambi,” who broke moviegoers’ hearts when he called for “mother” in the beloved Disney movie, has died.
Donnie Dunagan was 92 years old.
Film historian Tom Weaver said Dunagan died on Nov. 4 of lung cancer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dunagan’s agents confirmed his death to Variety.
Dunagan had appeared in Universal horror films “Son of Frankenstein” and “Tower of London” before his mother received a phone call from none other than Walt Disney, offering him the opportunity to be the child who would “help his artists put a child’s expression on a deer,” Dunagan said in an interview in 2025.
Shortly after, he started working on the film. The job lasted for more than a year, he said. According to his IMDB profile, he was listed among the cast on the database’s website, but was uncredited in the film.
Speaking of the moment young Bambi calls for his mother after a gunshot rings out in the forest and he runs into a thicket, not realizing he is now alone.
“I remember this well,” Dunagan said in 2011, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “When I was told to say, with some stress, ‘Mother … Mother,’ I must have not had the tone of fear that the story needed. A coach, I think it was a nice lady at the studio, asked me how I would cry out loud if my own real mother was lost and in great danger. That made it easy.”
“Bambi” was his final film, according to IMDB.
Once he left acting, he took a path that some may have found unexpected. He enlisted in the Marine Corps. But he kept one thing close to the chest, not sharing his place in cinematic history with fellow Marines over his career.
“One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I didn’t have the courage to tell my close personal friends in the Marine Corps that I had been a part of the wonderful work of Mr. Disney,” he said. He said he didn’t share his early career because he didn’t want to be called “Major Bambi.”
In an interview for StoryCorps, he said he didn’t even tell his future wife, NPR reported in 2015.
Dunagan was born in Texas in 1934 and moved to Memphis, where he won a tap-dancing talent contest at age 3. He got $100 for the prize and a talent scout happened to be in the audience. He arranged for the future actor to travel with his family to Los Angeles. He made his on-screen debut in “Mother Carey’s Chickens” with Ruby Keeler and Walter Brennan.
After a short film career and his parents’ divorce, he lived in boarding homes, boxed, and played football. After high school, he joined the Marines in 1952 at the age of 18. Dunagan said he eventually became a drill instructor and served three tours in Vietnam. He retired as a major in 1977.
He was a counterintelligence officer and a Force Recon Commander. Dunagan was awarded a Bronze Star, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with V device, Army Commendation Medal and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
“I have some holes in my body that God didn’t put there. I got shot through my left knee. Got an award or two for saving lives over time,” he said, accoring to NPR. “But I think I could have been appointed as the aide-de camp in the White House, it wouldn’t make any difference — it’s Bambi that’s so dear to people.”
“But I love it now — when people realize, ‘This old jerk, he’s still alive and was Bambi.’ And I wouldn’t take anything for it, not a darn thing for it,” he said.
After his military career, he worked in finance in New York, Los Angeles and San Antonio. He eventually became the CEO of Pace Corp.
Agents Kris Jones and Nery Lemus of CelebWorx told Variety in a statement, “We were proud to represent a Marine, beloved by fans around the world for his roles in ‘Bambi’ and ‘Son of Frankenstein.’ While he asked us (in his words) ‘not to be sad due to the great life I lived,’ it would be amiss not to share the impact that Donnie had on people when they met him. His love for life was shown through his encouragement. He knew how to inspire and inspired us to be the best we could be. He had an infectious smile, a warmth and charisma that never shook the child-like spirit of his acting youth. He rallied other veterans, loved his fans, and above all else, loved his wife. We will always love you Donnie. You were the best of us.”
He leaves behind his wife, Dana, according to The Hollywood Reporter.