Donnie Dunagan grew up dirt-poor in Memphis, Tenn. He and his parents lived in a two-room flat above a hardware store. A few blocks from his house a man named Sam set up a crank victrola every day and danced to the music. People passing by would watch him for a while and drop a few pennies and nickels in front of him. In 1938, when Donnie was 4 years old, his mother took him to see the dancing man. Although Donnie was barefooted, he started mimicking the dancer. The man, who Donnie says was very courteous, asked Donnie's mother if her young son could join him. She agreed. The crowd loved it and Donnie spent the summer on that street corner with Sam. The pennies and nickels turned into dimes and sometimes even quarters.
...Memphis had a talent show in a historic downtown theater and Sam convinced Donnie to enter. The prize was o$100, a fortune back then. Donnie danced, wearing a top hat and cane and won. The next day, Donnie and his parents walked to Sam's house and gave him $50. Sam nearly went into shock.
An RKO talent scout happened to be in the talent show audience. He was in Memphis visiting his mother. Within a couple of days, Donnie and his family were on a train bound for Hollywood. Donnie had never been to a movie. The movie studio put the family up in a nice hotel and gave them a car to use at their disposal. After a screen test, RKO loaned Donnie to Universal. His first film was "Mother Carey's Chickens," a story about a World War I orphanage. That launched his movie career and for the next two years, he was the family breadwinner. He was in "The Son of Frankenstein" and became friends with Boris Karloff, who played Frankenstein. "He was a riot," said Donnie, at his home in San Angelo. "He taught me how to play checkers."
A Memphis story: Donnie Dunagan, voice of 'Bambi,' Marine drill instructor, scientist
Writing in the Midland Reporter-Telegram, Texas raconteur Tumblewood Smith tells the made-in-Memphis backstory of Donnie Dunagan, a former child actor who worked with Boris Karloff and provided the voice and face of Walt Disney's 1942 "Bambi" before his family fell apart and he ended up in an orphanage. After a career in the Marine Corps including service in Vietnam and a stint as the youngest drill instructor in Corps history, Dunagan earned a PhD. in physics from Oxford and worked with the U.S. Department of Defense. Now in his 70s, Dunagan, who kept his "Bambi" fame a secret during his Marine career, is making the press rounds as a lost child star for the 70th anniversary BluRay release of "Bambi." From Smith's profile:
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