Ever wonder why you never see the names of the voice actors in the Disney cartoon shorts of the past? Well, according to Clarence “Ducky” Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, Walt Disney felt it would destroy the illusion to publicize the people who did the voices. Today, however, it’s much more well known that Ducky was the first person to give voice to the irascible duck, and it was on this day in 1933 that he was officially hired as part of the Disney staff. Before coming to Disney, Ducky had an extensive repertoire of bird and animal imitations, but even after joining with Disney, and adding the world’s most famous duck to his credits, he never imagined what a longstanding association it would become. A true entertainer, Ducky had a Donald puppet that he’d bring to the studio, hospitals, orphanages, and other public places where he could entertain children and fans. As for his well-deserved recognition, he once explained, “When RKO began distributing the pictures, the salesmen convinced Walt that it would help to have publicity about the voices.” With his boss’ approval, he did receive publicity and even appeared on camera with Donald himself, and for the rest of his life, continued providing his voice whenever Donald was on the “bill.”
