Donnie Dunagan, Child Voice of Bambi, Dies at 92
Donnie Dunagan, the child actor who gave his voice to Bambi in Disney's 1942 animated classic, has died at 92. The Hollywood Reporter reported on 9 November 2026 that he died of lung cancer.
Born Donald Roan Dunagan in San Antonio, Texas, on 16 August 1934, he started acting as a small boy. He made his big-screen debut in Mother Carey's Chickens (1938). The following year he played Peter von Frankenstein in Son of Frankenstein (1939), a horror film with a dark, grand look that still draws viewers today.
Bambi was his seventh and last film. He spent more than a year on the project, recording and returning to the studio as the animated deer's story took shape. For many people, that gentle voice is the first thing they remember about the film.
He then chose a very different path. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for 25 years, according to a 2018 Air Force base profile. The same profile noted that he became the Marine Corps' youngest drill instructor. He fought in Vietnam, and he retired as a major, NPR reported in 2015. The Hollywood Reporter says he was awarded three Purple Hearts, the military decoration given to members of the armed forces who are wounded or killed in action.
During those years, he kept his childhood role quiet. Task & Purpose reported in 2017 that fellow service members often did not know that the young voice of Bambi was the same man serving beside them.
Dunagan's family and the wider film community have not, in the reporting so far, announced funeral or memorial plans. His films, and the deer he voiced, remain part of Disney's long catalogue.
