Donnie Dunagan

Dunagan was born in San Antonio, Texas, but his family soon moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where they struggled with poverty.^[1] There, when he was at the age of three-and-a-half, he won a talent contest prize of $100. Spotted by a studio talent scout, the family moved to Hollywood, where Dunagan appeared in a series of films^[2] and soon became his family's main breadwinner. After he provided the voice for the titular character in Walt Disney's Bambi (1942), he retired from voice acting.^[3]

By the age of 13, Dunagan lived in a boarding house and worked as a lathe operator. In 1952, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.^[4] He became the youngest drill instructor in the history of the Corps^{[5] [dubious – discuss][additional citation(s) needed]} and served three tours in Vietnam, where he was wounded several times, before finally retiring with the rank of major in 1977.^[5]

For Dunagan's service he received a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.^[6] Dunagan kept his acting career a secret while serving in the Marines, but was eventually found out shortly before his retirement.^[7] In 2004, he was located and exhaustively interviewed by horror film historian Tom Weaver in a special "Donnie Dunagan issue" of Video Watchdog magazine.

Dunagan is retired and (as of 2018) resides in San Angelo, Texas, with his wife, Dana.^[8]

• Mother Carey's Chickens (1938) as Peter Carey (film debut)
• Son of Frankenstein (1939) as Peter von Frankenstein
• The Forgotten Woman (1939) as Terry Kennedy Jr.
• Tower of London (1939) as Baby Prince
• Vigil in the Night (1940) as Tommy (uncredited)
• Meet the Chump (1941) as Little Boy (uncredited)
• Bambi (1942) as Young Bambi (voice, final film role)