Donnie Dunagan

Donald Roan Dunagan (born August 16, 1934) is an American actor and retired U.S. Marine Corps major. He is best known for portraying the young son of Baron Frankenstein in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and for providing the voice of young Bambi in Bambi (1942). In 2025, Dunagan returned to acting after an 80-year hiatus for the upcoming Sub Rosa.

Biography

Dunagan was born in San Antonio, Texas, but his family soon moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where they struggled with poverty. 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 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.

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.He became the youngest drill instructor in the history of the Corps and served three tours in Vietnam, where he was wounded several times, before finally retiring with the rank of major in 1977.

For Dunagan's service he received a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Dunagan kept his acting career a secret while serving in the Marines, but was eventually found out shortly before his retirement. 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.

In 2025, Dunagan returned to acting after an 80-year hiatus for the upcoming Sub Rosa.