Children's favorite Donald Duck turns 60

Children's favorite Donald Duck turns 60

JAKARTA (JP): The most famous duck in the world turns 60
today!

Donald Fauntleroy Duck, the water fowl with the feisty
personality, was "born" on June 9, 1934, with an appearance in
the Disney short The Wise Little Hen.

Here in Indonesia, he is loved by both children and parents
alike, who call him Donal Bebek.

His debut was brief: the sailor-suited duck said eight words
("Who? Me? Oh no, I've got a bellyache") and danced a clever jig.

But Donald's success story actually began with an informal
audition at the Disney studios in the early 1930s by Los Angeles
radio personality Clarence Nash. He imitated a precociously shy
child reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb, then went on to
impersonate a family of ducks. When Walt Disney heard the latter
he exclaimed, "That's our talking duck!"

For the next 50 years, Clarence "Ducky" Nash would perform
Donald's distinctive voice.

An American original, Donald Duck has movie fans in 76
countries, television audiences in 29 countries, a daily comic
strip in approximately 100 newspapers outside the United States
and a comic book that is published in 47 countries.

Following The Wise Little Hen, Donald's next appearance was in
Orphan's Benefit (1934). With more lines in this second role, his
personality began to take the feisty direction that would become
familiar to audiences worldwide.

This was also Donald's first appearance in a Mickey Mouse
cartoon. Goofy was also seen in this short, making it the first
film in which Mickey, Donald and Goofy appeared together. They
would later star as a comic trio in a beloved series of shorts
including Clock Cleaners (1937), Lonesome Ghosts (1937), Boat
Builders (1938) and Mickey's Trailer (1938).

By 1937, Donald had become a star as he appeared in Don
Donald, the gallant bird who woos an exotic senorita named Donna.
Donna later evolved into Daisy Duck.

In the 1938 cartoon Donald's Nephews, his sister, Dumbella,
sends three active nephews (Huey, Dewey and Louie) for him to
look after. Dumbella still has not come back for them.

Donald Duck's rise to fame led to roles in more than 150 short
subjects and appearances in several feature films: The Reluctant
Dragon (1941), Saludos Amigos (1943), The Three Caballeros (1945)
as well as featurettes Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), The
Prince and the Pauper (1990) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

Donald's wartime achievements include Der Fuehrer's Face,
released on New Year's Day 1943, which won the Oscar for Best
Cartoon Short Subject 1942-43; and his appearance on over 400
different military insignia, created by artists at the Disney
Studio.

Donald's last appearance in a Mickey Mouse cartoon was
Symphony Hour (1942).

Donald made numerous television appearances, including a daily
skirmish with a ceremonial gong on the opening of the original
"Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-59). His television debut was made on
Oct. 27, 1954 during the fourth installment of the Disneyland
television series. His segment was called The Donald Duck Story.

Donald's return to series television was announced recently by
Walt Disney Television Animation. Duck Daze will premiere as part
of the Disney Afternoon in the Fall of 1995.

Books

Donald's first literary appearance was a passing mention in
the book The Adventures of Mickey Mouse, where he is referred to
as a friend of Mickey's.

The first Donald Duck book was published in 1934, a retelling
of the Silly Symphony The Wise Little Hen. The following year he
starred in his own book and since then there have been numerous
Donald Duck books.

In 1979 a comprehensive, fully-illustrated 256-page
retrospective of the feisty mallard's career, entitled Donald
Duck, was written by Marcia Blitz and published by Harmony Books.

In 1935, Donald first appeared in a part of the Silly Symphony
comic strip series. Within two years, he had become the star of
his own Sunday strip.

On Feb. 7, 1938, Donald was made a star of his own daily comic
strip syndicated by King Features.

The year 1940 marked the premiere of Donald Duck in comic
books. Before long, he and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie,
were joined by one of the most beloved characters in comic book
history, Uncle Scrooge. Unlike most characters, Scrooge was
created for the comic books, and only debuted onscreen in Scrooge
McDuck and Money in 1970.

Theme parks

When Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955, Donald
Duck was on hand to greet the guest, and he has continued acting
as official host, not only there, but at Walt Disney World, Tokyo
Disneyland, and most recently, at Euro Disneyland.

Donald joined Mickey Minnie, Goofy and Pluto and the rest of
the cartoon gang in greeting guests as Mickey's Toontown opened
to Disneyland guests in 1992. Guests can visit Donald's boat, the
Miss Daisy, which is permanently docked in Toon Lake.

Regarding his experiences, Donald says "I do my best to do
right, but practically everything goes wrong. Sometimes, the
world is just a hat with a brick underneath. But when all is said
and done, I think I'm just a little guy with a lot of pride."

Donald Duck's "footprints" are preserved at Mann's Chinese
Theater in Hollywood. (lem)