More on Clarence “Ducky” Nash, and Other Local Disney Luminaries

In my last article, I profiled Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck in Disney cartoons for 50 years. He was a local guy, living in Sparr Heights throughout his career, and even owning Andersen’s Pet Store for a while.

One of my readers sent me his own memories of Clarence Nash from the 1960s and ’70s.

“I was his paper boy from ages 10 to 15. I had about 65 customers on my route and every one of my customers was decidedly different, some even not so pleasant. However, every time I went to collect the subscription payment from the Nashes, once a month, usually on Saturday, Mrs. Nash would invite me inside (and bring out fresh lemonade, fresh popcorn, cookies, hot chocolate and even a bowl of soup!) while Mr. Nash would greet me and ask about me and my family, school, etc. He seemed genuinely interested in this ‘hard working young man,’ as he called me.

“He would walk me over to this glass door wall cabinet that extended along one entire wall of his living room that was packed with all kinds of Disney memorabilia (50% Donald Duck) and ask me to select something, and he would pull out my selection and let me hold it and tell me the complete back story. That amount of original Disney memorabilia would be worth zillions today! Every item held a complete story and he would always embellish with a character voice and something funny. He always made me laugh and the Nashes were a sure bet for a nice little tip (because of that I always placed their Herald-Examiner paper on the porch).

“Visiting Mr. and Mrs. Nash was always a treat! They were consistently pleasant and fun and super informative.”

Another memory of Clarence comes from a letter to the Los Angeles Times on Clarence Nash’s death in 1985:

“When I was a young girl growing up in Glendale in the mid-’50s I used to spend weekends at a pet feed and supply store in Montrose. [That would have been Andersen’s Pet Shop.] A man was often there chatting with the owner of the store and he would delight in hiding behind large feed sacks and talking like a duck to entertain me and any other child in the store.

“The owner always used to tell me that he was Clarence Nash, the voice of the real Donald Duck. I never believed him but nevertheless always looked forward to my Saturday visits there and the affable, cheery man who did animal voices for us all.

“It wasn’t until last year when The Times did an article on Clarence Nash that I recognized him as the man at the feed store almost 30 years ago. It filled me with sadness to read of his passing recently. Children everywhere have lost a friend. I’m writing this after all these years to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Nash … and I believe.’”

But Clarence Nash wasn’t the only famous Disney employee who lived here in the Crescenta-Cañada area. Ben Sharpsteen lived on El Sereno, just off Briggs Avenue. Sharpsteen was not only the director of “Pinoccio” and “Dumbo” but had direction and production duties in “Fantasia,” “Cinderella” and “Alice In Wonderland,” as well as a string of short cartoons. He also directed and produced many of Disney’s late live-action nature films.

Over on the La Cañada Flintridge side of the valley we had Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of Disney’s “nine old men,” Walt’s original core group of animators. They were lifelong friends and lived next door to each other on Flintridge Avenue. Ollie’s house, designed by the famed Cliff May, had a scale model railroad running through the property, which reportedly was the inspiration for the train at Disneyland. That house and the train tracks were demolished in 2008, but Frank’s house at 758 Flintridge still exists in its original form and is listed on the National Register.

Our community has hosted Disney royalty. We have a legacy to be proud of!