Tim Davis (born Duane Timston Davis; March 9, 1924 – October 30, 1982) was an American child actor, known for his voice work in the 1942 Disney animated feature film, Bambi as young Thumper and adult Flower, and his performance in the 1940 film of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, in which he plays the older of the two newsboy siblings—the other portrayed by his younger brother Dix Davis.
Early life and career A native of Los Angeles, California,"California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGL4-SS5M : Sun Oct 15 14:58:16 UTC 2023), Entry for Dixon Davis and Fredrick Duane Davis, 12 Sep 1926. Davis was the older of two sons born to Fredrick Duane Davis and Marion Naomi Stimson."Deaths: Davis, Mary N.". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 11. Retrieved February 13, 2024."United States Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC85-CLG : Wed Oct 04 04:29:06 UTC 2023), Entry for Fred D Davis and Naomi S Davis, 1930. According to an article published in 1942 by the Harrisburg Telegraph, the brothers' transformation from newsboys to thespians occurred in 1934 when a party of passersby led by songwriter Gus Kahn encountered the pair hawking papers in front of The Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard. Advised to report the next morning to United Artists, the brothers did so, and shortly thereafter made their uncredited screen debut in the 1934 Eddie Cantor musical comedy Kid Millions."Young Crestfallen Manor Bellhop Is Studio Veteran". Harrisburg Telegraph. March 14, 1942. p. 27.
A rare opportunity to transcend the mostly uncredited and generally insubstantial film work that followed that debut came Davis's way in 1939 with the West Coast premiere of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. In a production boasting "infallibly accurate [...] characterizations" from a cast "too numerous to mention,""'Our Town' Applauded at Biltmore". Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News. April 11, 1939. p. 12. February 18, 2024. several reviewers nonetheless made a point of citing Davis's work,Mines, Harry (April 11, 1939). "Thornton Wilder Discusses Life in 'Our Town'". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 20. Retrieved February 16, 2024. as seen in this excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter: The presentation on a bare stage is by now an old story, but the spell woven over the audience by Frank Craven as narrator, and the delineations by James Spottswood, Tim Davis, Martha Scott, Thomas Coley, Tom Fadden, Anne Shoemaker, Helen Carew and all the others of the large cast made it possible to build without losing the audience.
Personal life and death On December 14, 1942, roughly 4 months after the release of Bambi (and a year after U.S.'s entry into World War II), the trade publication Broadcasting reported that Davis had resigned from NBC Hollywood and joined the United States Navy. Davis later married Barbara Louise Ressel on September 27, 1953."California, County Marriages, 1850-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K86H-ZN9 : Thu Oct 19 16:53:48 UTC 2023), Entry for Duane Stimson Davis and Barbara Louise Ressel, 27 Sep 1953. Davis died at age 58 in San Luis Obispo on October 30, 1982.
Partial filmography
Kid Millions (1934) - Little Boy in Ice Cream Number (uncredited) Riders of the Dawn (1937) - Dad Moran's son (uncredited)McClure, Arthur F.; Jones, Ken D. (1972). Heroes, Heavies and Sagebrush: A Pictorial History of the "B" Western Players. A. S. Barnes. p. 298. . Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts (1937) - Tommy Kent (uncredited)Tim Davis filmography. American Film Institute. Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937) - Boy Sitting at Table behind Georgia LaRue and Philip McMahon in 'Club Spanky' scene (uncredited)"Our Gang Follies Of 1938, film no. 162; Club Spanky extras". TheLuckyCorner.com. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - Schoolboy (uncredited) The Little Ranger (1938) - Member of Butch's gang (uncredited)"The Little Ranger, film no. 170; the kids". TheLuckyCorner.com. Aladdin's Lantern (1938) - Boy Sitting Behind Gary (uncredited)"The Little Ranger, film no. 172; audience members". TheLuckyCorner.com. Gambling Ship (1938) – NickPitts, Michael R. (2004). Famous Movie Detectives III. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 19. . Feathered Pests (1939) - KidMaltin, Leonard (1972). Selected Short Subjects From Spanky to the Three Stooges. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 111. . Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939) – Jackie The Marshal of Mesa City (1939) – Unknown role (uncredited) Captain Spanky's Show Boat (1940) - Blonde Kid Behind Butch (uncredited) Our Town (1940) - Joe Crowell"Casts of Current Pictures". Photoplay. July 1940. p. 80. Nice Girl? (1940) - Newsboy (uncredited)Lowe, Barry (2024). Deanna Durbin in Hollywood: Her Life, Films and Music. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 190. . Citizen Kane (1941) - Copy boy (uncredited)White, Rob; Buscombe, Edward (2003). British Film Institute Film Classics, Volume 1. London: British Film Institute. p. 479. ./ Bambi (1942) - Adolescent Thumper and Adult Flower (voice)
References
Further reading Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. . pp. 55–56.
External links