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 ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

'' as young Thumper and adult

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

, and his performance in the 1940 film of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's ''Our Town'', in which he plays the older of the two newsboy siblings—the other portrayed by his younger brother

Dix Davis Peter Dixon Davis (born Dixon Davis; September 12, 1926 – January 6, 2024) was an American child actor in radio and film, perhaps best known as Randolph, the title character's wise-cracking kid brother on the popular 1940s teen sitcom, '' A Dat ...

Early life and career

A native of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

,"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 Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

encountered the pair hawking papers in front of The Brown Derby on

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard ( wɪɫ.ʃɚ is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue (Lo ...

. Advised to report the next morning to

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, the brothers did so, and shortly thereafter made their uncredited screen debut in the 1934

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

'' 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, as seen in this excerpt from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'':

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), the trade publication ''

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

'' reported that Davis had resigned from NBC Hollywood and joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. 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 ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

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) *''

Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts ''Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Ray Taylor and starring singing cowboy Tex Ritter and Troop 13 Los Angeles District Boy Scouts of America. The film was shot in Old Kernville, California and premier ...

'' (1937) - Tommy Kent (uncredited)Tim Davis filmography

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

. *''

Our Gang Follies of 1938 ''Our Gang Follies of 1938'' (later reissued as simply ''Follies of 1938'') is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') series. Directed by Gordon Douglas as a sequel t ...

'' (1937) - Boy Sitting at Table behind Georgia LaRue and Philip McMahon in 'Club Spanky' scene (uncredited) *''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1938) - Schoolboy (uncredited) *'' The Little Ranger'' (1938) - Member of Butch's gang (uncredited) *'' Aladdin's Lantern'' (1938) - Boy Sitting Behind Gary (uncredited) *''

Gambling Ship A gambling ship is the term for a ship stationed offshore in or transiting to international waters to evade local anti-gambling laws that is dedicated to games of chance. This applies both to ships which are permanently moored somewhere outside ...

'' (1938) – Nick *''Feathered Pests'' (1939) - Kid *'' 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 ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'' (1940) - Joe Crowell *'' Nice Girl?'' (1940) - Newsboy (uncredited) *''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

'' (1941) - Copy boy (uncredited)White, Rob; Buscombe, Edward (2003).
British Film Institute Film Classics, Volume 1
'. London: British Film Institute. p. 479. ./ *''

'' (1942) - Adolescent Thumper and Adult Flower (voice)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Tim 1924 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male voice actors Male actors from Los Angeles United States Navy personnel of World War II

Early life and career

Personal life and death

Partial filmography

References

Further reading

External links