Donn Gift as Fodderwing in The Yearling (1946)

Donn Ladd Smith Gift was born to Harvey Edwin Smith (1899-1996) and Frances Maxine (Gift) Wilson McDonald (1900-1977) and had two half siblings. A few years after the birth of his half sister Marilyn J. Smith (1931-2003) the family lived in Cincinnati Ohio in 1935, and by 1942 Donn was living in Los Angeles. As an actor, Donn typically portrayed a sickly looking crippled boy. He was stricken with polio as a child and he always walked with a cane and a brace on one of his legs. As a child, Donn only appeared in one film as adolescent (at age 17, in the movie "The Happy Years") and he has a total of 4 films to his credit. In addition to being an actor he had a job in the Chancery Office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was the founder of the Los Angeles program 'Los Angeles at Home' which he operated for over a decade that provided international visitors a Los Angeles experience where they would stay for a night or weekend with a host Los Angeles family. Donn created this program with his mother Maxine when his doctor ordered him to find a "sit-down" way of staying active due to health concerns. A 1973 article detailing this worthy program is below. There are references that say he was referenced as a child as "Donald Eugene Gift".