Webfoot Waddle was a male duck selected by Walt Disney Productions to play Charley, the supposedly female, gold-egg-laying duck in the 1971 comedy The Million Dollar Duck. Disney held auditions for the role, and Webfoot emerged as the principal performer.
His path to movie stardom was unusually deliberate. Disney producer Bill Anderson needed a duck that could perform a fairly complicated series of behaviors: become friendly with a dog, act as a child’s pet, participate in chase sequences, and generally remain controllable during filming. Animal trainer Henry “Hank” Cowl brought in seven ducks and worked with them for roughly two months before the final choice was made. According to Anderson, Webfoot distinguished himself during the auditions by his confidence and ability to work around the film’s golden retriever. The dog was trained to pick the duck up in its mouth and carry him without harming him. One of the funniest details is that Webfoot was actually male, despite playing a duck whose entire plot function is laying eggs.
