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The second part in series
takes a look back at some of the artists responsible
for
dubbing
James Bond’s most iconic villains...
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Iconic Voices of Bond (2)
29th March 2007
 Previously
MI6 looked back at the voice artists behind some of the 1960’s
most iconic Bond girls.
Arch Enemy
For as long as Bond has been chasing the bad guys, the
name of Blofeld has
been synonymous with iconic villains. Many fans are
aware that in “From
Russia With Love” and “Thunderball”,
Anthony Dawson portrayed the SPECTRE mastermind even
though his face and
identity remained
a mystery onscreen, but his voice was provided
by
Hungarian
actor Eric Pohlmann.
Pohlmann was born in Vienna on 18th July
1913 when the great city was part of Hungary. Pohlmann
studied
at the Max Reinhardt School and took on minor roles in
local theatre. As well as a brief encounter with the theatre,
Pohlmann entertained in bars in and around Vienna.The Hungarian
actor began his on screen
career in 1940 when he starred in the Swedish made film
“Portrait of Life”.
In a career that spanned 40 years, Pohlmann
participated in over 100 productions – many of which
German and foreign films, but more globally recognised
shows included “The Saint”, starring future
Bond, Roger Moore. On
July the 25th 1979, Eric Pohlmann was stricken by a heart
attack and passed away at the age of 66. |
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Above: Voice artist, Eric Pohlmann |
From The Bahamas
To Japan
Possibly the most diverse of the voice artists that dubbed characters
in the James Bond series is Robert Rietty. Born in 1923 in
London, Rietty bonded with 007 on three occasions in the ‘60s.
In 1965 Rietty provided the voice for Adolfo Celi’s
villainous Emilio
Largo in “Thunderball”.
Above : Adolfo Celi (pictured)
provided the on screen presence while Rietty provided the
voice for
Largo |
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Two years later, Rietty returned to
the Bond scene for "You
Only Live Twice", this time to dub the Japanese
actor Tetsuro Tamba who is commonly recognised as 007’s
Far East ally, Tiger Tanaka.
Robert Rietty’s career
spanned over 90 productions beginning in 1933 with the
Monty
Banks comedy “Heads We Go”. Like many of these
voice artists, Rietty’s career is arguably more
successful on screen, appearing in cult classics
such as: “The
Avengers”, “Danger Man” and “Man
in a Suitcase”. After dubbing for the Bond productions,
Rietty’s
career blossomed and he appeared in the 1969 production
of “The
Italian Job” alongside Michael Caine. Rietty would have two other run-ins with Bond. He voice
dubbed the Baccarat croupier in George Lazenby’s
one and only outing as
007 in “On
Her Majesty's Secret Service” in 1969, and
then in the 'unofficial' Sean
Connery 1983 outing “Never
Say Never Again”.
Most recently Robert Rietty appeared in the horror/thriller
“Hannibal” as Sogliato.
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Family Relations
David de Keyser was born in 1927 in London and has a career
that spans over 70 productions.
It
was in 1969 that de Keyser
crossed paths with Bond when he voiced the mob-leader-come-father-in-law Marc
Ange Draco – commonly
recognised as Gabriele Ferzetti in "On Her Majesty's Secret
Service" While de Keyser proved to have a prominent
career as a voice artist, he was not without his on-screen
presence.
Fans may have caught David on screen in
cult classics such as “The Professionals”, “Bergerac”
or “Poirot”. More recently de Keyser popped
up in various British dramas, including: “Holby
City”,
“New Tricks”, “The Last Detective”
and “Silent Witness”.
Right: Voice artist
David de Keyser
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Do You Expect Me To Talk?
A keen fan wrote to MI6 with slice of interesting trivia – on the trailer
included with the US DVD release of “Goldfinger”,
you can witness Gert Frobe delivering the infamous line “Choose your next
witticism carefully Mr. Bond, it may be your last.” Frobe's performance
was later re-dubbed by Michael Collins.
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