Arnold Marquis

Arnold Marquis (6 April 1921 – 24 November 1990) was a German actor and voice talent. He was one of the best known and most frequently used dubbing voices of Germany, known especially as the voice of "tough guys" like John Wayne, Charles Bronson or Lee Marvin.

Early life

Arnold Marquis was born in Dortmund on 6 April 1921[1] as the son of a banker.[2] He was brought in contact with theatre by the head of the Bochum Schauspielhaus (theatre) Saladin Schmitt who also gave him his first acting job in 1939.[2] Shortly thereafter Marquis was drafted into the Wehrmacht and wounded several times during World War II. Returning to Germany, he moved to Berlin. After some acting jobs, he was contacted by a representative of the Rank Organisation who was looking for a dubbing voice for Stewart Granger. His sonorous voice impressed the British film executives and in 1946 he received his first voice-acting assignment for Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945).[2]

Career

Although he appeared in a number of film and TV productions over the decades, beginning in 1948 and ending in 1989 (Otto – Der Außerfriesische),[1] he never succeeded in establishing a "normal" acting career for himself. He was, however, the best-paid German voice actor, receiving daily wages of around DM 1,000.[2] Among those actors he dubbed for the German version were Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Yves Montand, Richard Widmark, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, George C. Scott, Lino Ventura, Trevor Howard, Bud Spencer, Jack Klugman, and Lee Marvin.[2][3] To German viewers, his distinctive gravelly voice became closely associated with many of these international film stars. This effect was most pronounced in the case of John Wayne, who reportedly personally selected Marquis as his voice-actor.[2] After Wayne's death in 1979, Marquis published a music single "John Wayne, der Held" (also known as "Ich war die Stimme von John Wayne").

Marquis has been described as the "King of Dubbing Artists" (König der Synchronsprecher), and he was one of the most-used voice-artists ever, having accumulated over a thousand credits to his name.[2] He did not like the label Synchronsprecher (speaker), preferring Synchron-Schauspieler (actor) instead.[2]

He also appeared on stage at Berlin Boulevard theatres and his voice appeared in cigarette commercials for a brand that was using a Western theme for its advertising.[3] According to his obituary in Der Spiegel: "As he grew older, he became ever more like his alter ego, John Wayne."[3]

Personal

He was married three times and had a daughter called Gwendolyn.[4] Marquis had problems with alcoholism and had to go through rehab.[2] After smoking 80 cigarettes a day for decades, he died of lung cancer on 24 November 1990, in Berlin, Germany.[2]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1948Und wieder 48Hinzdorf
1949Quartet of FiveToni Zieseler
1953Brüderchen und SchwesterchenKönig
1959The Black ChapelGraf Emanuele RossiVoice, Uncredited
1963Apache GoldBill JonesVoice, Uncredited
1964The Secret of Dr. MabuseAdm. QuencyVoice, Uncredited
1964Among VulturesMartin Bauman Sr.Voice, Uncredited
1965The Oil PrinceCampbellVoice, Uncredited
1965The Desperado TrailRollinsVoice, Uncredited
1966Kommissar X – Drei gelbe KatzenPhilip DawsonVoice, Uncredited
1966The Strangler of the TowerInspektor HarveyVoice, Uncredited
1966Kommissar X – In den Klauen des goldenen DrachenLi Hu WangVoice, Uncredited
1966Winnetou and the CrossbreedMac HallerVoice, Uncredited
1968Radhapura - Endstation der VerdammtenAlfredoGerman version, Voice, Uncredited
1968Eve
1969Kommissar X – Drei goldene SchlangenArmand LandruVoice, Uncredited
1970DeadlockSunshineVoice, Uncredited
1971Der lüsterne TürkeSultan
1971X312 - Flug zur HölleBill - Steward / PacoVoice, Uncredited
1972The Stuff That Dreams Are Made OfTaxifahrer Fedor Georgi Iwanow
1972Dr. M schlägt zuMelouVoice, Uncredited
1973Once Upon a TimeHerr PulleVoice
1976Everyone Dies AloneVorarbeiter Dolenz
1976Mr. Rossi Looks for HappinessBossGerman version, Voice, Uncredited
1976Verlorenes Leben
1976AlbinoJohannesVoice, Uncredited
1976Jack the RipperBlind ManVoice, Uncredited
1979BreakthroughCol. RogersGerman version, Voice, Uncredited
1982Kamikaze 1989Polizeipräsident
1982Dance of the CookoosGodGerman version, Voice, Uncredited
1983Das Wagnis des Arnold JanssenJoh. Augustinus Paredis - Bischof von Roermond
1984Code Name: Wild GeeseFletcherGerman version, Voice, Uncredited
1988Stowaways on the ArkNoahVoice
1989Otto - Der AußerfriesischeBaron von Platt
gollark: That looks quite good.
gollark: Horribly late to this party, but I really like the new dragons and probably should have tried to catch them during the release.
gollark: I wonder if I could just submit an egg shaped bit of static and call it a glitch egg.
gollark: Or you can list multiple wants and find the best offer!
gollark: Lots of wasted time later, and I've bred all the dragons I can.

References
  1. "Filmportal: Arnold Marquis (German)". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  2. "Raues Organ für harte Typen (German)". WDR. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. "Obituary: Arnold Marquis (German)". Der Spiegel. 3 December 1990. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  4. Zehren, Martin (31 March 2011). ""König der Synchronsprecher": Arnold Marquis wäre im April 90 Jahre geworden (German)". Westfalen heute. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.