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Arnold Marquis

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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 [de]),[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
1948 Und wieder 48 Hinzdorf
1949 Quartet of Five Toni Zieseler
1953 Brüderchen und Schwesterchen König
1959 The Black Chapel Graf Emanuele Rossi Voice, Uncredited
1963 Apache Gold Bill Jones Voice, Uncredited
1964 The Secret of Dr. Mabuse Adm. Quency Voice, Uncredited
1964 Among Vultures Martin Bauman Sr. Voice, Uncredited
1965 The Oil Prince Campbell Voice, Uncredited
1965 The Desperado Trail Rollins Voice, Uncredited
1966 Kommissar X – Drei gelbe Katzen Philip Dawson Voice, Uncredited
1966 The Strangler of the Tower Inspektor Harvey Voice, Uncredited
1966 Kommissar X – In den Klauen des goldenen Drachen Li Hu Wang Voice, Uncredited
1966 Winnetou and the Crossbreed Mac Haller Voice, Uncredited
1968 Radhapura - Endstation der Verdammten Alfredo German version, Voice, Uncredited
1968 Eve
1969 Kommissar X – Drei goldene Schlangen Armand Landru Voice, Uncredited
1970 Deadlock Sunshine Voice, Uncredited
1971 Der lüsterne Türke Sultan
1971 X312 - Flight to Hell [de] Bill - Steward / Paco Voice, Uncredited
1972 The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of Taxifahrer Fedor Georgi Iwanow
1972 Dr. M schlägt zu Melou Voice, Uncredited
1973 Once Upon a Time Herr Pulle Voice
1976 Everyone Dies Alone Vorarbeiter Dolenz
1976 Mr. Rossi Looks for Happiness Boss German version, Voice, Uncredited
1976 Verlorenes Leben
1976 Albino Johannes Voice, Uncredited
1976 Jack the Ripper Blind Man Voice, Uncredited
1979 Breakthrough Col. Rogers German version, Voice, Uncredited
1982 Kamikaze 1989 Polizeipräsident
1982 Dance of the Cookoos God German version, Voice, Uncredited
1983 Das Wagnis des Arnold Janssen Joh. Augustinus Paredis - Bischof von Roermond
1984 Code Name: Wild Geese Fletcher German version, Voice, Uncredited
1988 Stowaways on the Ark Noah Voice
1989 Otto - Der Außerfriesische Baron von Platt

References

  1. ^ a b "Filmportal: Arnold Marquis (German)". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Raues Organ für harte Typen (German)". WDR. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "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.
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