George Roubicek

Last updated

George Roubicek
Born
George Karl Roubicek

(1935-05-25) 25 May 1935 (age 89)
Vienna, Austria
Occupation(s)Actor, dialogue director, and script adapter
Years active1957-2002
SpouseMary Eberts (m. 1959)

George Karl Roubicek (born 25 May 1935) is an Austrian actor, and a dialogue director and script adaptor for English-language versions of foreign films and television shows. Born in Austria, Roubicek appeared in a number of small roles throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s, including the films The Bedford Incident , Billion Dollar Brain and The Dirty Dozen . In 1967, he appeared in The Tomb of the Cybermen , a four-part Doctor Who serial. He played the part of Semenkin in The Champions (Reply Box No.666 episode, 1967). Roubicek had a small role in A New Hope , the first Star Wars film, as the Imperial Commander Praji. He also appeared in two James Bond films, You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me .

Contents

Although he continued acting in small roles during his later years, his later career was more focused on dubbing foreign films and television shows into English-language versions. He directed the dubbing of 13 previously unaired episodes of the cult Japanese series Monkey , a show he previously performed voice-acting for in the late 1970s. In 2008, he adapted the French animated film Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest to an English-language version.

Early career

George Roubicek's West End debut came in Tea and Sympathy, Comedy Theatre, London in 1957. In the role of Al, he played opposite Elizabeth Sellars, Hy Hazell and two other actors making their debuts, Tim Seely and Keith Baxter. In 1958, he appeared in the original cast of the Agatha Christie play Verdict , where he played the role of Lester Cole, the student of a professor who has fled from prosecution in his home country. [1] The play was first staged at the Strand Theatre in London on 22 May 1958. [2] Roubicek's first film roles were bit parts in the late 1950s, including as a German prisoner in the 1957 British World War II film The One That Got Away , [3] and a police constable in the 1959 murder mystery Blind Date . [4] Roubicek continued performing in small roles in a number of films in the early 1960s. Among them were a cleaning service man in the 1962 British horror film Night of the Eagle , [5] a Russian sentry in the 1963 British war film The Victors , [6] and the character Lieutenant Berger in the 1965 American Cold War film The Bedford Incident . [7] In 1967, he played Private Arthur James Gardner in The Dirty Dozen , an American war film and, to that point, by far his most impressive film credit, although his character is hanged only a few minutes into the film. [8] That year, he also appeared in the British espionage film Billion Dollar Brain , where he played the small part of Edgar. [9]

Roubicek also appeared in The Tomb of the Cybermen , a four-part Doctor Who serial broadcast in September 1967. [10] He portrayed Captain Hopper, the commander of a rocket that brought an archaeological expedition to the planet Telos to study the Cybermen, a race of cyborgs. Andrew Cartmel, a science-fiction writer who served as a Doctor Who script editor in 1986–1989, strongly criticized Hopper's dialogue in his book, Through Time: An Unauthorised and Unofficial History of Doctor Who. Hopper, who is supposed to be an American, frequently uses the word "guy" and what Cartmel called "odd fake American idioms" like, "It's not exactly peaches." Although Cartmel did not address Roubicek's performance, he said the dialogue was written "in a way that suggests the English writers have never travelled across the Atlantic and have paid precious little attention to the films or books that have flowed the other way". [11]

In 1976, Roubicek was cast in Star Wars , where he played the small role of Praji, a commander with the Galactic Empire. He appeared early in the film, speaking with Darth Vader after the Imperial forces have seized the Rebel Alliance starship Tantive IV and captured Princess Leia. Roubicek's scene was filmed over a three-day sequence in July 1976, near the final days of principal photography. Roubicek did not anticipate at the time that Star Wars would become such a cultural phenomenon, and his first impression of the franchise was "What is this all about"? [12] During a 2007 interview, Roubicek said, "I don't think anyone knew [what Star Wars was], except maybe George Lucas, and I'm not sure he knew all the time! We certainly didn't know. I wouldn't say this was just another job – there's no such thing as just another job – but I didn't realize how special it was going to be at the time." [12]

Roubicek appeared in two separate episodes of the spy-fi television series, The Avengers , playing different characters both times. In "The White Dwarf", an episode broadcast on 9 February 1963, he played Luke Richter, the son of a prominent astronomer who was murdered shortly after discovering a star was going to collide with and destroy the Earth. [13] Roubicek also appeared in "Invasion of the Earthmen", which was first broadcast on 15 January 1969. In that episode he played Bernard Grant, a secret agent who is killed by a giant Boa constrictor while investigating a mysterious school called the Alpha Academy. [14] In the late 1970s, Roubicek did some work on the English language dubbing of Monkey , a cult Japanese action/fantasy television series that ran from 1978 to 1980. He performed a few of the voice acting parts for the series and had a minor role in the technical dubbing aspects. [15]

Later career

Roubicek continued some acting in his later years, including a small role in The Infiltrator , a 1995 film about a Jewish freelance journalist who travels to Germany for a story about Neo-Nazism. [16] However, most of his later career focused on the script adaptation and dubbing of foreign films into English-language versions. In 1996, Roubicek handled the English script adaptation of the 1991 comedy science-fiction film Roujin Z . The Japanese anime film by Katsuhiro Otomo focuses on an elderly invalid man and a futuristic computerized hospital bed which takes on a life of its own. [17]

In 2000, Roubicek went on to voice several characters in the English version of the Croatian children's animated series Lapitch the Little Shoemaker as well directing the voices with Sean Barrett who also voices Lapitch's shoemaker Melchoir.

In 2002, Roubicek doubled as casting and voice director for the English version of the CGI animated series Spheriks.

In 2004, Roubicek was asked work again on Monkey, where he did some peripheral dubbing work in the late 1970s. He was hired as the director of the English-language dubbing for 13 previously televised episodes of Monkey, which were released on DVD that year. The episodes had been included as a bonus feature on past DVD releases, but were only subtitled and had never before been dubbed into English. Roubicek was tasked with adapting the original Japanese scripts into English and directing the original cast in the dialogue for the dubbing. Roubicek said both he and the cast enjoyed being brought back together for the project. However, he said it was also particularly challenging. The recording sessions require what he calls a "horrendous" amount of concentration, but the script adaptation process proved even more difficult. Roubicek has to ensure the translation was not only accurate, but preserved the humour of the original Japanese scripts. Fabulous Films Ltd., the company handling the DVD releases, originally provided Roubicek only with transcripts of the English subtitles for the 13 episodes, but Roubicek disregarded them and had to start writing from scratch because, he claimed, subtitle transcripts "never, ever bear any relation to a dubbing script". [15]

In 2008, Roubicek worked with filmmaker Michel Ocelot to adapt an English-language version of Ocelot's 2006 animated fantasy film, Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest . [18] [19] which boasts what The New York Times described as a "flat, storybook style worlds away from the sculpture digital aesthetic pioneered by Pixar", [18] tells a fable-like tale of two young boys in a mythic Middle Eastern setting. [18] The original film's dialogue was in French with small portions in Arabic. During the adaptation, Roubicek and Ocelot chose to translate the French dialogue into English, but preserve the Arabic without dubbing or subtitles. Michael Phillips, film critic with the Chicago Tribune , said this was the correct decision because it allows the viewers to share the same "momentary confusion" as characters who do not understand Arabic and are suddenly thrown into "disorienting surroundings". [19]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1957 The One That Got Away German Prisoner
1959 Blind Date Police constable
1960 Sink the Bismarck! Hoffman, Sailor on BismarckUncredited
1963 The Victors Russian Sentry
1965 The Bedford Incident Lieutenant Berger U.S.N – C.I.C
1965 The Heroes of Telemark Soldier Operating Radio Direction FinderUncredited
1967 You Only Live Twice American Astronaut
1967 The Dirty Dozen Pvt. Arthur James Gardner
1967 Billion Dollar Brain Edgar
1967 Doctor Who Captain HopperSerial The Tomb of the Cybermen
1968 Submarine X-1 Redmayne's Flag OfficerUncredited
1969 Battle of Britain Sergeant Pilot – Falke's CrewUncredited
1969 The Adding Machine Graveyard Lover(scenes deleted)
1970 Foreign Exchange KarkovTV movie
1970 The Games MarkUncredited
1971 Murphy's War U-Boat CrewmanUncredited
1971 Dad's Army German Radio Operator
1977 Star Wars Cmdr. PrajiUncredited
1977 The Spy Who Loved Me Stromberg One captain
1979 Winterspelt Captain John Kimbrough
1980 Bad Timing Policeman No. 1
1995 The Infiltrator Party Guest No. 2TV movie

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Baker</span> English actor (born 1934)

Thomas Stewart Baker is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the fourth incarnation and longest-serving Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981.

<i>Monkey</i> (TV series) Japanese television drama

Saiyūki,, is a Japanese television drama based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV.

Remembrance of the Daleks is the first serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The serial was first broadcast in four weekly episodes from 5 to 26 October 1988. It was written by Ben Aaronovitch and directed by Andrew Morgan.

<i>The Tenth Planet</i> 1966 Doctor Who serial

The Tenth Planet is the partly missing second serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the process later termed "regeneration", whereby the lead character, The Doctor, undergoes a transformation into a new physical form. Patrick Troughton makes his first, uncredited appearance as the Second Doctor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Collings</span> English actor (1940–2020)

David Collings was an English actor. In an extensive career he appeared in many roles on stage, television, film and radio, as well as various audio books, voiceovers, concert readings and other work. He garnered a following through his numerous appearances in cult sci-fi series such as Doctor Who, Sapphire & Steel and Blake's 7, as well as dubbing the titular character in the series Monkey and Legolas in the classic BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

The Invasion is the partly missing third serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968.

<i>Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo</i> 1978 Japanese animated film by Sōji Yoshikawa

Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo, also known as Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo, is a 1978 Japanese animated science fiction action adventure comedy film. It is the first animated feature film based on the 1967–69 manga series Lupin III by Monkey Punch. The film was originally released in Japan as Lupin III, but was later retitled to Lupin III: Lupin vs. the Clone. Directed by Sōji Yoshikawa, who co-wrote the screenplay with Atsushi Yamatoya, the film was produced by animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha and distributed by Toho. The film's plot follows master thief Lupin III, who attempts to foil Mamo ― a wealthy and powerful recluse seeking immortality ― while trying to win the affections of his rival and would-be lover, Fujiko Mine.

Michael Kilgarriff is a British actor, author and pianist from Brighton. As an actor, he is well known for his rich voice and height. His film and television roles include The Dark Crystal (1982) as the General, and the Doctor Who serials The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), Robot (1974–75) and Attack of the Cybermen (1985).

"Rise of the Cybermen" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 13 May 2006. The episode introduces a terrestrial reinvention of the Cybermen, as well as a parallel universe which would serve as a recurring plot element in the series. It is the first part of a two-part story, the concluding part being "The Age of Steel", broadcast on 20 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silhouette animation</span> Animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes

Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a number of reasons technically distinct from, shadow play.

<i>Lapitch the Little Shoemaker</i> 1997 Croatian film

Lapitch the Little Shoemaker is a 1997 animated feature that was originally released by Croatia Film. Produced on vintage cel equipment during the early 1990s, this was the third feature from Croatia Film's animation unit and director Milan Blažeković, after The Elm-Chanted Forest (1986) and The Magician's Hat (1990).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Ocelot</span>

Michel Ocelot is a French writer, designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs and a former president of the International Animated Film Association. Though best known for his 1998 debut feature Kirikou and the Sorceress, his earlier films and television work had already won Césars and British Academy Film Awards among others and he was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur on 23 October 2009, presented to him by Agnès Varda who had been promoted to commandeur earlier the same year. In 2015 he got the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.

<i>Azur & Asmar: The Princes Quest</i> 2006 French film

Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest is a 2006 animated fairytale fantasy film written and directed by Michel Ocelot and animated at the Paris animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff Ligne. It was released in theaters in North America as just Azur & Asmar.

Lapitch the Little Shoemaker is a Croatian animated television series from Croatia Film and EM.TV/HaffaDiebold, with animation by Neptuno Films of Barcelona, Spain. It is a spin-off from the 1997 film of the same name.

Dragons et Princesses is a 2010 French computer animation television program written, storyboarded and directed by Michel Ocelot and produced at Studio O for Canal+. It is a fairy tale anthology series of ten further 13-minute episodes in the format established in Ciné si, though made in computer animation rendered in a silhouette instead of traditional silhouette animation made with backlit cut-outs. Five of the episodes are edited, with a feature-exclusive sixth, into the 2011 stereoscopic compilation movie Tales of the Night.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 25 Season of television series

The twenty-fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 October 1988. It comprised four separate serials, beginning with Remembrance of the Daleks and ending with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. To mark the 25th anniversary season, producer John Nathan-Turner brought back the Daleks and the Cybermen. The American New Jersey Network also made a special behind-the-scenes documentary called The Making of Doctor Who, which followed the production of the 25th anniversary story Silver Nemesis. Andrew Cartmel script edited the series.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 5 Season of British TV sci-fi series (1967–1968)

The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.

<i>Dilili in Paris</i> 2018 animated film

Dilili in Paris is a 2018 animated period adventure film written and directed by Michel Ocelot, with pre-production by Studio O and animation production by Mac Guff, about a Kanak girl investigating a mystery in Paris in the Belle Époque. It stars the voices of Prunelle Charles-Ambron, Enzo Ratsito, and Natalie Dessay as Emma Calvé in the original, French-language version.

"The Timeless Children" is the tenth and final episode of the twelfth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 1 March 2020. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Jamie Magnus Stone. It is the second of a two-part story; the previous episode, "Ascension of the Cybermen", aired on 23 February.

References

  1. ↑ Stephens, Francis (1958). Theatre World Annual. Vol. 9. London: Rockcliff Publishing Corporation. p. 31.
  2. ↑ Christie, Agatha (1958). Verdict (script). London: Samuel French Ltd. p. 4. ISBN   0-573-61931-X.
  3. ↑ Blum, Daniel (1992). Screen World 1959. Vol. 1. Biblo & Tannen Booksellers & Publishers, Inc. p. 184. ISBN   0-8196-0265-5.
  4. ↑ Young, R.G. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. Berkeley, California: Applause Books. p. 59. ISBN   1-55783-269-2.
  5. ↑ American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films (1 ed.). Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 134. ISBN   0-520-20970-2.
  6. ↑ American Film Institute, p. 1175
  7. ↑ American Film Institute, p. 75
  8. ↑ American Film Institute, p. 264
  9. ↑ Young, p. 51
  10. ↑ Lofficier, Jean-Marc (2003). The Doctor Who Programme Guide (4 ed.). London: iUniverse. pp. 65–66. ISBN   0-595-27618-0.
  11. ↑ Cartmel, Andrew (2005). Through Time: An Unauthorised and Unofficial History of Doctor Who. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 59. ISBN   0-8264-1734-5.
  12. 1 2 Star Wars Insider , iss. 89
  13. ↑ Rogers, Dave (1989). The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!. New York City, New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 53. ISBN   0-312-03187-4.
  14. ↑ Rogers, p. 181
  15. 1 2 Graydon, Danny (May 2004). "Monkey returns! SFX visits new recording sessions for previously unseen episodes"". SFX .
  16. ↑ Taylor, Jonathan (2 June 1995). "The Infiltrator". Daily Variety .
  17. ↑ Holden, Stephen (5 January 1999). "A Gadget-Mad America, Through Japanese Eyes". The New York Times . p. C8.
  18. 1 2 3 Lee, Nathan (17 October 2008). "Azur & Asmar". The New York Times . p. C8.
  19. 1 2 Phillips, Michael (2 January 2009). "Magical, musical animated journeys". Chicago Tribune . p. C6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.