William Ross

William Ross (September 7, 1923 – April 19, 2014) was a Tokyo-based American actor, voice actor, voice director and editor, and the founder of Frontier Enterprises.

Career
After serving in the Korean war, Ross moved to Tokyo with intentions of joining the Japanese State Department. Instead, he ended up becoming involved in the film industry, and would go on to appear in more than 80 Japanese films and Television shows.

In 1959, Ross got into the dubbing industry upon recommendation by Japanese actor So Yamamura. He showed such a talent for the industry, that the Japanese dubbing director quit and left Ross in charge on the first day. In 1964, he founded his own dubbing company, Frontier Enterprises, also working as dialogue writer, dubbing director and voice actor.

Frontier quickly became one of the big five early English dubbing houses, doing work for companies such as Toho, Toei and Shochiku. Ross was forced to rely on whatever native English speakers he could find in Tokyo back in the 1960’s. Ross held auditions and made sure he hired the best people available, and trained them thoroughly.

Ross was also a dialogue editor, notably editing for American animated shows such as Dennis the Menace, Heathcliff & the Cadillac Cats and The Real Ghostbusters.

Ross died in Tokyo on April 19, 2014.

Anime

 * Phantaman (1967-1968) - Dr. Steel

Anime Films

 * Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (1978) - Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Frontier Dub)
 * Cyborg 009: The Legend of the Super Galaxy (1980) - Emperor Zoa
 * Voltus 5 (1980) - Dr. Smith and Draco
 * Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp (1982) - Genie of the Ring (Frontier Dub)
 * Arcadia of My Youth (1982) - Zeda
 * The Dagger of Kamui (1985) - Tokachi Hanzō, and Elder

Voice Direction

 * Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp
 * Arcadia of My Youth
 * Choppy & the Princess
 * Cyborg 009: The Legend of the Super Galaxy
 * The Dagger of Kamui
 * Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo
 * Phantaman
 * Swan Lake