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Gisella Mathews

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Gisella Mathews (December 14, 1919 - May 30, 2001) was a German or British-Italian voice actress, voice director, sync assistant and language coach.

Career[]

The origins of Gisella Mathews are unknown. In a 1959 newspaper article, she called herself „half English, half Italian“, but statements by her fellow dubbers, her slightly accented English and the fact that she had two German Shepherds called Heiko and Heidi, may indicate that Mathews was in fact of German heritage. It is also unclear, when and why she moved to Rome. What is known, however, is that she worked for Eagle-Lion Productions in the 1940s, translating scripts to Italian for dubbing.[1]

Gisella Mathews was one of the pioneers of English dubbing in Rome, participating in the dubbing of 1942's Four Steps in the Clouds (dubbed in 1947). She was instrumental in building and establishing the English-language dubbing industry of Italy, directing dubs as early as 1949 and forming the first organization of English dubbers in Rome, the Anglo-American Dubbing Association, together with British-Italian actor Valentino Bruchi. Among the other key players were Anthony La Penna, Lewis E. Ciannelli, George Higgins III and Richard McNamara.[1]

Her earliest recorded job as a dubbing actress was in 1951, when she voiced Tamara Lees in Four Ways Out. After that, there is a 17 year gab in her voice acting career, reappearing in 1968. Mathews never belonged to the top dubbers of the industry, but rather concentrated on her work in the background, directing and working as a sync assistant, who ensures the lipsync and timing of the voice actors is right. If cast, she most often voiced flamboyant, fast talking, Italian mother types and almost never dubbed big roles, but rather secondary and bit parts. From time to time, Mathews also participated in French dubbing in Rome.[1]

Beginning in 1952, Gisella Mathews also acted on camera, such as in The Golden Coach and A Farewell to Arms. However, she disappeared from the silver screen again in 1959 and wouldn't return until 1985, when she appeared in Sono un fenomeno paranormale. She'd go on to share the screen with Nino Manfredi in an episode of Linda e il brigadiere and Dame Maggie Smith in Tea with Mussolini.[1]

Apart from her acting and dubbing work, Gisella Mathews also worked as a language coach, teaching Italian actors how to speak English. Among her most prominent pupils was Vittorio De Sica, whom she helped with his dialogue in A Farewell to Arms and The Four Just Men and to whom she also acted as secretary.[1]

Gisella Mathews died in 2001 at the age of 81. She was fluent in English, Italian, French and German.

Filmography[]

Live-Action Dubbing[]

Animation Dubbing[]

Animated Films[]

Sync Assistant[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://dubbedinrome.blogspot.com/2023/07/gisella-mathews.html

External links[]

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