Anthony La Penna was born in New York City on April 22, 1918. He started his acting career in childhood and was a self-taught pianist. He began acting school in Greenwich Village and later started teaching Off-Broadway, among his students including Kirk Douglas. Fascinated by the stories of Italy he had heard since childhood, La Penna traveled to Rome in 1945, where he would be cast in Roberto Rossellini's “Paisan” in 1946. There he met his wife, actress Natalia Ray, during a party at The Excelsior Hotel during the Carnival of 1946. La Penna and Ray later moved back to New York, where they would stay for several years before moving back to Rome in 1964 where he acted under the stage name Leslie Daniels. He also wrote several screenplays at this time.
Starting in the late 1960's, La Penna largely moved toward dubbing (something he had done prior for Titra Studios in New York) for the English Language Dubbers Association (later Associated Recording Artists), including voice acting, voice direction, dialogue adaptation, casting, and supervising synchronization and sound mixing.
La Penna retired in the mid 1980's to look after his wife, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the late 1970's. Her health declined, and eventually she died in 1991. Through retirement, La Penna enjoyed playing the piano, and would occasionally do some minor dubbing or commercial roles. La Penna died on January 27, 2011, in Rome.
DANIELS, Leslie (aka Leslie Daniel, Tony
La Penna) (Anthony La Penna) [4/22/1918, New York City, New York,
U.S.A. – 1/27/2011, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, writer, theater, film, TV,
voice actor, married to actress Natalia Ray [19??-1991] (1946-1991) father of director,
voice actor Leslie La Penna (Leslie James La Penna) [1954- ], grandfather of voice actors Luca La Penna
[1966- ], Leonardo La Penna
[196?- ]
The Man Who Came to Kill – 1965 [English voice of
Fernando Sancho]
Five Giants from Texas – 1966 [English voice of José
Manuel Martín]
The Hills Run Red – 1966 [English voice of Nando Gazzolo]
Johnny Yuma – 1966 (Thomas Felton)
Ringo And His Golden Pistol – 1966 [English voice of John
Bartha]
7 Dollars on The Red – 1966 [English voice of Franco
Fantasia]
Any Gun Can Play -1967 [English voice of Pedro Sanchez]
Django Kills Softly - 1967 [English voice of George
Eastman]
Hate for Hate - 1966 [English voice of Fernando Sancho]
In a Colt’s Shadow – 1966 [English voice of Blackie]
Ringo, Face of Revenge – [English voice of Armando Calvo]
Ballad of a Gunman - 1967 [English voice of Mario
Novelli]
Day of Anger -1967 [English voice of Andrea Bosic]
Don't Wait, Django - Shoot! - 1967 [English voice of
César Ojinaga]
Pistoleros - 1967 [English voice of Blackie]
Black Jack – 1968 [English voice of Rodrigo Ivan
Scratuglia]
Gatling Gun – 1968 [English voice of George Rigaud]
Killer Adios – 1968 [English voice of Peter Lee Lawrence]
Cemetery Without Crosses - 1969 [English voice of Daniele
Vargas]
The Forgotten Pistolero - 1969 [English voice of José
Suárez]
Law of Violence - 1969 [English voice of Gaspar Gonzáles]
No Room to Die - 1969 [voice of Riccardo Garrone]
Taste of Vengeance - 1969 [English voice of Sean Todd]
Have A Good Funeral - 1970 [English voice of George Wang]
A Bounty Killer in Trinity - 1972 [English voice of
Mayor]
Return of Hallelujah - 1972 [English voice of Roberto
Camardiel]
The Grand Duel - 1972 [English voice of Gastone Pescucci]
The Three Musketeers of The West - 1972 [English voice of
Eduardo Fajardo]
Tequila! - 1973 [English voice of Eduardo Fajardo]
Silver Saddle - 1978 [English voice of Geoffrey Lewis]
He musta done a lot of Spaghetti Westerns as an actor. I couldn't keep up with all of them.
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