Voices of the Spaghetti Western – “Shalako”

As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to be paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.

I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe.

Today we’ll cover “Shalako”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English

Shalako Carlin – Sean Connery (I) Pino Locchi, (E) Sean Connery, (S) Arsenio Corsellas, (G) Gert Günther Hoffmann, (F) Jean-Claude Michel

Countess Irina Lazaar – Brigitte Bardot (I) Flaminia Jandolo, (E) Brigitte Bardot, (S) Rosa Guiñón, (G) Margot Leonard, F) Brigitte Bardot

Bosky Fulton – Stephen Boyd (E) Stephen Boyd, (I) Sergio Graziani, (S) Manuel Cano, (G) Claus Biederstaedt, (F) Jacques Deschamps

Sir Charles Daggett – Jack Hawkins (E) Charles Gray, (I) Ennio Balbo, (S) Luis Posada Mendoza, (G) Curt Ackermann, (F) Louis Arbessier

Baron Frederick von Hallstatt - Peter Van Eyck (E) Peter Van Eyck, (I) Aldo Giuffré (S) Rogelio Hernández, (G) Peter van Eyck, (F) Peter Van Eyck

Lady Daggett - Honor Blackman (E) Honor Blackman, (I) Rita Savagnone, (S) María Luisa Solá, G) Gisela Reißmann, (F) Paule Emanuele

Chato – Woody Strode (E) Woody Strode, (I) Ferruccio Amendola, (S) Antonio Fernández Sánchez, (G) Edgar Ott, (F) Henry Djanik

Charles Gray  (1928 – 2000)

Charles Gray was born Donald Marshall Gray on 29 August 29, 1928. He was an English stage, film, and television actor renowned for portraying suave villains and authoritative figures, most notably Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971) and the Criminologist in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975). With a career spanning nearly five decades, he appeared in over 100 productions, including Shakespearean roles at the Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Company, horror films like “The Devil Rides Out” (1968), and acclaimed television series such as ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ (1971–1975). Gray's distinctive velvety voice and imposing 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) stature made him a versatile performer in both comedic and dramatic parts, earning praise for his elegant portrayals of arrogance and self-importance.

Born in Bournemouth, Dorset, to a surveyor father, Gray initially pursued acting under his birth name Donald Gray, making his professional debut in 1952 at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in a production of “As You Like It”. He changed his professional name to Charles Gray to avoid confusion with another actor and honed his vocal skills through training with the Royal Shakespeare Company. By the mid-1950s, he joined the Old Vic Company, where he took on significant Shakespearean roles, including Achilles in “Troilus and Cressida” (1956) and Macduff in “Macbeth”.

Charles Gray's distinctive aristocratic tone made him a sought-after narrator for BBC productions, particularly in atmospheric and educational pieces. He provided the voice-over narration for the 1979 BBC ghost story adaptation ‘Schalcken the Painter’, directed by Leslie Megahey, where his measured delivery heightened the gothic tension and incorporated explanatory elements on 17th-century Dutch art and history. Similarly, Gray narrated Megahey's 1987 BBC drama ‘Cariani and the Courtesans’, a stylized exploration of Renaissance painter Cariani's life and work, leveraging his authoritative timbre to blend historical context with dramatic flair.

Beyond BBC specials, Gray's narration extended to other documentaries, such as the 1973 historical film ‘On the Game’, directed by Stanley A. Long, which examined the evolution of prostitution through the ages; his mellifluous voice lent gravitas to the factual recounting. His voice work also featured in radio dramas, including BBC Radio adaptations within collections like ‘Daphne du Maurier: The BBC Radio Collection’, where he contributed to full-cast dramatizations of classic stories, showcasing his versatility in audio storytelling.

In the 1980s and 1990s, as on-camera roles became less frequent, Gray capitalized on his resonant timbre for commercial voice-overs, appearing regularly in television advertisements that benefited from his commanding presence. Overall, his voice credits—estimated at 20 to 30 across various formats, many uncredited—sustained his professional output into the late 20th century, emphasizing his enduring appeal in auditory media.

Gray died of cancer on March 7, 2000, at Brompton Hospital in London, aged 71.