Robert Rietti, (born Lucio Herbert Rietti; sometimes Rietty, 8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015) was an English actor, translator, playwright, and dubbing director. With over 200 credits to his name, he had a highly prolific career in the British, American, and Italian entertainment industries. He was particularly prominent in

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

both foreign and domestic, often overseeing the English-language dubbing of foreign actors' dialogue. He is known for his dubbing work in the ''James Bond'' film series, '' Waterloo'', the 1972 adaptation of ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'', and '' Avalanche Express''.

Early life

Born in 1923, Rietti was the younger of two sons of Italian-Jewish actor Victor Rietti and Rachel Rosenay. In 1932, at the age of nine, he joined his father's company ''Teatro Italiano'', making his stage debut in ''Mysterious Currents''. His father (under whom Ida Lupino and June Duprez had studied acting) developed his son's acting career under the name Bobby Rietti. He made his motion picture debut as Fattorino in

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (born Mario Bianchi; 18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950) was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the United States and United Kingdom. Career Banks was bor ...

' comedy ''Heads We Go'' (1933). He soon caught the eye of

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

, who offered him an extended film contract. Despite letting down

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

, who handpicked him to play the lead in ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'' (1936), he made 17 motion pictures during the 1930s, remaining a popular child actor throughout that decade. They would later work together in Hitchcock's film ''Frenzy''. Rietti was also active on the stage. At the age of twelve he played Jonathan opposite Elisabeth Bergner in James Barrie's last play, ''The Boy David'' (1936), which dramatised the Biblical story of King

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

and the young

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. Altogether, in his boyhood years he acted in eighteen films and over one hundred and twenty plays.

Second World War

His successful career on the stage and in motion pictures was interrupted by the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Rietti and his brother, being Italian, were interned at Ascot internment camp. He later joined the Rifle Brigade, but accepted the army's request for him to head " Stars in Battledress", a group of young actors, which included the young

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

and

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

, who toured England, and were flown throughout liberated Europe, to entertain Allied troops. In 1945, he was invited by

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

to join his production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' for troops in the Far East. After the war, he returned to work in the theatre, films, radio, and the latest medium, early

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

Career

Radio

In radio, he teamed up with

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

in the radio series ''The Third Man'' (1951), and then again on the popular series '' The Black Museum'' (1952), which was broadcast to the US Armed Forces. This was to be the beginning of many collaborations between Rietti and Orson Welles, who remained close friends. He was also a regular on the radio series ''Horatio Hornblower'' (1952) with

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' ...

, ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1952), ''Theatre Royal'' (1954) with Sir

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

, and the classic ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1954) with

and

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

Television

His frequent work in television and many guest appearances made him a familiar face in the 1950s and 1960s. He is credited with 164 television appearances. He guest starred together with his father in ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'' (1957) and in ''

Harry's Girls ''Harry's Girls'' is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from September 13, 1963 to January 3, 1964. Synopsis ''Harry's Girls'' was based on the film ''Les Girls'' (1957). Harry Burns sang, danced, and managed a vaudeville troupe consisting o ...

'' (1960), which were both directed by his friend

Ralph Levy Ralph Levy (December 18, 1920 – October 15, 2001) was an American television producer, producer and movie director, film and television director. Biography Ralph Levy was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He directed episodes of several televisi ...

, director of '' The Burns and Allen Show''. They also performed together in three versions of his father's television success ''To Live in Peace'' and his father's television play ''Against the Stream'' (1959). In 1958,

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

presented ''Candle for the Madonna'', an original television play Robert had written, in which Robert also played the lead.

Films

Among the earliest of his film appearances were with

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...

in ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

'' and with

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

in '' The Private Life of Don Juan'' (both 1934). Of his 83 film appearances throughout his career, he is best remembered for contribution to the original

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

pictures: besides

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

, he was the only actor who appeared in both '' Thunderball'' (1965) and the re-make ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel ''Thunderball (novel), Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Wh ...

'' (1983). Other popular films he appeared in include ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy Caper story, caper film written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson (film director), Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres ...

'' (1969), ''

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album '' War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...

'' (1971), ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Sp ...

'' (1976), as well as a cameo in ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

'' (2001). He played Robert Grant in '' Hell Is Empty'' (1967) for his brother, the producer Ronald Rietti.

Directing ADR

With the growing popularity of epic international films in the 1950s, Rietti gained a reputation for directing the ADR in many international films like the James Bond films. Rietti directed ADR in more than 700 Films and received international recognition as the foremost director in this field. He was nominated in Hollywood for the Golden Reel Award (a technical Oscar) for his ADR direction of the English version of ''

Once Upon a Time in America ''Once Upon a Time in America'' () is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Emb ...

'' (1984), in which he directed

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

's post syncing. His own voice was used to re-voice

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

's German dialogue in '' The Guns of Navarone'' (1961); and

' in ''

'' (1972). His voice was used in eight of the James Bond films, for which he directed the ADR; his best known work in the series was replacing the voice of Adolfo Celi in '' Thunderball'' (1965) and Tetsurō Tamba in '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967). In the last ten films of Jack Hawkins, who had lost his voice to throat cancer, Hawkins was dubbed by Rietti.

Playwright

Rietti was also a prolific playwright who translated and adapted many Italian plays (notably those of

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

), from his native Italian into English. He also wrote several original plays which were produced on the stage, for television, and for radio. He founded and served as executive editor for 18 years of ''Gambit'', a theatre quarterly which published international plays, including many of his own. In recognition of their contribution to the arts, he was knighted together with his father, Victor Rietti, by the Italian government in 1959. Rietti's title Cavaliere was upgraded in 1988 to Cavaliere Ufficiale. In 1957, Rietti played Satan in the

York Mystery Plays The York Mystery Plays, or the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English play cycle, cycle of 48 mystery plays or pageants covering sacred history from the Genesis creation myth, creation to the Last Judgment. They were traditionally pres ...

; one of these performances was attended by the Queen.

Later life and death

In 2012, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

for his lifetime achievements and contribution to the Arts. The year also marked an 80-year milestone for the then 89-year-old actor. Rietti remained active in his last years. He lectured to film students at film academies and universities, published an anthology of Italian Plays and was an active member of

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

. Rietti died on 3 April 2015 in London, England, aged 92. He is the father of Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, an educator and prominent speaker on Orthodox Judaism, most prominently for the international organisation Gateways.

Selected filmography

* '' Girls Will Be Boys'' (1934) * ''

'' (1934) * '' The Private Life of Don Juan'' (1934) * '' In Town Tonight'' (1935) * ''

Emil and the Detectives ''Emil and the Detectives'' () is a 1929 novel set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. It was Kästner's first major success and the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship. The ...

'' (1935) * '' Runaway Ladies'' (1938) * '' Call of the Blood'' (1949) * '' Prelude to Fame'' (1950) * '' The Black Rider'' (1954) * '' They Who Dare'' (1954) * ''

Stock Car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...

'' (1955) * '' Mr. Arkadin'' (1955) * '' Checkpoint'' (1956) * '' The Truth About Women'' (1957) * '' Tank Force'' (1958) * '' Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons'' (1960) * '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' (1960) * '' Sink the Bismarck'' (1960) * '' The Story of Joseph and His Brethren'' (1961) * '' Middle Course'' (1961) * '' Time to Remember'' (1962) * '' On the Beat'' (1962) * '' The Scarlet Blade'' (1963) * '' The Bible: In the Beginning...'' (1966) as Abraham's Steward * ''

'' (1969) as Turin Police Chief * '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) as Casino Baccarat Official * ''

'' (1971) * '' The Hiding Place'' (1975) as Willem ten Boom * ''

'' (1976) as Monk * ''No Longer Alone'' (1976) as Joan's father * ''

'' (1983) as Italian Minister #1 * '' Madame Sousatzka'' (1988) as Leo Milev * ''

The March ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1990) as Leo Borelli * ''30 Door Key'' (1991) * '' Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady'' (1991, TV Movie) as Franz Hoffman * '' The Sea Change'' (1998) as Luigi * '' Hilary and Jackie'' (1998) as Italian Flunky * ''

'' (2001) as Sogliato

Voice-over filmography

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rietti, Robert 1923 births 2015 deaths English male child actors English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English male voice actors Male actors from London Jewish English male actors Film directors from London English people of Italian descent English people of Italian-Jewish descent British Army personnel of World War II English expatriate male actors in the United States Rifle Brigade soldiers English people of Jewish descent Actors from the City of Westminster Military personnel from Westminster