One of Germany’s most famous voices has fallen silent: voice actor Thomas Danneberg has died at the age of 81.
The name Thomas Danneberg may not immediately mean something to everyone. But everyone knew his distinctive voice. The German voice actor lent them to Hollywood stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, 76, Sylvester Stallone, 77, Terence Hill, 84, John Travolta, 69, Dan Aykroyd, 71, and Rutger Hauer (1944-2019), to name just a few. Danneberg died on September 30th at the age of 81, according to various reports.
His colleague Charles Rettinghaus, 61, received the sad news of his death directly from Danneberg’s wife. On his official Instagram account says Rettinghaus, who himself sets international stars such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, 62, Robert Downey Jr., 58, and Jamie Foxx, 55, to music: “Unfortunately, I have to inform you from Leni Danneberg, Thomas Danneberg’s wife, that Thomas (…) left us on September 30th.”
Danneberg was “one of the greatest German dubbing voices” and “always a legend”; with his work he “breathed such great life into countless roles,” says Rettinghaus. He makes an even more urgent appeal to film distributors: “Have respect for the man Thomas Danneberg, for the legend Thomas Danneberg and for this unique voice Thomas Danneberg.” Under no circumstances should any attempt be made to imitate its voice or even replace it with an AI.
Have had health problems for a long time
Danneberg’s widow also confirmed the death loudly “Bild” and explains that her husband had been “struggling with health complications” for years. “It was important to him not to have to go to the hospital somewhere. We were able to stay at home together until the end.”
Before his successful career as a voice actor, Thomas Danneberg appeared on the theater stage and occasionally in front of the camera. Early on, however, it was primarily his unmistakable voice that got him jobs in the film industry: in 1964 he dubbed for the first time – in the drama “David and Lisa” the US star Keir Dullea (87, “2001: A Space Odyssey”).
His health problems meant that Danneberg had to retire in 2019. Shortly before, he had spoken to Terence Hill one last time in his film “My Name is Somebody”.
