Nikki van der Zyl - Voice Dubber Extraordinaire

edited March 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 19,339
Ive just found out browsing that Nikki van der Zyl did some major voice-over work in the early Bond films right up to Moonraker,dubbing actresses.

Here is her list :

Dr. No (1962) (Revoiced Ursula Andress and all female voices except Moneypenny, Miss Taro, and possibly Sister Rose and Sister Lily.)
From Russia with Love (1963) (Revoiced Eunice Gayson and female hotel clerk in Istanbul.)
Goldfinger (1964) (Revoiced Shirley Eaton and Bonita. Voice coach to Gert Fröbe on set with him.)
Thunderball (1965) (Revoiced Claudine Auger and woman in red dress at the nightclub.)
You Only Live Twice (1967) (Revoiced Kissy, the girl Bond 'marries' in the film.)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) (Revoiced Olympe and various other characters.)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Woman's voice heard on boat in Amsterdam.
Live and Let Die (1973) (Partly revoiced Jane Seymour).
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) (Revoiced Chew Mee and various other characters.)
Moonraker (1979) (Revoiced various.)


Thats an impressive list......
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Comments

  • Posts: 5,767
    Impressive indeed. I´m surprised she didn´t re-voice Gert Frobe too ;-) .

    So far I only noticed that there´s the same male voice in TND (I forgot where exactly) and in DAD (in Zao´s subconscious German lesson). Distinctive, but minor in comparison to Miss van der Zyl.
  • DiscoVolanteDiscoVolante Stockholm, Sweden
    Posts: 1,347
    Lovely voice, that Nikky :)

    Her legacy to the series is huge
  • LudsLuds MIA
    edited March 2011 Posts: 1,986
    Quoting DiscoVolante: Lovely voice, that Nikky :-)
    Her legacy to the series is huge
    Absolutely, and sadly widely unknown to most. Shame.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Quoting boldfinger: Impressive indeed. I´m surprised she didn´t re-voice Gert Frobe too

    She was his dialogue coach who assisted him though! :-))
  • DiscoVolanteDiscoVolante Stockholm, Sweden
    edited March 2011 Posts: 1,347
    Quoting Samuel001: Quoting boldfinger: Impressive indeed. I´m surprised she didn´t re-voice Gert Frobe too



    She was his dialogue coach who assisted him though!
    I wonder what assistance she gave, I mean, Gert Fröbe isn't the voice of Goldfinger (Michael Collins is). Perhaps she assisted in lip sync or something :p
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited March 2011 Posts: 13,350
    As he couldn't speak English and was dubbed in the finished film anyway, @DiscoVolante I'd said you're right. That's as far as any foreseeable help could've gone.

    Unless anyone else knows more on the matter?
  • Posts: 5,767
    Quoting DiscoVolante: I wonder what assistance she gave, I mean, Gert Fröbe isn't the voice of Goldfinger (Michael Collins is). Perhaps she assisted in lip sync or something :P
    I´m actually not sure about Collins. I know it says in many places Frobe was dubbed, but I watched him in German movies, and Goldfinger´s timbre is exactly that of Gert Frobe. De Niro has a German dub voice that´s very close to his original voice, but you can still make a difference. I don´t hear any difference between Goldfinger´s voice and Frobe´s voice whatsoever.
  • edited March 2011 Posts: 19,339
    I agree with that,if you watch him in 'And Then There Were None' he sounds exactly the same as he did in GF as well.....it is odd.
  • saunderssaunders Living in a world of avarice and deceit
    Posts: 987
    For any UK members interested in Nikki van der Zyl, you might want to watch the Antiques Roadshow at 8.00 pm on BBC1 tonight as apparently she will be on it with an original script for Goldfinger.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Wow, I may watch The Antiques Roadshow for the very first time! Thanks for the tip @saunders.
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    edited April 2011 Posts: 1,699
    Spoke to my mum on the phone tonight and she told me about it. Had the snooker on instead, during which (perhaps unsurprisingly) I fell asleep. Not exactly my finest hour. #-O

    Mind you, I can't stand the Sunday-night-Middle-England-TV-smugness of Antiques Roadshow ordinarily anyway...
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    Miss van der Zyl also dubbed Anita Ekberg in the EON comedy "Call Me Bwana"(1963) and Sylva Koscina in the Bond spinoff "Deadlier Than The Male."
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited April 2011 Posts: 13,350
    I missed it! Drat! Did anyone catch what the Goldfinger script was valued at?
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    My mum said they didn't actually value it, which seems rather pointless to me... :-?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Quoting St_George: My mum said they didn't actually value it, which seems rather pointless to me...
    >-)

    Now I'm glad I didn't watch! What was the point of it being televised then?...That's the most confusing thing I think I've heard all month.
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    Quoting Samuel001: Now I'm glad I didn't watch! What was the point of it being televised then?...That's the most confusing thing I think I've heard all month.
    God only knows; that damn show irritates the hell out of me... :(|)
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    Antiques Roadshow isn't supposed to be just about valuations (or at least originally it wasn't). It was equally about showing and chatting about interesting objects or heir looms.

    The original presenter who I think was Hugh Scully, left the show years ago because he didn't like how it had become all about valuing objects with none of the intrigue and interesting stories that the show was originally designed to do.

    As a footnote I rarely if ever watch it myself but Mrs Nac is a fan
  • Posts: 1
    Hi Guys,

    I was reading some of the comments you posted about Nikki van der Zyl, and it sounds really similar to Irina Margareta Nistor from Romania, who dubbed over 5,000 american movies during the 80s. She plays a very important part in their history, as it it was during the communist era when these films were being dubbed.
    A documentary is currently shooting based on this story and would like to expand the search onto other countries with similar history.

    Do you think Nikki van der Zyl served a more a important role during the 80s, such as a symbol for escapism from the harsh reality at the time?

    Please email me your comments, I would love to hear more about your stories!

    Thanks
    Desi
  • edited April 2012 Posts: 3,494
    boldfinger wrote:
    Impressive indeed. I´m surprised she didn´t re-voice Gert Frobe too ;-) .

    So far I only noticed that there´s the same male voice in TND (I forgot where exactly) and in DAD (in Zao´s subconscious German lesson). Distinctive, but minor in comparison to Miss van der Zyl.

    That's funny, I would have thought she'd do Adolfo Celi too while she was at it. I caught an rerun of the late 1960's "It Takes A Thief" (fun show I loved as a kid, some similarities to Bond) and he appeared with a completely different voice than he did in Thunderball. Either he had a different dubber or was more proficient at English by then.

    When I called my son into my room to show him Celi, he said "Dad are you sure that's him? He doesn't even sound like Largo". I said to him "Wait until he turns sideways". As soon as he did, he said "Yep, that's Largo all right". That classic Sicilian hawk nose is unmistakable :D

    R.I.P Adolfo (27 July 1922 –19 February 1986), one of the great villains of the series.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    I would like to offer my praise to Nikki van der Zyl for her fantastic work on the early films. Really difficult to imagine all those early Bond girls are the same person. Its a real talent and it is perhaps sad that such people are overlooked in the film industry and by the public at large when you could easily argue that they are due as much credit as the actual actor. Take Andy Serkis as a prime example; some of his work his as good as anyones but because its CGI and motion capture its rather looked down upon.
  • Posts: 5,745
    Oh look, it bumped!


    8-|
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Well as the other thread was closed rather swiftly for reasons I cant really fathom (veering off topic? No. Foul language? No. Ask JamesPage people) I thought it would be nice to bump a thread about Nikki for people who want to discuss her work.

    BUT

    Please people do not post comments about her book, Sir Rogers foreword being pulled or Bondstars dropping her. These topics are strictly out of bounds.
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 5,745
    Please people do not post comments about her book, Sir Rogers foreword being pulled or Bondstars dropping her. These topics are strictly out of bounds.

    You should be careful with your allegations. Not everyone likes to be blamed for something they've likely had nothing to do with. Don't assume this website is involved with any sort of controversy.
  • Posts: 1,497
    Something's fishy about the whole thing...

    Anyhow, let s talk about Nikki...I didn't realize until recently that she dubbed ALL of those Bond girls: Honey, Sylvia, Jill, Domino, Kissy, Solitaire, and many more. There are memorable characteristics of the early films: John Barry music cues, Ted Moore's cinematography, Peter Hunts editing, the travelogue feel, and then the subtle details like the leather panelled office doors, little touches like that that feel so familiar. Nikki's voice was one of those little familiar touches; one of those wonderful unique pieces of the early Bond films.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited December 2012 Posts: 9,117
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    Please people do not post comments about her book, Sir Rogers foreword being pulled or Bondstars dropping her. These topics are strictly out of bounds.

    You should be careful with your allegations. Not everyone likes to be blamed for something they've likely had nothing to do with. Don't assume this website is involved with any sort of controversy.

    I dont assume I observe.

    And what precisely have I alleged? Only that it seems very strange that one thread that was out of all the thousands on here that was working perfectly well the day before suddenly started failing to bump. As of yet no one has come forward with a logical explanation.

  • Posts: 5,745
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    Please people do not post comments about her book, Sir Rogers foreword being pulled or Bondstars dropping her. These topics are strictly out of bounds.

    You should be careful with your allegations. Not everyone likes to be blamed for something they've likely had nothing to do with. Don't assume this website is involved with any sort of controversy.

    I dont assume I observe.

    You assume based on observation, otherwise you wouldn't make accusations.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited December 2012 Posts: 9,117
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    Please people do not post comments about her book, Sir Rogers foreword being pulled or Bondstars dropping her. These topics are strictly out of bounds.

    You should be careful with your allegations. Not everyone likes to be blamed for something they've likely had nothing to do with. Don't assume this website is involved with any sort of controversy.

    I dont assume I observe.

    You assume based on observation, otherwise you wouldn't make accusations.

    Am I on my own here?

    Sir Roger Moore a well loved national treasure writes a foreword to a seemingly innocuous book which he then, without explanation, pulls at the last minute.

    I think thats a story worthy of discussion but when I raise it I am just met with people wanting to hush it all away or outright hostility as evidenced here.

    Am I to unwittingly become the Anna Poltikovskaya of MI6?

    Presumably someone is itching to lock this any minute for straying off topic so in an attempt to get the thread back on track did Nikki not do Tatiana as well? Having seen interviews with Daniella Bianchi I cant believe that she did her own voice but its not listed in Nikkis CV.
  • I'm with you. Nikki van der Zyl deserves a lot of respect for her work on the Bond films. I'll certainly be buying her book.
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 824
    Why is this thread not bumping?. I have a lot of respect for the MI6 site and the people who run it but your actions regarding discussion of Nikki van der Zyl are disappointing.
  • edited December 2012 Posts: 824
    I think Daniela Bianchi was dubbed by Barbara Jefford

    The foreward to Nikki van der Zyls book is now by sound editor, Norman Wanstall
This discussion has been closed.