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Ted Thomas

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Ted Thomas
Thomas wearing a suit and tie
Born July 11, 1929[1]
Cheshire, England[1]
Died November 26, 2022 (aged 93)[2]
Thailand
Occupation Actor
First work The Secret of the Telegian (1960) [dub]
Notable work Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) [dub]
Imdb.png
“
And of course, presumably, Run Run Shaw chose us because we were less expensive. We were in Hong Kong and we were using cheap flats for studios. So we were, in a way, pioneers and that is very satisfying. Of course, I’d make a point of not seeing any of the movies now ‘cause I would cringe in embarrassment.
„ 

— Ted Thomas in his interview by Steve Ryfle[3]

Ted Thomas, real name Thomas Edward Juson,[4] was an English-born voice actor. The founder of the Hong Kong dubbing group Axis International, the first of its kind in the city, Thomas voiced multiple characters in the English export dubs of innumerable films. His most notable roles include Hachiro Jinguji and the High Priest of Mu in Atragon (1963), Tatsuemon Kanemaru in Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967), Kubota and Godzilla himself in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), and Emperor Antonio in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973).

Biography

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Ted Thomas was born in Cheshire, England, on July 11, 1929. Around the age of 17, Thomas joined the Royal Navy and was shipped out to many countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.[1] During this time, he briefly worked part-time as a sports commentator on the British Forces Broadcasting Service, based in Trieste, as a freelancer.[5] He returned to the UK around the age of 20, where he was trained as an instructor in electronics and radar.[1] In 1955, Thomas was sent to Hong Kong to set up a naval intelligence operation; he was in charge of five radar stations around the city that observed ships going up the Pearl River.[6][1] In Hong Kong, he returned to part-time broadcasting as a sports commentator under Radio Television Hong Kong.[7] Thomas decided to secure his release from the Navy by the end of his second year in Hong Kong, joining RTHK on a full-time basis in 1957.[1]

Shaw Brothers’ co-founder Run Run Shaw later invited Thomas to test out film dubbing. He enjoyed the experience and began to develop an interest in the process.[8] Concurrent with his broadcasting work, Thomas started Axis International, Hong Kong's first English-language dubbing group. He ran the dubbing group with the assistance of Ron Oliphant, who also served as one of Axis's scriptwriters.[9][10] Thomas was featured as a voice actor in many of his group's produced dubs,[11] though he and the other actors would never be credited under his or Axis's name due to their employment in the Hong Kong government.[1] Toho, Daiei, and Toei all commissioned Axis to produce English dubs for some of their tokusatsu films. Thomas typically voiced older male characters, including Godzilla himself in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). Aside from dubbing, Thomas also appeared onscreen in films such as The Mighty Peking Man (1977).

After Axis ceased operations, Thomas went on to continue work in public relations, running Corporate Communications Ltd.,[12] while occasionally returning to acting, being heard in the 2000s dub of Wheels on Meals and appearing in films such as Ultraviolet (2006).[13][14] He eventually retired to Thailand in the 2010s, where he remained until his passing on November 26, 2022, at the age of 93. His family spread his ashes in a Hong Kong harbor on January 29, 2023, then held a gathering of friends and family at the Foreign Correspondents' Club.[2]

Selected filmography

Gallery

Videos

Interview with Ted Thomas by Steve Ryfle
Compilation of some of Thomas's acting roles
Thomas interviewing Bruce Lee

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ Named Gen Ryusho in the Japanese version.

References

This is a list of references for Ted Thomas. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "MAN OF A THOUSAND VOICES! Hong Kong Voice Actor Ted Thomas on His Prolific Dubbing Career!". Vantage Point Interviews. 17 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Homenick, Brett (8 February 2023). "Ted Thomas, Hong Kong-Based Voice Actor for Godzilla and Bruce Lee Films, Passes Away at Age 93". Sidelong Glances at a Pigeon Kicker.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Ted Thomas - The Art of Film Dubbing (Original)". YouTube. 16 December 2021.
  4. ↑ South China Morning Post 2006b: "Mr Thomas, whose real name is Thomas Edward Juson . . ."
  5. ↑ South China Morning Post 2014: "I got my radio training near Trieste (in Italy) as a broadcaster for the (British) navy: I was a sports reporter. I was OK at sports - soccer, boxing - so I could talk about them intelligently. I was in the Mediterranean for three years or so."
  6. ↑ South China Morning Post 2014: "The year was 1955 . . . We set up a coast-watching organisation with five radar stations around Hong Kong; we checked every ship going up to China along the Pearl River. I'd been sent here to catch one or two very famous people who were exporting goods of strategic value. I had to go out to all the islands to set up the radar stations . . ."
  7. ↑ South China Morning Post 2014: "So I went to RTHK and introduced myself to a guy called John Wallace - superb broadcaster. He says, "I'm going to a boxing match this evening at the Football Club, doing a commentary. Come along - I'll give you a shot." So we're sitting ringside, and he says, "Now joining me today is a new broadcaster - Ted Thomas, what do you think of the match?" and hands me the microphone, live. The minute I did this boxing commentary, I was in."
  8. ↑ "Interview with Ted Thomas - The Art of Film Dubbing (Original)". YouTube. 16 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "HONG KONG'S HIDDEN VOICE-ACTING GEM! Linda Masson on Her Dubbing Career in the 1960s and '70s!". Vantage Point Interviews. 16 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "GRUNTING & GROANING ACROSS THE DECADES! Saul Lockhart on Surviving as a Movie Voice Actor in Paris and Hong Kong!". Vantage Point Interviews. 19 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ted Thomas, Legendary Hong Kong Voice Actor". YouTube. 23 February 2015.
  12. ↑ South China Morning Post 2006a: "The head of a prominent Hong Kong public relations and publishing company . . . A High Court writ has been issued against Ted Thomas, chief executive of Corporate Communications . . ."
  13. ↑ South China Morning Post 2004a: "Thomas, a veteran of Hong Kong broadcasting and former Post columnist who is now chief executive of his own public relations firm, has spent the past two weeks in Shanghai playing a small role in the new Hollywood-produced movie Ultraviolet."
  14. ↑ South China Morning Post 2004b: "Longtime Hong Kong resident Ted Thomas has returned with tales of his two weeks in Shanghai shooting the movie Ultraviolet . . . Thomas said he plays a character in the military simply named chief of staff."

Bibliography

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Akira Ohashi • Alan Maxson • Andy Serkis • Chikara Hashimoto • Fuminori Ohashi • Haruo Nakajima • Haruya Sakamoto • Haruyoshi Nakamura • Hideto Date • Hirofumi Fukuzawa • Hirofumi Ishigaki • Hiroshi Sekita • Isao Zushi • Jason Liles • Jun Suzuki • Kanta Ina • Katsumi Tezuka • Kazuhiro Yoshida • Kazunari Mori • Kenpachiro Satsuma • Kenya Saitou • Kinichi Kusumi • Koetsu Omiya • Koji Uruki • Kurt Carley • Makoto Ito • Mansai Nomura • Masaki Shinohara • Masao "Little Man Machan" Fukazawa • Minoru Watanabe • Mizuho Yoshida • Motokuni Nakagawa • Naoko Kamio • Naoya Matsumoto • Richard Dorton • Rick Baker • Rie Ota • Ryo Hariya • "Hurricane" Ryu Hariken • Shinji Takagi • Shoichi Hirose • Susumu Utsumi • TJ Storm • Tadaaki Watanabe • Takateru Manabe • Tatsumi Nikamoto • Terry Notary • Teruo Aragaki • Tokio Okawa • Toru Kawai • Toshihiro Ogura • Toshinori Sasaki • Tsugutoshi Komada • Tsutomu Kitagawa • Umenosuke Izumi • Wataru Fukuda • Yumi Kameyama

 
 
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