The slightly abrasive soprano voice of Adelina Luna Gómez, better known as Delia Luna, was heard in numerous Spanish-dubbed soundtracks produced by Arcofón, Cinearte and Magna, the most frequented sound studios in the career of Jess Franco, in whose long filmography Luna, who passed away in the late nineties, made numerous incursions over the course of about two decades.
The niece of the noted character actor Manuel Luna, she made her onscreen debut in 1952 and went on to appear in some 18 films over the following decade, almost invariably dubbing herself except for some occasional films whose soundtracks were created in Barcelona. Dark-haired, with a roundish face and a slightly upturned nose, she landed female lead parts in two Antonio Molina vehicles, but was otherwise usually seen in supporting roles, sometimes as nuns. Her career dubbing others started shortly after her screen debut and from 1963 onwards she concentrated almost exclusively on her voice acting, remaining active in the profession until her death c. 1997. In the seventies and eighties, she worked extensively on many TV redubs of classic films whose original Spanish-language soundtracks were unavailable or in poor condition; in this capacity, she was frequently assigned to supply to dub Maureen O’ Hara. Other assignments of hers include several secondary Bond girls (Shirley Eaton, Martine Beswick), some voices for Patty Shepard, the voice of Bárbara Rey whenever Rey herself was not available (including Amando de Ossorio’s El buque maldito), Linda Kelsey in the whole Lou Grant TV show and Linda Grey in the first seasons of Dallas (the role was later taken over by Pilar Gentil, who had dubbed Pilar Cristal in The Awful Dr. Orloff), not to mention what, to many Spaniards, may be her most familiar vocal role on TV, that of Rue McClanahan's character Blanche Devereaux in the sitcom The Golden Girls. To all this one should add occasional jobs involving Anne Bancroft, Claudia Cardinale and Mary Steenburgen, among many other works.
What follows is a list of several of Delia Luna’s dubbing efforts, including some that may be of interest to readers of the present blog:
Bibi Andersson in The Seventh Seal
Mary Maude in The House That Screamed (great job)
Samantha Eggar in The Light at the Edge of the World
Marilù Tolo in My Dear Killer
Maria Rohn in Black Beauty
Annalisa Nardi in Murder Mansion
Loreta Tovar in The Return of the Blind Dead
Susan Taff in Curse of the Vampyr
Maria Perschy in Hunchback of the Morgue
Ingrid Garbo in Dracula’s Great Love
Betsabé Ruiz in El espectro del terror
Helga Liné in The Dracula Saga
Susan Taff in Curse of the Vampyr
Patty Shepard in A Man Called Noon
Lone Fleming in A Candle for the Devil
Ewa Aulin in The Legend of Blood Castle
Dianik Zurakowska in The Vampires’ Night Orgy
Lois Chiles in The Great Gatsby
Marcelle Bichette in The Swamp of the Ravens
Julia Saly in Muerte de un quinqui
Bárbara Rey in The Ghost Galleon
Jennifer O'Neill in The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
Maria Marx in Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS
Cirsitna Galbó in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (Galbó often dubbed herself but not here)
Anne Francis in Eugenio Martín’s Pancho Villa
Joan Collins in The Cry of the Wolf
Barbara Bouchet in Don’t Torture a Duckling
Kataharine Ross in The Voyage of the Damned
Sandra Mozarowsky in Night of the Seagulls
Lynne Frederick in The Four of the Apocalypse
Susan Strasberg in The Manitou
Janet Margolin in Last Embrace
Olivia Hussey in Death on the Nile
Trish Van Devere in The Changeling
Helen Mirren in The Long Good Friday
Louise Marleau in Alien Contamination
Alexandra Delli Colli in Dr. Butcher M.D.
Jennifer O’Neil in Scanners
Sabrina Siani in Ator, The Fighting Eagle
Paola Senatore in Lenzi’s Eaten Alive
Cinzia Monreale in The Beyond
Dagmar Lassander in House by the Cemetery
Zora Kerova and Cinzia de Ponti in The New York Ripper
Robin Groves in The Nesting
Lorraine de Selle in Cannibal Ferox
Jennifer Ashley in Inseminoid
Maryam D’Abó in Xtro (the theatrical version, not the DVD dubbing)
Ronee Blakley in Nightmare on Elm Street
Barbara Crampton in Re-Animator
Valentina Cortese in The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (not the original theatrical dub but one made for Spanish TV)
Cassandra Peterson in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
Kelly McGillis in Cat Chaser
Janet Agren in Night of the Sharks
Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish
What follows is a list, possibly incomplete, of Delia Luna’s Jess Franco efforts. It must be said that most of her vocal roles for Franco are in stark contrast with the “wholesome” characters (nuns, nurses, housewives, “good” girls) she would usually play onscreen.
Lucía Prado in
The Diabolical Dr. Z (1965)
Beni Cardoso in The Girl from Rio (1968)
Luciana Paluzzi in
99 Women (1968)
Magda the convict (actress unidentified, behind Maria Schell) in 99 Women (1968)
Soledad Miranda in Vampyros Lesbos (1970)
Mara Lasso in
El muerto hace las malestas (1971)
Eva Garden in
La venganza del doctor Mabuse (1971)
Glenda Allen in
Un silencio de tumba (1972)
Inge (actress unidentified) in Los ojos siniestros del doctor Orloff (1973)
Ada Tauler in
Al otro lado del espejo (1973)
Evelyne Scott in Night of the Skull (1973)
Alice Arno in
Mais qui donc a violé Linda? (1973) (dubbed into Spanish in 1984, for its VHS release)
Nadine Pascal in
Las chicas de Copacabana (1979)
Nadja Gerganoff in
Bloody Moon (1981)
Raquel Evans in
Linda (1981)
Andrea Guzón in
Sadomania (1981)
Analía Ivars in
Juego sucio en Casablanca (1984)
Ana María Espejo in
Viaje a Bangkok, atáud incluido (1985)
Stéphane Audran in
Faceless (1988)
Carole Keeper in
Fall of the Eagles (1990)
Link to Delia Luna's imdb entry:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526018/
Link to an online list (incomplete) of Delia Luna's vocal filmography:
http://www.eldoblaje.com/datos/Fichaactordoblaje.asp?Id=1595
Delia Luna and Manolo Morán (of Franco's 1960 Labios rojos) in Luis Lucia's Aeropuerto (1953)
Delia Luna (right) and Elena Espejo in Jerónimo Mihura's
Maldición gitana (1953)
Delia Luna with Francisco Javier Martín "Blaki" in Fernando Palacios's Marisol rumbo a Río (1963)
They've all done Jess Franco! Delia Luna (far right), probably in the 1980s, at the Arcofón studios, in the company of with three other voice actors: Rosa María Belda, Jesús Nieto and, on the far left, Juan Antonio Castro (Remember him in Amando de Ossorio's
Night of the Seagulls? He was Teddy the misfit)
Voice Samples of Delia Luna:
- D.L.'s voice for Soledad Miranda in
Vampyros Lesbos:
http://www.4shared.com/music/05JK_F9U/delsoledad.html?
- D.L.'s voice for Evelyne Scott in
Night of the Skull:
http://www.4shared.com/music/nQupgd9H/delia_luna3.html?
- D.L.'s voice for Raquel Evans in
Linda:
http://www.4shared.com/music/y_YU7dWT/delraquel.html?
- D.L.'s voice for Susan Taff in José María Elorrieta's
Curse of the Vampyr:
http://www.4shared.com/music/3H_cj7PI/delia_luna.html?
Text by Nzoog Wahrlfhehen
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