Manuchehr Esmaili (March 29, 1939 - August 22, 2022) was an Iranian dubbing artist and dubbing manager.

Manuchehr Esmaili was born on March 29, 1939 in Kermanshah, Iran. He started his career as a dubbing artist in 1957 with voice acting in short or second and third roles, and since 1963 he was in charge of performing voice-overs to present many famous Iranian and foreign actors in international cinema.

In 1959, he did a great job as voice actor in Gates of Paris (1957) under the dubbing direction of Ali Kasmaie, his teacher and master, and experienced the peak of his career in dubbing with Ben Hur (1959) under the guidance of Ahmed Rasulzadeh in 1962. Among the characters he voiced-over are Anthony Quinn (Hamzah) in "The Message" (1976) and Steve McQueen in "Papillon".

Esmaili is known for playing several characters in the same film with various voices. In Ali Hatami's Hezar Dastan, Esmaili voiced-over Shaaban Jafari (Mohammed Ali Keshavarz), Reza Tofangchi (Jamshid Mashayikhi) and Hezar Dastan (Ezzatollah Entezami) and Jamshid Layegh. He was also the cousin of Zohreh Shokoufandeh, another great veteran Iranian voice actor.

Death

In the last hours of the evening on Monday, August 22, 2022, after a few days of being discharged from the hospital, he died due to a heart problem at his home.

The Ceremony

On March 2009, the Ministry of Guidance decided to arrange a meeting with the purpose of celebrating Iranian top voice actors. After inviting veterans of the country's dubbing industry, including Ali Kasmaie, Manuchehr Esmaili, Hossein Erfani, Khosro Khosroshahi, Changiz Jalilvand and others, the ceremony was held late, and the inconsistency in the planning of awarding ceremony and long speeches caused Esmaili to protest. So as a sign of protest he left the hall with some guests and left the ceremony unfinished. (Some media point out that the most important reason was the presence of young and unknown voice actors in the group of dubbing professionals, and that Ismaili believed that the illegal activity of some of these novice voice actors had caused the quality of dubbing in the country to decline drastically.) On February 1, 2018, he was honored at the opening ceremony of Iranian Fajr Film Festival.

Honors

On March 4, 2010, the 11th film and television festival (Donyaye Tasvir) hosted the stars of Iranian cinema and television. In a part of this ceremony, which was praised by domestic news agencies, Manuchehr Esmaili was honored and awarded with a golden statue of Hafez for a lifetime of artistic activity.

Esmaili owed many of his accomplishments in the art of dubbing to his teacher and master Ali Kasmaie, as he often mentioned this: "I am a student of Master Kasmaie. It was him who discovered my talent as a voice actor in Gates of Paris (Rene Clair). I am a small part of Ali Kasmai's great work. I send my gratitudes to all the artists who contributed to Iranian cinema: Abdollah Mohammadi, Asghar Tafakkori, Jaleh Kazemi, Manuchehr Nozari, Abdollah Butimar, Hossein Sarshar, whose death saddened everyone. I appreciate all the living artists and those who carry the foundations of our cinema on their shoulders. The honor and prestige of Iranian dubbing industry is the result of Kasmaie's lifelong efforts."

Manuchehr Esmaili appeared as an actor in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's banned movie The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood (1991).

Selected Filmography

Voice Actor (Iranian Movies)

Jamal (1964)
Hasan kachal (1969)
Gheisar (1969)
Gorbeh ro dameh hejleh mikoshan (1969)
Panjareh (1970)
Reza Motori (1970)
Rashid (1971)
Dash Akol (1971)
Reza chelchele (1971)
Baluch (1972)
Topoli (1972)
Khastegar (1972)
Ragbar (1972)
Baba Nan Dad (1972)
Tangna (1973)
Khak (1973)
Nefrin (1973)
Kaka siah (1973)
Mahboob-e bacheha (1973)
Alaki-khosh (1974)
Miram baba bekharam (1974)
Najoorha (1974)
Maslakh (1974)
Boofe Koor (1975)
My Uncle Napoleon (TV series, 1976)
Shame Akhar (1976)
Ghazal (1976)
In Grouhe Mahkumin (1977)
Sooteh Delan (1977)
Faryad Zire Ab (1977)
Hezardastan (TV series, 1979-1987)
Mirase Man Jonoon (1981)
Khate Ghermez (1982)
Kamalolmolk (1983)
Taraj (1984)
Baykot (1985)
Tigh va Abrisham (1985)
Payeeze Sahra (TV series, 1985)
Nakhoda Khorshid (1986)
Sorb (1988)
Madar (1989)
Emam Ali (TV series, 1991-1996)
Mardane Angeles (1996)
Maryam Moghaddas (2000)
Jorm (2010)


Actor

 1990 The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood | Shabhaye Zayendeh-Rood
 1983 Mirza Koochak Khan
 1983 Sardar-e jangal

Dubbing Manager

 1985 Taraj (sound)
 1978 Koose-ye jonoob

Self

 1975 Safar-e Bahari (Documentary short)