Irene Guest

 

Irene Guest was a long-time dubbing actress who was very active on the English dubbing scene in Rome throughout the 1960s and 70s. During her early days in the business, she dubbed various leading roles, but for the majority of her career, Irene was a superb character dubber whose specialized in voicing mature or middle-aged women – of both the seductive and the more matronly sort.

Sadly, Irene is yet another of the Rome dubbers whose career has been unfairly relegated to the shadows. In fact, I had never even heard of her until dubbing actor Roger Browne mentioned to me in an email in 2023 that Irene was someone who would often dub older women. Irene definitely deserves some long overdue credit for her work, as she was a very good and versatile dubber who could do both serious and comedic parts, and if you have an interest in giallo, spaghetti western, Eurocrime, Nazisploitation and the like, then you’ll surely recognize her characteristic voice in the sample video below:

 

 

As with most of the lesser-known Rome dubbers, there are not a whole lot of biographical details available on Irene, but thanks to old newspaper clippings and records from Ancestry.com, I can tell you that she was born as Irene Evelyn Guest in Short Hills, New Jersey, circa 1932. She attended the Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, and her school yearbook from 1948 described her as “a popular gal with a knack for acting, and an ever-ready smile,” indicating that she took an early interest in performative arts. Irene next became a student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, where she fell in love with her fellow student Gordon Law Clawson, Jr., to whom she was married in June of 1949.

 

Irene as a young bride. From The Pittsburgh Press (July 1, 1949).

Irene didn’t settle into the life of a traditional 1950s housewife, however, but instead went on to persue what was her strongest passion: opera. She possessed a beautiful soprano voice, and throughout the 1950s, Irene was a member of the Long Island Opera Company, regularly performing both on New York opera stages and on radio.

Notice from Plainfield Courier-News (March 12, 1953).

Notice from Brooklyn Daily (February 8, 1957).

 

Her marriage to Gordon Clawson didn’t work out, however, and by the end of the 1950s, the pair had divorced. A few years later, Irene decided she wanted to make something more out of her opera career, and in 1963, she packed her bags and went to Rome, Italy, to study opera there for one year.

 

This tiny notice in the 'Club and Social News' section of New Jersey newspaper The Item of Millburn and Short Hills (October 3, 1963) announced Irene's departure to Rome to study opera.

Like so many other American singers and actors who came to Rome during those years, Irene was quickly recruited onto the English dubbing scene. Before long, she had fallen in love with the Eternal City, and her planned one-year stay was extended indefinitely as Irene soon became a regular presence in the Roman dubbing salas. Initially, she was used to dub a lot of supporting or co-starring roles, as well as the odd lead, and during the mid to late 1960s, Irene lent her voice to such glamorous Italian starlets as Femi Benussi, Dominique Boschero, Ursula Davis, Wandisa Guida, Hélène Chanel, Gianna Serra and Rosalba Neri.

 

One of the earliest leading roles dubbed by Irene was that of Wandisa Guida in the peplum adventure Maciste in King Solomon's Mines (1964).

Irene dubbed the voice of Femi Benussi in the early giallo Deadly Inheritance (1968) and would later go on to dub Benussi again in Finders Killers (1971) and My Darling Domestic (1974).

Irene dubbed Dominique Boschero's showy villainess role in The Fantastic Argoman (1967). She later dubbed Boschero again in a much less glamorous role in C.I.A. Secret Story (1975).

Irene dubbed Rosalba Neri in two westerns: This Man Can't Die and Killer, Goodbye (both 1968).

 

In-between dubbing assignments, Irene continued to keep herself busy with opera. Dubbing actor Rodd Dana, who used to supplement his acting and dubbing career in Rome with a lot of opera work, came to know Irene very well and remembered her fondly when I asked him about her:

“Dear friend. She and I sang Aida together, and duets from Rigoletto, many times,” Dana recalled. “Lovely lady and a wonderful talent. Her long-time beau was my last singing teacher, Thomas Lo Monaco, who in 1968-9 (I forget) deserted us all to move to New York.”

Dubbing actor Roger Browne also shared some memories: “Irene Guest was essentially an opera singer, I think. She dubbed some, but was never one of the top women like Susan [Spafford] or Carolyn [de Fonseca]. More of a brusio type. Not a sweet voice. I guess a coloratura, as if I knew what that was! She went with Tommy Lo Monaco, a teacher.”

Browne’s observation that Irene didn’t have a ‘sweet’ voice might explain why the early 1970s saw her shifting more and more towards dubbing character parts played by older actresses. But unlike her dubbing colleagues Cicely Browne and Louise Lambert, Irene usually didn’t dub the really old ladies, but instead established herself as somewhat of a specialist in providing voices for more mature or middle-aged women. Her talent and versatility ensured that she was very successful in this field and kept herself busy all through the 1970s.

Susan Scott was one of the mature actresses dubbed by Irene - first in Smooth Velvet, Raw Silk (1976) and then later in Honey (1981).

The late 1970s saw Irene dubbing a lot of villainesses in Naziploitation films such as Marina Daunia in SS Girls (1977). Her voice was also featured in the likes of Women's Camp 119, The Red Nights of the Gestapo and SS Camp 5 - Women's Hell (all 1977).

Check out the video below for some more examples of Irene’s work dubbing both younger and older women in serious as well as comedic parts:

Irene remained a much in-demand character dubber all through the 1970s, but I’ve not been able to spot her voice in any films after 1981. Rodd Dana believed that Irene had eventually left Rome for New York, but this is contradicted by the discovery of a 1986 newspaper obituary for Irene’s father, Joseph Guest, which makes reference to his daughter “Irene Zanoni of Rome, Italy” – suggesting that she had actually remained in Rome, re-married and presumably retired from dubbing.

 

Obituary for Irene's father, Joseph Guest, in The Item of Millburn and Short Hills (January 30, 1986).

 

It would seem that Irene didn’t completely abandon the dubbing scene, however, because in a very surprising turn of events, she shows up as part of the dubbing cast for the English version of the animated Italian Christmas film Opopomoz (2003) – more than 20 years after her previously known dubbing performance!

The English dub of Opopomoz has not been widely seen, but it was included as an alternate language track on the film’s Italian DVD release. The English opening and closing credits are not included on this release, but instead a text of the full English dubbing credits is included among the supplement material – revealing that the role of Adele the grandmother is voiced by none other than Irene Guest!

 

Grandma Adele, the character voiced by Irene in Opopomoz.

Dubbing cast credit from the Italian Opopomoz DVD.

 

And here you can watch a little clip of Irene dubbing Grandma Adele in Opopomoz: 

 

 

Now, this was a most fortuitous discovery indeed as this is Irene’s only known credited acting role, and it is thanks to this that it was possible to identify her voice, albeit with some difficulty given the large time gap between this role and her old dubbing parts from the 60s and 70s. Irene obviously sounds much older in Opopomoz, but one can nevertheless recognize several of the more characteristic inflections – especially when comparing with her dubbing of Clara Colosimo in The Gun (1978), featured in the video at the top.

Whether the role in Opopomoz was a one-off comeback, or if Irene continued to sporadically dub throughout the years I do not know, but it’s my hope that more information about her life and career can eventually be unearthed. But in the meantime, we now at least have a name and a face to go with the voice of this very talented and long-time dubbing actress who throughout the years enriched dozens upon dozens of Italian genre films with her colorful dubbing performances.

 

 

English dubbing filmography:

 

- The Scourge of the Barbarians (1962) - voice of Grenda (Moira Orfei)

- Death on the Fourposter (1964) - voice of Frankie (Gloria Milland)

- A Game of Crime (1964) - voice of A Friend of the Luganis (Elisa Mainardi)

- Maciste in King Solomon’s Mines (1964) - voice of Queen Fazira (Wandisa Guida)

- Zorikan the Barbarian (1964) - voice of Anna (Anita Todesco)

- A Coffin for the Sheriff (1965) - voice of Lupe’s Woman (Maria Vico)

- The Desert Renegades (1965) - voice of Farida (Leila Sheir)

- Ghosts of Rome (1961; dubbed in 1965) - voice of Nella (Franca Marzi)

- Pia of Ptolemy (1958; dubbed in the mid 1960s) - voice of Pia (Ilaria Occhini)

- An Angel for Satan (1966) - voice of Rita (Ursula Davis)

- Target for Killing (1966) - voice of Sandra Perkins (Karin Dor)

- The Wild, Wild Planet (1966) - voice of Vicky Halstead (unidentified actress)

- Death Walks in Laredo (1967) - voice of Debra Smith (Gianna Serra)

- The Fantastic Argoman (1967) - voice of Regina Sullivan/Jenabell (Dominique Boschero)

- A Fistful of Diamonds (1967) - voice of Sherry (Antonella Murgia)

- Deadly Inheritance (1968) - voice of Simone Marot (Femi Benussi)

- Killer, Goodbye (1968) - voice of Fanny Sand (Rosalba Neri)

- The King of Kong Island (1968) - voice of Ursula (Adriana Alben)

- This Man Can’t Die (1968) - voice of Melina (Rosalba Neri)

- Naked Violence (1969) - voice of Signorina Romani (Danika La Loggia)

- A Place in Hell (1969) - voice of Betsy (Hélène Chanel)

- The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail (1971) - voice of Lara Florakis (Janine Reynaud)

- Finders Killers (1971) - voice of Connie (Femi Benussi)

- Hands Up, Dead Man! You’re Under Arrest (1971) - voice of Maybelle (Helga Liné)

- The Naked Cello (1971) - voice of Costanza’s Mother (Elsa Vazzoler)

- Paid in Blood (1971) - voice of Zenda (Esmeralda Barros)

- The Price of Death (1971) - voice of Mrs. Randall (Laura Gianoli)

- When Men Carried Clubs and Women Played Ding-Dong (1971) - voice of Didi (Valeria Fabrizi)

- An Animal Called Man (1972) - voice of Yvette (Gillian Bray)

- Christiana the Devil Nun (1972) voice of Mother Superior (Maria Virginia Benati)

- Cry Out in Terror (1972) - voice of Vanessa (Giuliana Rivera)

- Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) - voice of Signora Spriano (Rosalia Maggio)

- The Eye in the Labyrinth (1972) - voice of Orphanage Directress (Elisa Mainardi)

- Hector the Mighty (1972) - voice of Cassandra (Franca Valeri)

- It Can Be Done... Amigo (1972) - voice of Mrs. Warren (Serena Michelotti)

- Knife of Ice (1972) - voice of Mrs. Britton (Silvia Monelli)

- More Sexy Canterbury Tales (1972) - voice of Lucrezia (Monica Audras)

- The Murder Mansion (1972) - voice of Mrs. Tremont (Yelena Samarina)

- The Other Canterbury Tales (1972) - voice of Widow Collagia (Assunta Costanzo)

- The Poseidon Explosion (1972) - voice of Angela (Draga Olteanu Matei)

- Hospitals, the White Mafia (1973) - voice of Baronessa Lanciani (unidentified actress)

- Suppose... I Break Your Neck (1973) - voice of Prostitute (Lina Franchi)

- Women in Cell Block 7 (1973) - voice of Chief Matron (Olga Bisera)

- The Eerie Midnight Horror Show (1974) - voice of Satanic Priestess (Bruna Beani)

- Erotomania (1974) - voice of Gertrude (Maria Antonietta Beluzzi)

- Innocence and Desire (1974) - voice of Lola (Anna Maria Pescatori)

- My Darling Domestic (1974) - voice of Lola Mandragali (Femi Benussi)

- Spasmo (1974) - voice of Woman in Car (Rosita Torosh)

- The Three with Pink Leaves (1974) - voice of Mrs. Terenzi (Marisa Merlini)

- Women’s Prison (1974) - voice of Susanna (Marilù Tolo)

- C.I.A. Secret Story (1975) - voice of Licia Pinelli (Dominique Boschero)

- Eyeball (1975) - voice of Nurse (Rina Mascetti)

- The Masters (1975) - voice of Sebastiano’s Mother (Carla Calò)

- The Teenage Prostitution Racket (1975) - voice of Gisella’s Mother (Giuliana Rivera) and Psychiatrist (Franca Aldrovandi)

- The Au Pair Girl (1976) - voice of Maddalena (Patrizia Webley)

- The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976) - voice of Mamma Teresa (Iolanda Fortini)

- Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976) - voice of Menica (Gina Mascetti)

- Smooth Velvet, Raw Silk (1976) - voice of Crystal (Susan Scott)

- The Tough Ones (1976) - voice of Signora Assante (Mara Mariani)

- The Cat’s Victims (1977) - voice of Signora Dezzan (Jill Pratt)

- The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977) - voice of Landlady at the ‘Gabriella’ (Ermelinda De Felice)

- In the Beach House (1977) - voice of Gloria (Clara Algranti)

- The Red Nights of the Gestapo (1977) - voice of Esther (Niki Penati)

- Sister Emanuelle (1977) - voice of Sister Cécile (Pia Velsi)

- SS Camp 5 – Women’s Hell (1977) - voice of Alina (Rita Manna)

- SS Girls (1977) - voice of Frau Inge (Marina Daunia)

- Stunt Squad (1977) - voice of Anna (Claudia Giannotti)

- Women’s Camp 119 (1977) - voice of Kapo Marta (Ria De Simone)

- Fearless Fuzz (1978) - voice of Teresa Vincenzo (Luciana Turina)

- The Gun (1978) - voice of Pitta Callini (Clara Colosimo)

- Last Feelings (1978) - voice of School Teacher (Deddi Savagnone)

- Loggerheads (1978) - voice of Gerda (Lea Lander)

- The War of the Robots (1978) - voice of Commander King’s Assistant (Licinia Lentini)

- Emanuelle and Joanna (1979) - voice of Emanuela’s Mother (Catherine Zago)

- Escape from Hell (1980) - voice of Marie Antoinette (Anna Maria Panaro)

- Honey (1981) - voice of The School Mistress (Susan Scott)

 

 

Animation dubbing:

 

- Opopomoz (2003) - voice of Grandma Adele

 

 

Acknowledgements: A big thank you to Michael Ferguson and Tom Betts, who very kindly helped out by digging up a lot of additional newspaper notices and records which revealed several interesting details about Irene’s life and career.

 

This page was last updated on: July 13, 2025.