Manouchehr Valizadeh, Famous Voice Actor of 'Lucky Luke', Passes Away

Manouchehr Valizadeh, a veteran and renowned voice actor in Iran, passed away at the age of 84 after being hospitalized for two weeks due to respiratory issues. Farshid Shakiba, the head of the dubbing unit at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, announced that this voice actor and performer died on Wednesday, February 19, in the intensive care unit. Throughout his six decades of artistic activity, from dubbing to hosting and acting in theater and cinema, he became a well-known artist for the people of Iran, primarily recognized for voicing the cartoon character 'Lucky Luke' (Luke the Fearless). Mr. Valizadeh was born in Tehran and entered the art scene at the age of 16, acting in films such as 'The Lost Flower' and 'An Angel in My House' before the 1979 Revolution, and later in films like 'Meeting Day', 'Don't Take It Seriously', and 'Separation' after the Revolution. However, his main fame lies in the dubbing industry, and his voice acting as Michael Scofield in the television series 'Prison Break' was also well received by audiences. He also voiced actors such as Tom Hanks, John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, Jason Statham, Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Robert Wagner, and Elvis Presley in his artistic career. This is the second passing of a veteran voice actor in Iran this week. Iraj Rezai, another veteran Iranian voice actor, also passed away on Monday, February 18, at the age of 89. He was born in 1935 in the village of Gourab in the Rasht County of Gilan Province and began his dubbing career in 1959 and started managing dubbing in 1979. Mr. Rezai voiced characters such as Peter Sellers in the film 'The Party', Bernard Hepton in the series 'The A-Team', and the voice of the cartoon character 'Deputy Sheriff'.