Frontier Enterprises was a Tokyo-based English-dubbing house founded in 1964 by Cincinnati-born Korean War veteran William Ross, whose initial postwar plans were to join the Japanese State Department but ended up becoming involved in the film industry. In 1959, Ross started dubbing local productions into English upon a recommendation by native actor So Yamamura. He soon rose through the ranks, becoming so popular with his new colleagues that the Japanese director decided to put him in charge of everything on the first day. Thus started a long and storied career in English dubbing.
Frontier did jobs for Toho, Toei, and Shochiku and, along with New York-based Titra Studios, Rome-based Associated Recording Artists, and Hong Kong-based Axis International and Omni Productions, was part of the Big Five early English-dubbing houses. Ross resorted to holding auditions for local Anglophones and training the best of them. In the '70s, Toho moved to Axis and Omni for English-dubbed Godzilla films, and soon after, Ross turned to Japanese animation. One of his most renowned works was the original English dub of The Mystery of Mamo, the animated feature film debut of Monkey Punch's Lupin III.
Names to know in Frontier Enterprises
NOTE: For those involved in anime dubbing, the titles of anime on which each of them were involved as voiceover talent will be listed next to their names.- Lanny Broyles (Defenders of the Vortex, Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
- Bill Calhoun (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Walter Carroll (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Tom Clark (Lupin the Third, Voltes V)
- Deborah DeSnoo (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Robert Dunham (Choppy and the Princess)
- Will Gluck (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Clifford Harrington (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Defenders of the Vortex)
- Dean Harrington
- Michelle Hart (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Don Johnson (Swan Lake, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp)
- James Keating (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Don Knode (Lupin the Third, Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Steve Knode (Swan Lake)
- Patricia Kobayashi (Golden Bat, Lupin the Third, Swan Lake)
- Avi Landau (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Nancy Link (Swan Lake)
- Clay Lowrey (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
- Mary Malone (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Jeff Manning (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Defenders of the Vortex)
- Lindsay Martell
- Scott McCullough
- Jim McGill (Choppy and the Princess)
- Burr Middleton (Choppy and the Princess, Golden Bat)
- Richard Nieskens (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Defenders of the Vortex)
- Don Pomes (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Frank Rogers (Defenders of the Vortex)
- William Ross (Lupin the Third, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Defenders of the Vortex, Golden Bat)
- Judith Sackheim (Swan Lake, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Carrie Sakai (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior, Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
- Gerri Sorrells (Defenders of the Vortex)
- Gregory Starr (Lupin the Third, Swan Lake, Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Rumiko Varnes (Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
- Bud Widom (Choppy and the Princess)
- Mike Worman (Lupin the Third, Swan Lake, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Defenders of the Vortex, Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
- Carole Wyand (Choppy and the Princess)
- Dick Wyand (Choppy and the Princess)
Known English dubs
- The Last War (1961, lost)
- The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963)
- Attack Squadron! (1963)
- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
- Son of Godzilla (1967)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- Golden Bat (1968, lost)
- Battle Of The Japan Sea (1969)
- Choppy and the Princess (1969) (for Oriolo Studios)
- The Bullet Train (1975)
- Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977)
- Lupin the Third (1979) (for Toho)
- Swan Lake (1981) (distributed by Media Home Entertainment)
- Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1982) (distributed by Media Home Entertainment)
- Voltes V (1983) (distributed by Media Home Entertainment)
- Defenders of the Vortex (1986) (distributed by American National Enterprises)
- Vengeance of the Space Pirate (1986) (distributed by American National Enterprises)
- Revenge of the Ninja Warrior (1986) (distributed by American National Enterprises)
- Princess From the Moon (1987)
