Voice Actress Paulette Rubinstein Passes Away at Age 98

Paulette Rubinstein (right) and Jack Curtis pose for a picture with daughter Liane.

Actress Liane Curtis has announced on her Facebook page that her mother, actress Paulette Rubinstein, passed away on September 27 at 8:18 a.m. at her home in New York City. She was 98 years old. Liane had been acting as her mother's caregiver in her final years.

Paulette Rubinstein was born on November 7, 1923, in Brooklyn and went on to enjoy a varied career as an actress and songwriter. Liane's IMDb biography for Paulette provides more details:

Paulette Rubinstein was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Russian immigrant father and a French immigrant mother. She graduated high school at 16 and went on to study the arts. She went from summer stock with the likes of Zero Mostel and Maureen Stapleton to Broadway with Eddie Albert and Julie Andrews and then segued into translating into English and directing the dubbed English version of several Ingmar Bergman and other films. She has written songs which were performed by Carmen MacRae and Hal Linden and has written several unpublished (so far) works. She was married to actor, editor, director Jack Curtis (who died in 1970) and had a daughter, actress Liane Curtis, who lives in LA.

She was also a voice actress for Titra Studios (later known as Titan Productions), lending her voice to several tokusatsu productions, such as Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Gammera the Invincible (1966). Her husband, Jack Curtis, was also a voice actor for Titra.

In between Paulette Rubinstein and Liane Curtis in December 2010.

I was privileged to conduct a lengthy interview with Paulette in 2006 about her life and career, which you can find on Vantage Point Interviews. I interviewed a total of four voice actors from Titra around the same time, and she was the one with whom I stayed in contact the most after the interviews. I always appreciated Paulette's directness and honesty, as well as her political convictions. She was one of the most principled people I've ever met. 

And I'm very proud to say that I did eventually meet her. I visited Liane's L.A. home in December 2010 when Paulette was in town for a visit. Suffice it to say, it was great to spend the day with her. We stayed in touch until her health began to decline, and communication between us became impractical. But I still mailed her greeting cards every year to let her know I was thinking of her.

Below is the video interview I did with Paulette that I recorded in December 2010 (with a special appearance by Liane):

Rest in peace, Paulette. I'll always be grateful for your love and friendship.

My interview with Paulette Rubinstein

On December 23, 2010, I interviewed Titra Studios voice actress Paulette Rubinstein (Godzilla vs. the Thing, Gammera the Invincible) at the home of Paulette's daughter, actress Liane Curtis (Sixteen Candles). About halfway in, Liane joins the interview and adds some levity to the proceedings.

My thanks again to Liane and Paulette for being such wonderful hosts! Please enjoy the video.

Nice to know I still have friends

About to have breakfast with J.D. Lees and Robert Scott Field at G-FEST XVII in Chicago.

The holidays are a time of reflection, and given that today is Christmas, and I can think of no better time to think about my friends. Of course, those with poor judgment may count "the enemy of my enemy" as their friends, but those who do always find out in the end just how meaningful such relationships are.

With Akira Takarada at G-FEST. I spent nearly a week with this legendary actor and will never forget the experience.

With Damon Foster. Although he and I live hours apart, I got to see Damon several times this year. He's a great friend with a great sense of humor. Love our phone conversations!

With Luciana Paluzzi and Nika Solomon. I've seen Luciana twice this year (including my December 14 trip to L.A.) but only saw Nika once. I always look forward to seeing these great ladies when I'm in the area.

With Dore Kraus, as we attempt Ultraman's Specium Ray pose. I met Dore for the first time in October at a dinner he hosted, and he was just as nice as in our various correspondences.

With Dr. Franklin Ruehl. Dr. Ruehl's Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion was a favorite of mine on the Sci-Fi Channel in the early '90s. Getting to speak with him at length in October was truly a wonderful experience.

With Ib Melchior. Words cannot do this man justice, but I'm compelled to say a few. No one has shown me more hospitality this year than Mr. Melchior. Whenever I travel to L.A., I always have a place to stay at Ib's. I stay there so often that his house has basically become my home away from home! I sincerely appreciate the generosity he has shown me.

With Ryan Phillips. Ryan is a high school friend I haven't seen for nearly ten years. He was in the area on business and invited me to have lunch with him. It was my pleasure to reconnect with him and swap stories.

With Justin Dunleavy. I got to spend more time with my cousin this year than I have in a long time. Before getting involved in Godzilla fandom, Justin and I would spend hours talking about the various Toho sci-fi films in the 1990s (and the '80s before that!).

With Paulette Rubinstein and her daughter Liane Curtis. Although I have known Paulette for nearly five years (!), I never got the chance to meet her until very recently. She and her daughter Liane were extremely kind to me, and I was overwhelmed by their hospitality.

With George Chakiris. Although most people would think of Oscar-winning actors as having large egos, I couldn't think of a less appropriate description for George Chakiris. Last week, I met the West Side Story star again in L.A. for a chat, and we mostly chatted about our favorite films this year and of any year. We plan to meet again the next time I'm in town.

This doesn't begin to cover everybody, and I apologize to my friends I haven't included. I could go on all day with examples. But you have to cut it off somewhere!

I wish all my friends a happy and successful 2011!