It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Heidi Blunier in 2009 following a long illness. This interview, in its original form,  will remain in her memory and honor.

Heidi Blunier Weibel emigrated from Bern to the United States in 1967. At the time, she hardly spoke English. But then things started to happen. She landed a job introducing foreign-language movies at a major international film festival. Her linguistic talents were discovered there by a famous Hollywood director, and then, one thing led to another. She became the first “dubbing supervisor” to top producers and directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, overseeing the foreign-language productions of Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars, ET, and the Indiana Jones sagas.

Heidi Blunier loved her life and work in Hollywood, and especially the creative freedom and responsibility it gave her. But then she decided to return to Switzerland and devote herself to her children. But it was a difficult reintegration, for both her and her daughters.

Later, something clicked, and Heidi Blunier turned away from her Hollywood-based career to study Gerontology, becoming the first woman in Canton Bern to receive a degree in that field. She was also active in local broadcasting, specializing in the arts as well as the senior community. She also devoted much of her last years to aiding the dying and counseling their loved ones.