Erich Ludwig was a German actor and voice actor, born on May 14, 1939, in Dortmund, Germany, and he passed away on June 4, 2022, in Munich. His career in performance began in the 1960s with work on German radio before he transitioned to dubbing in the 1970s. Over the following decades, he became a prolific voice talent, lending his distinctive voice to a wide array of characters in film and television. His on-camera work included appearances in popular German series such as Tatort and Derrick.

In the realm of anime and animation dubbing for German audiences, Ludwig contributed his voice to several notable productions. He was part of the German voice cast for the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart, where he voiced the character Opa Nishi, the kindly antique shop owner and grandfather of the protagonist. He also voiced the character of Professor Akadama in the anime series The Eccentric Family. In the film Ni no Kuni, he took on the role of an elderly man, listed in the credits as Älterer Mann. Beyond these specific anime roles, his extensive dubbing work encompassed a broad range of live-action and animated projects, including voicing Rizzo the Rat in the German dubs of Muppet films and providing voices for series such as Futurama and Family Guy.