Heinz Theo Branding was a German actor and voice actor, born on February 4, 1928, in Bielefeld, Germany. He began his artistic career as a theater actor at the Theater Bielefeld before taking on numerous engagements at other German-language stages, including the Staatlichen Schauspielbühnen Berlin. From the early 1960s onward, he also appeared as an on-screen actor in film and television productions, performing in adaptations of stage plays such as Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and as Malvolio in Viola and Sebastian, as well as in television films and guest roles in series. Despite this on-screen work, his primary focus remained on the theater and, increasingly, on voice acting.

Branding was extensively active in dubbing from 1970, providing the German voice for a vast array of international actors in both film and television. According to the German Synchronkartei, he undertook over 700 speaking roles, with other sources citing more than 1200. His distinctive voice was heard as the German dubbing for numerous well-known character actors, including Will Geer as Grandpa Sam Walton in the series The Waltons, Ed Asner as Lou Grant, Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle in Rambo, and Anthony Hopkins as Adolf Hitler in The Bunker. Following the death of Eduard Wandrey, he became the second regular German voice actor for the animated character Fred Flintstone, a role he was particularly fond of. His voice work also extended to animation and audio plays, such as the narrator in Conan the Barbarian, the Maestro in the educational series Once Upon a Time... Life, and Santa Claus in two Benjamin Blümchen audio play episodes. In the realm of anime, Branding contributed to the German dubbing of several series and films. Notably, he voiced the character 008 / Pyunma in the movie Cyborg 009 Gekijō Ban: Chō Ginga Densetsu. His other anime dubbing roles included Bulwar in Captain Future, Wildhüter in Kimba the White Lion, the narrator in Pollyanna, and Mr. Stellmann in Rascal the Raccoon.

Branding's career was marked by his transition from a trained stage actor to one of the busiest and most recognizable voice actors in German television during the 1970s and 1980s. His voice was characterized as deep and distinctive, often embellished with sighs and exclamations of joy, and his trademark was a hearty laugh. He retired from the dubbing business at the beginning of the new millennium, with one of his final roles being a guest appearance by Burt Young in the series The Sopranos, which aired in Germany in 2002. Heinz Theo Branding passed away on May 4, 2013, in Löhne, Germany.