The Man with the Unmistakable Voice, Don LaFontaine, who
voiced movie trailers throughout a remarkable 33-year career, passed away
Monday, Sept. 1, at the age of 68.
Don LaFontaine died from complications in the treatment of
an illness he was receiving medical attention for at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center
in Los Angeles,
his family said. No details were released on the nature of his ailment.
He was 68 and had a remarkable career behind him, having
been active professionally until very recently. By active professionally we
mean that he averaged seven to ten voiceovers in a day, adding to the whopping
total of more than 5,000 trailers he added his personal touch to during his
career.
Born Aug. 26, 1940, in Duluth,
Minn., LaFontaine began his
career in the 1960s as a recording engineer at the National Recording Studios.
It was there that he worked with radio producer Floyd Peterson, on promo spots
for “Dr. Strangelove.”
When one announcer did not show up one day, so the story
goes, the solution was to have LaFontaine fill in and history thus changed -
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer appreciated LaFontaine’s work on the respective film promo,
for “Gunfighters of Casa Grande.”
Other than movie trailers, LaFontaine also worked on numerous
promo spots and commercials for various radio stations and television networks.
The phrase “In a world…” became his own and it was only in
2006 that his image and his voice were finally united for the world to see. LaFontaine
left anonymity behind him when he appeared in a national car insurance
commercial looking relaxed, sounding recognizably melodramatic and parodying
himself deliciously. The famous “In a world…” was also present.
Whether in voice-overs for “The Godfather, Part II,” “Fatal
Attraction,” “The Terminator” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” or in TV/radio
commercials for Coca-Cola, Budweiser or McDonald’s, as co-announcer of the
Academy Awards or as the voice for ABC, CBS, NBC or Cartoon Network, to name
just a few of his many projects, Don LaFontaine certainly earned his moniker of
“the voice of God.”
Voiceover artist Jim Tasker, in obvious awe, confessed to
the Associated Press that LaFontaine was “the originator” of the modern
voiceover for movie trailers, “the standard for which all other voiceovers for
movie trailers are measured” and the enduring “gauge for all of us in the
industry.”
Voiceover artist Tom Kane similarly praised LaFontaine,
saying the “15 to 20 guys in the country” who rise to the late voice actor’s
caliber are, “to one degree or another…doing their best Don LaFontaine
impersonation.”
LaFontaine is survived by his wife Nita Whitaker and three
daughters.
