Don LaFontaine
Don LaFontaine | |
---|---|
Born | Donald LeRoy LaFontaine August 26, 1940 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. |
Died | September 1, 2008 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 68)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles |
Other names | Thunder Throat The Voice of God The King of Movie Trailers |
Occupation | Voice actor |
Years active | 1962–2008 |
Spouse | Nita Whitaker |
Children | 3 |
Donald LeRoy LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor who recorded more than 5,000
He became identified with the phrase "In a world ...", used in so many movie trailers that it became a humorous
Early life
LaFontaine was born on August 26, 1940, in
Career
LaFontaine continued to work as a
While working on the 1964 western Gunfighters of Casa Grande, LaFontaine had to fill in for an unavailable voice actor to have something to present to MGM. After MGM bought the spots, LaFontaine began a career as a voiceover artist.
He became the head of Kaleidoscope Films Ltd., a movie trailer production company, before starting his own company, Don LaFontaine Associates, in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by Paramount to do their trailers and was eventually promoted to vice president. He decided to get back into trailer work and left Paramount, moving to Los Angeles in 1981. LaFontaine was contacted by an agent who wanted to promote him for voiceover work, and from then on worked in voiceovers. At his peak, he voiced about 60 promotions a week, and sometimes as many as 35 in a single day. Once he established himself, most studios were willing to pay a high fee for his service. His income was in the millions.[8]
LaFontaine often had jobs at several different studios each day. With the advent of ISDN technology, LaFontaine eventually built a recording studio in his Hollywood Hills home and began doing his work from home.
LaFontaine lent his distinctive voice to thousands of movie trailers during his career, spanning every genre from every major film studio, including
Lafontaine also did announcing for a few WWE Pay Per View events, as well as the "Don't Try This at Home" bumper and the opening narration for the television shows Team Knight Rider, Renegade and Rambo: The Force of Freedom.
In a 2007 interview, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind his signature catchphrase "In a world where ...":
We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to. That's very easily done by saying, "In a world where..." You very rapidly set the scene.[11]
LaFontaine also did other voice work, including as the announcer for the newscasts on
In 2006, GEICO began an advertising campaign in which actual customers told their own stories of GEICO experiences, accompanied by a celebrity who helped them make the story interesting. LaFontaine was featured as the celebrity in one of these ads which began airing in August 2006. In the commercial, he was introduced by the voice-over as "that announcer guy from the movies", with his name printed on-screen to identify him. He began his telling of the customer's story with his trademark "In a world ...". LaFontaine credited the spot as life-changing for having exposed his name and face to a significant audience, noting, "There goes any anonymity I might have had ...".[13]
Health and death
On Friday, August 22, 2008, LaFontaine, a longtime smoker,[14] was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with a pulmonary embolism and was reported to be in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal for prayers on Mediabistro.[15] On September 1, 2008, six days after his 68th birthday and ten days after his hospitalization, LaFontaine died following complications from a pneumothorax.[16] He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His final television voice over role was for the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Chronicles of Meap" in which he said in his final line: "In a world ... There, I said it. Happy?" The episode also ended with a short tribute to him, although the iTunes, UK, Spanish, and Disney+ versions of the episode omitted the dedication.[17] His final movie trailer voice-over was for Call + Response, a documentary about the global slave trade, for which he donated his talent.[18]
Legacy
On September 6, 2008, America's Most Wanted showed a visual with a picture of him with words below that said, "In Memoriam: Don LaFontaine August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008." John Walsh had announced, prior to the dedication sign, that LaFontaine—who had been the show's announcer since 1988—had died at the age of 68. On the evening of September 7, 2008, Adult Swim had a bumper that said: Don LaFontaine [1940-2008].
The show Phineas and Ferb from Disney also dedicated the episode "The Chronicles of Meap" which he provided the narration for. Fellow voice-over artist and friend John Leader retired from the voice-over business on September 1, 2008, upon learning of LaFontaine's death.
LaFontaine was referenced, with opening clips of his work and several subsequent verbal homages, in the film In a World..., written and directed by Lake Bell.
After his death, voice-overs in film trailers became rare, with most trailers now relying on music, sound effects, and dialogue taken from the film.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis (September 2, 2008). "Don LaFontaine, Voice of Trailers and TV Spots, Is Dead at 68". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ Holley, Joe (September 3, 2008). "In a World Without Don LaFontaine, Film Won't Be as Much Fun". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ Bernstein, Adam (March 12, 2008). "Hal Douglas, famed voice-over artist, dies at 89". The Washington Post.
- ^ Greder, Andy (September 2, 2008). "Duluth's "King of Voiceovers" dies". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved September 4, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Don LaFontaine: The Voice". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ^ David Ouse. "Don LaFontaine, Duluth's 'Voice of God'". Zenith City Online. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
- ^ "Biography". Don LaFontaine's official site. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ "Ask the Answer Bitch". E!online. April 2, 2005. Archived from the original on October 10, 2006.
- ^ Arrillaga, Pauline (April 2, 2007). "About Don LaFontaine". Houston Chronicle.
- ^ a b "Ask Don". Don LaFontaine's official site. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ Dillon, Raquel Maria (September 2, 2008). "Don LaFontaine, voice of movie trailers, dies". Associated Press. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- ^ "J! Archive – Clues narrated by Don LaFontaine". Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ^ "Archives". Don LaFontaine's official site. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ^ "Don LaFontaine, who voiced trailers, dies". The Hollywood Reporter. September 2, 2008.
- ^ "VO Legend Don LaFontaine in Critical Condition". Fishbowl LA. Mediabistro. August 26, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
- ^ "Don LaFontaine Dies At 68". CNN.com. September 1, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ Phineas and Ferb episode "The Chronicles of Meap" (2009)
- ^ "Call + Response Trailer". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ Horatia Harrod (September 13, 2013). "The lost art of the movie trailer voice-over". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- 2008 Interview on World Talk LIVE with host Brett Cohen
- Don LaFontaine at Find a Grave
- Don LaFontaine at IMDb
- The Age (Australia), November 29, 2003: "Trailer talk"—Article about Don LaFontaine by Alan Gelder
- Select obituaries: