Comments on: In a world...

In a world...

evilcolonel — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:37:01 -0800

Said to be the busiest actor in Hollywood -- ever, Don LaFontaine was this generation's most prolific announcer, in the traditional sense of the word, lending his voice to all the major American television networks, and redefining the movie trailer. LaFontaine has died of complications from a collapsed lung at 68.

A typical Fox promo featuring his distinctive voiceover. In the last decade or so, LaFontaine came to be recognized as the man and the name behind the voice, and was not above self-parody. Don tells his story. Previously. (via)

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:42:28 -0800

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:43:03 -0800

In a world...

By: schyler523

schyler523 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:46:52 -0800

This link is the best... .

By: dhammond

dhammond — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:46:59 -0800

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:49:33 -0800

Duluth native. Minnesota is the center of everything in the world right now.

By: Talez

Talez — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:50:12 -0800

. :'(

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:51:51 -0800

Don LaFontaine is finally free from a world he never made.

By: schyler523

schyler523 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:52:53 -0800

Pablo Francisco does an imitation stand up routine.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:08:50 -0800

By: katillathehun

katillathehun — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:12:17 -0800

Aw, nuts. :(

By: ALongDecember

ALongDecember — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:13:23 -0800

By: Seekerofsplendor

Seekerofsplendor — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:14:29 -0800

Besides his famous "In a world..." stuff, his amazing voice was far more a part of entertainment culture than many realize, since the late 60s. (He also did The Godfather Pt. 2 trailer in 1974). He will be sorely missed.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:18:40 -0800

By: ALongDecember

ALongDecember — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:19:47 -0800

I always loved this ABC interview, where you find out he didn't just say things like "In a world...," he wrote them.

By: scody

scody — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:20:07 -0800

. x 5000

By: Malor

Malor — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:25:33 -0800

This was linked from the last post, but this is a version with much better audio: 5 Guys In A Limo. Boy, it's sad to lose that guy. A voice so omnipresent that it almost defined his time.

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:27:27 -0800

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:31:27 -0800

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:58:39 -0800

The American movie trailer is going to be different now; he dominates the field so heavily. Essentially, if a big budget movie's trailer doesn't use him, it probably doesn't use voice-over. He will be missed.

By: pjern

pjern — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:09:07 -0800

o (too big for a .)

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:20:56 -0800

By: h00py

h00py — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:26:23 -0800

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:42:44 -0800

-- one man stood alone -- ready to take on any challenge -- a savior of lost causes -- yet he remained unknown to all but a few -- this man -- was known as -- the voice

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:45:53 -0800

Bookhouse: Not quite true. His style has been widely imitated (see 5 guys video).

By: Iridic

Iridic — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:05:25 -0800

By: Donnie VandenBos

Donnie VandenBos — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:06:14 -0800

By: wendell

wendell — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:25:35 -0800

The other 4 guys in that limo, along with hundreds of other Voice-Over professionals, mourn him tonight, but can look forward to calls from their agents in the morning as the 'Voice Biz' just opened up a little bit. (And trailer producers, after automatically calling LaFontaine for literally decades, are going "Oh, shit, we have to do AUDITIONS now?") Maybe I'm not showing enough respect, but I will actually enjoy hearing some different voices on movie trailers and TV promos. (Disclaimer: I've had some friends in the 'Voice Biz' including a couple who got out of it during the era of LaFontaine Domination)

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:13:20 -0800

And trailer producers, after automatically calling LaFontaine for literally decades, are going "Oh, shit, we have to do AUDITIONS now?" Not quite. Miguel Ferrer's been doing a lot of voiceovers these days. I'm going to find my old Powerslave game disc in tribute, which features Don's talents as narrator and the voice of Ra.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:15:26 -0800

Sorry. Ramses.

By: Shepherd

Shepherd — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:31:52 -0800

By: edmcbride

edmcbride — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:55:53 -0800

In a world.... one man..... this summer....

By: DU

DU — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:03:34 -0800

I will actually enjoy hearing some different voices on movie trailers and TV promos. Just because they come out of different bodies, I wouldn't assume they will be different voices.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:13:10 -0800

By: Yoshi Ayarane

Yoshi Ayarane — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:37:06 -0800

D'oh!

By: StrikeTheViol

StrikeTheViol — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:50:10 -0800

RIP, Mr. LaFontaine...thankfully Hal Douglas is still with us.

By: kcds

kcds — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:53:47 -0800

While Mr LaFontaine's passing is undoubtedly a great loss to the industry, and my sympathies are with his family, we have to look on the bright side - now FINALLY maybe we can have more voiceovers from Gilbert Gottfried and Fran Drescher.

By: Bdave

Bdave — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:31:32 -0800

Sad. I really liked this dude. 5 Guys In A Limo rules.

By: krautland

krautland — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:41:08 -0800

fuck. I worked with him six times. a true professional. now it's all hal, I guess. .

By: about_time

about_time — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:00:05 -0800

By: tommasz

tommasz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:07:15 -0800

By: lester

lester — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:20:46 -0800

By: Spatch

Spatch — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:20:53 -0800

By: A189Nut

A189Nut — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:21:10 -0800

I didn't recognise him (with his wig on) in 5 Guys in a Limo

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:26:52 -0800

Sorry he died. He did have an interesting type of voice. I wonder if he had a longer vocal tract? .

By: aerotive

aerotive — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:41:32 -0800

By: fiercecupcake

fiercecupcake — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:55:25 -0800

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:56:05 -0800

With todays modern computer tech AND all the samples of his voice, I'm sure he can be replaced.

By: briank

briank — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:17:59 -0800

Now all the great ones are gone: Johnny Olson, John Facenda, and now Don LaFontaine.

By: Ber

Ber — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:22:39 -0800

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:22:50 -0800

A legend. Heard by all, seen by few. Great voice. RIP, Don.

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:44:25 -0800

Beau Weaver also keeps busy voicing trailers in the same style. He also offers a free ringtone. rough ashlar: With todays modern computer tech AND all the samples of his voice, I'm sure he can be replaced. Probably true. Ernie Anderson has been dead for several years, but his voice tracks are still available for use on YOUR radio station.

By: joedan

joedan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:49:27 -0800

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:51:17 -0800

No movie trailer is good and/or effective without someone screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" so I'm adding it here, too. .

By: Artful Codger

Artful Codger — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:51:59 -0800

. Drag, he didn't get to retire and laugh as 1,001 rookies try to imitate him. We will, unfortunately.

By: good in a vacuum

good in a vacuum — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:52:20 -0800

Has anyone else noticed that trailers have seemed to be moving away from voiceovers in recent years? It seems like many are using text captions, or nothing at all.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:55:06 -0800

Damn. The man was a cultural touchstone. The world is going to sound just a little bit different from now on. .

By: Liosliath

Liosliath — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:02:35 -0800

Saw this posted on a voiceover blog on Aug 26th : "For those unaware, Don is in the hospital in critical condition with a blood clot lodged in his lungs. Below is a letter from his wife Nita. Please read it and send your thoughts and prayers. - Stewart Wilson-Turner "Dear friends and family, I need you help and I'm reaching out to all of you. My wonderful husband is in critical condition at Cedar Sinai hospital; a blood clot is lodged in his lung and he is fighting for his life. This happened on Saturday after I'd taken him in for shortness of breath on Friday. He was doing very well and I left him talking and being funny on Friday evening. Without all the details, I got a call on Saturday morning as I was heading there to visit. There has been some lovely improvement yesterday but he is very sick right now. We need your concentrated prayers! Have your churches synagogues, temples send out prayers for Don's healing and wellness. Light a candle, chant, whatever you do to send that loving energy and light to him, I would appreciate. And save a little for the girls and me. We have had small miracles already and if we all shout up to God collectively, I know how powerful that can be. He is fighting and we all are fighting with him. He is strong and is a warrior so I thank you in advance for your prayers, good wishes and kindness on behalf of my family. With a hopeful heart, Nita and family"

By: l33tpolicywonk

l33tpolicywonk — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:19:09 -0800

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:38:54 -0800

By: jamuraa

jamuraa — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:06:41 -0800

By: flibbertigibbet

flibbertigibbet — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:22:44 -0800

By: Tesseractive

Tesseractive — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:25:01 -0800

By: ericbop

ericbop — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:29:49 -0800

In the fantastic youtube video cited above, Don mentioned that his voice changed suddenly at 13. Since according to his myspace page, Don was Jewish, I only wish I could've been at his Bar Mitzvah! "In world where the Torah unfurls before generations permed and plaid, one boy stands alone. This summer...I...am....a fountainpen!"

By: matteo

matteo — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:30:54 -0800

A legend indeed, this is really sad. It's as if MGM only ever used one lion and now that lion's dead. Cool, cool guy, he will be missed no matter how many impersonators he has out there.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:33:01 -0800

. I found it great that he would take the time to record things like people's answering machine messages, and even a narration for a short high school video about a calculus class. He took himself seriously but also seemed very down to earth and funny.

By: bz

bz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:45:05 -0800

"Now it's all hal..." Hal Riney?

By: zarq

zarq — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:59:26 -0800

Hal Douglas.

By: zarq

zarq — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:01:05 -0800

. :( His spot on NPR's Wait, Wait! can be heard here.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:07:18 -0800

He's dead? (Wilhelm Scream)

By: Uther Bentrazor

Uther Bentrazor — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:13:00 -0800

By: lysistrata

lysistrata — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:13:52 -0800

By: kuppajava

kuppajava — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:28:08 -0800

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:58:51 -0800

IN A WORLD where at funerals, people just go up to each other and say "Period.", ONE MAN dares to challenge the system. NOW, MORE THAN EVER ... your heart will be warmed by ... The Non-One-Fucking-Character Non-Lazy Eulogy. Rated PG-13.

By: jake

jake — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:00:15 -0800

Show of hands: Who else's life is narrated internally, down to mundane details, by his voice? "THIS EVENING.. ONE BRUSH.. WILL SCRUB ALL TEETH." Very sad to see him go, and with him part of the magic of movies. (Wilhelm x2)

By: sapere aude

sapere aude — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:38:16 -0800

. I'm imagining his eulogy will be given by Squeaky Voiced Teen from The Simpsons.

By: lilkeith07

lilkeith07 — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:06:14 -0800

By: jdherg

jdherg — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:45:16 -0800

By: MythMaker

MythMaker — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:59:23 -0800

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:02:54 -0800

By: quin

quin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:24:07 -0800

zarq's link to the trailer for Comedian made me realize how much I loved the voice-over guys back when I first saw it. To this day, whenever I'm mentally composing a fictitious trailer, it always starts "In a world..."

By: Sphinx

Sphinx — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:00:25 -0800

By: gummi

gummi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:58:37 -0800

. I'll miss hearing you, Don.

By: ourobouros

ourobouros — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:18:49 -0800

It bums me out to think that LaFontaine is dead. I prefer to believe that he just got a much-deserved promotion to Metatron. Good luck in your new job, Don!

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:36:35 -0800

. Trailers won't be the same without him.

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:47:03 -0800

I hope he gets into heaven, because I think he would make a great announcer for the Second Coming.

By: SageLeVoid

SageLeVoid — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:41:01 -0800

By: saslett

saslett — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:31:22 -0800

By: wastelands

wastelands — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:32:50 -0800

By: lundman

lundman — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:42:23 -0800

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:01:19 -0800

When the voiceover is not your own, one man took a stand... .

By: mustard seeds

mustard seeds — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:08:55 -0800

By: JT

JT — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:35:03 -0800

By: zarq

zarq — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:50:33 -0800

When LaFontaine played Wait, Wait's "Not My Job" game, Peter Sagal and company asked him to record intros for the various shows that can be heard on NPR. About halfway through this episode, right before NPR host Terry Gross is quizzed, they played his version of her show's intro. LaFontaine's booming voice announces: "This is Fresh Air! I'm Terry Gross!" He also did a faux intro for Car Talk, but I haven't been able to find that online.

By: yiftach

yiftach — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:34:54 -0800

Two weeks late (me and Don). Bummer.