Hollywood will voice a sad tome this week with the passing of Don Lafontaine. Dubbed "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God", he was the voice of many block buster movie trailers and TV spots. He was 68.
LaFontaine was known as the “King of Voice-overs.” The 25-year veteran died Monday in Los Angeles following complications from a collapsed lung. According to his website, LaFontaine recorded over 5,000 movie trailers. He worked for all of the major TV networks and also recording over 350,000 television commercials for companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and GM.
“You have to really believe what you're reading, even if you think the film’s a piece of junk.”
Recently he stepped in front of the camera to parody himself in a Geico commercial:
His voice has been the subject of many parodies and satire and is probably best described as being ominous. You can view some of his works on You Tube.
The New York Times reports that in a 2007 interview, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind his signature catch phrase, "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 ... violence rules.' `In a world where ... men are slaves and women are the conquerors.' You very rapidly set the scene."
LaFontaine is survived by his wife, the singer and actress Nita Whitaker, and three daughters Christine, Skye and Elyse.
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