Article

2008-09-02 -Obits-

Don LaFontaine, the man you heard, but never heard of

Don LaFontaine, known as the "King of Voiceovers," died Monday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. LaFontaine's agent, Vanessa Gilbert, tells ET that he passed away following complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung. The official cause of death has not yet been released.

Over the past 25 years, LaFontaine cemented his position as the "King of Voiceovers." Aside from being the preeminent voice in the movie trailer industry, Don also worked as the voice of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, as well as for CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network.

By conservative estimates, he voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors.

He recently parodied himself on a series of national television commercials for Geico. At last count, he has worked on nearly 5000 films, including appearances as the in-show announcer for the Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards. Based on contracts signed, he has the distinction of being perhaps the single busiest actor in the history of SAG.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-09-02 10:42|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ] Top

#1 We now live in a world, where there will never again be a movie trailer that begins "In a world..."

I'll miss him. (And I had heard of him thanks to his GEICO commercial.)

Posted by Grenter, Protector of the Geats 2008-09-02 11:36|| 2008-09-02 11:36|| Front Page Top

#2 It seems he loved what he did and made a good living at it. Can't ask for much more than that.

If the voice of God sounds like Don LaFontaine, I won't be surprised.

Posted by Mike 2008-09-02 12:04|| 2008-09-02 12:04|| Front Page Top

#3 Don LaFontaine - in his own words : LINK

Posted by mrp 2008-09-02 13:07|| 2008-09-02 13:07|| Front Page Top

#4 A niche market well played.

Posted by Black Bart Snusotch1262 2008-09-02 13:50|| 2008-09-02 13:50|| Front Page Top

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