In a world... Don LaFontaine died

[Gemini Cricket]

Voiceover Master Don LaFontaine has died. He was 68. 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.Source (http://www.koin.com/entertainment/entertainmenttonight/story.aspx?content_id=7652482c-fc83-4276-bbfc-9c2ae1e970b5)

The voice of many movie trailers is gone.

:(

[flippyshark]

Another great one passes. What a voice!

Edited to add: Don't miss this great video - Five Guys In A Limo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdfQHw)

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Oh, heartbreaking! Truly the voice of the city.

EH can probably say more about him, because she was in the meeting when he recorded for us, but our company had the great pleasure of working with him on a "make your own trailer" feature - and I know he was a class act.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Will miss this guy's overtones. RIP.




Can't help but notice the irony of a collapsed lung. Can you really work your lungs to death?

[Alex]

In people his age, pneumothorax is most generally associated with emphysema. Wonder if he smoked (my sister suffered a spontaneous pneumothorax last year so I got to learn something about it).

[cirquelover]

I was sad to see this. I've grown used to hearing his voice over the years and he will be missed.

[Bootstrap Bill]

In people his age, pneumothorax is most generally associated with emphysema. Wonder if he smoked (my sister suffered a spontaneous pneumothorax last year so I got to learn something about it).

I had two spontaneous pneumothoraxes. The first when I was 12, the last when I was 17. Each time, a different lung. I still have the scars from the chest tubes.

[BarTopDancer]

Oh bummer. In a world full of chaos, his voice is comfort.

:(


I hope they can find another consistent voice for voice overs.

[innerSpaceman]

I dunno, Disneyland never recovered from the loss of its "voice."


I fear movie trailers are forever doomed.


(But, then, I knew that anyway.)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Oh bummer. In a world full of chaos, his voice is comfort.

:(


I hope they can find another consistent voice for voice overs.There are a few others that you'd recognize. In a world without Don LaFontaine, another will rise to take his place...

[Alex]

Hopefully this will mark the beginning of the end of using a half dozen voice people for 90% of the studio trailers.

I understand why they do it, but I think it plays no small part in the feeling of homogenization.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

I read that he'd been in the hospital for a while with a blood clot in his lung.

Best voice ever. RIP

[flippyshark]

Oh bummer. In a world full of chaos, his voice is comfort.

:(


I hope they can find another consistent voice for voice overs.

If you check out the "five men in a limo" video linked in my previous post, you'll meet a few other prominent voice-over guys with very similar styles. (And the odd man out, the Disney Home Video dude.) Side by side, I find their voices hard to tell apart, but I do think Don had the most impressive timbre among them. Still, the field is not completely empty of impressively deep-voiced narrators.

[CoasterMatt]

There's a certain tour guide at Universal that I'd love to see take the crown - he also does most of the parkwide announcements.

[Sohrshah]

RIP Mr. Lafontaine. I'm just glad that he had a small go in the spotline due to Geico before he died. Noe we all know not only his voice, but his face, too.

[BarTopDancer]

Another great one passes. What a voice!

Edited to add: Don't miss this great video - Five Guys In A Limo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdfQHw)

That was awesome!