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In a world without voice-overs ... RIP Don LaFontaine

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Football_Bat, Sep 2, 2008.

  1. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    A sad day.

    http://cbs2.com/local/LaFontaine.voiceover.died.2.808104.html

    The "King of Voiceovers" died Monday in Los Angeles at age 68.

    Don LaFontaine, whose voice was on nearly 5,000 movie trailers, died this afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told Entertainment Tonight.

    He died of complications from a collapsed lung, ET reported, although the official cause of death was not immediately released.

    In addition to being the omnipresent voice on movie trailers, he was also an announcer for Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, as well as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, UPN, TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network, according to ET.

    His voice is believed to have been used in hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke and other corporate sponsors, ET reported.

    He was also the in-show announcer for the Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards, and recently parodied himself in a Geico insurance commercial -- one of the few times he could be seen as well as heard.

    Based on contracts signed, he may have been the single busiest actor in the history of SAG, according to ET.
     
  2. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    This guy was awesome. He will be missed. I'm glad we got to see him in those Geico commercials.
     
  3. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    The Gate of Heaven. Rated PG-13.
     
  4. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    IBC... Yule Love It!

    Great voice... sory he's gone
     
  5. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    great voice.. he will be missed

    threre great clips about all the work he's done:




    (none of these are the Geico commercial)
     
  6. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    That GEICO commercial was really well-conceived and executed.

    RIP, sir.
     
  7. waterytart

    waterytart Active Member

    RIP

    (perfect title, F_B)
     
  8. KP

    KP Active Member

    GEICO commercial.

     
  9. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Don't know how FOX will do their TV trailers without him.
     
  10. jps

    jps Active Member

    damn ... always joked with mrs. jps that, whenever he died, there would be a huge void for someone out there to fill. never expected it to be so soon.
     
  11. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Second that. Talk about creating a great niche for youself ... RIP.
     
  12. jps

    jps Active Member

    one of the greatest movie trailers ever ... and I've never even seen the movie.
    watch it. laugh.

     
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