A voiceover master, Don LaFontaine recorded countless movie trailers, commericals, programs, files and other presentations. He was arguably the most successful voice actor of all time. Monday, September 1st, 2008, LaFontaine died at the age of 68 following complications from a collapsed lung.

Here’s a good retrospective on his career.

From LaFontaine’s website:

Over the past 25 years, LaFontaine cemented his position as the “King of Voice-overs.” Aside from his continuing work in the trailer industry, he has also been the voice of NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. By conservative estimates, he has voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors. 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.

Due to the sheer number of trailers he recorded, Don LaFontaine became known for his “In a world….” phrase. He poked fun of his cliche phrase at various events, and of course, in this great Geico commercial.

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