Don LaFontaine, RIP
The legendary Don LaFontaine, the movie-trailer announcer guy who laughed harder than anyone else at the whorey cliches he was paid to repeat hundreds if not thousands of times over the past 33 years (led by the all-time groaner "in a world where..."), died yesterday at age 68. Good God. It's like a trapdoor opened and he just fell through it. I'm terribly sorry for his family and friends. And for Don also, of course. I bet he's pissed about this. I sure would be.
I knew Don slightly. I first met him in '95 or thereabouts when i interviewed him for my L.A. Times Syndicate column. I then came to know him socially through Cedering Fox over the past couple of years. A good man, quite the wit, always laughed at himself, always with the grin.
And The Winner Is blogger Scott Feinstein has written a short tribute to Don, which includes the audio of a 40 minute interview LaFontaine granted two years ago, as well as clips of a self-parodying video that he and four colleagues shot a decade ago (which has since became a YouTube sensation) and his recent GEICO commercial.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 2, 2008 at 12:28 PM
comment #1
televisiontears
says ...
It's a shame, really. He should've had another ten or fifteen years in him. I loved those self-parodying Geico commercials he did a while back. Seemed like the guy had a sense of humor about his likely monotonous job.
Now, I wonder what studio trailers are gonna sound like in a few months. It just won't be the same. R.I.P.
Posted by televisiontears
at September 2, 2008 12:56 PM
comment #2
Joshua Mooney
says ...
Don will be sorely missed. "My voice lives in a sound spectrum that nothing else lives in." How true. Whoever they find to ape him, it won't be the same. Agreed, Jeff: He deserved at least another 20 years.
Posted by Joshua Mooney
at September 2, 2008 12:59 PM
comment #3
Rich S.
says ...
All kinds of tribute videos are popping up all over the web. His self-deprecating humor is priceless. He was a man who knew his place in the universe and filled it flawlessly.
Posted by Rich S.
at September 2, 2008 1:01 PM
comment #4
Michael
says ...
It will be like when Jim Henson died...Kermit was never the same.
Posted by Michael
at September 2, 2008 1:02 PM
comment #5
corey3rd
says ...
Don, Jerry Reed and Killer Kawalski.
Posted by corey3rd
at September 2, 2008 1:02 PM
comment #6
Intense Guy III
says ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdfQHw
Five voice-over guys in a limo, from a few years back.
Posted by Intense Guy III
at September 2, 2008 1:10 PM
comment #7
Mark G.
says ...
R.I.P.
Is Hal Douglas still working? He did that great COMEDIAN trailer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbFuNQwTbs
Posted by Mark G.
at September 2, 2008 1:11 PM
comment #8
Redmond
says ...
In a world where Don LaFontaine no longer exists, movie trailers are significantly less awesome.
R.I.P.
Posted by Redmond
at September 2, 2008 1:12 PM
comment #9
btwnproductions
says ...
So what was the first "in a world where..." trailer? It became such a cliche I can't remember the specific films that used it.
Posted by btwnproductions
at September 2, 2008 1:16 PM
comment #10
dangovich
says ...
He was, quite simply, the best at what he did.
RIP.
Posted by dangovich
at September 2, 2008 5:33 PM
comment #11
lipranzer
says ...
Didn't he send himself up in the HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY trailer? That definitely shows someone who knows how to have fun with their job and with life. R.I.P.
Posted by lipranzer
at September 2, 2008 6:05 PM
comment #12
Cadavra
says ...
But let's look at the bright side: the original king of trailer voiceovers, Art Gilmore, is still alive and hale at 96!
Posted by Cadavra
at September 3, 2008 12:50 PM
comment #13
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 18, 2011 1:45 AM