R.I.P. Don LaFontaine AKA "The Movie Trailer Guy"

[namkcuR]

(CNN) -- Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose "In a world ..." phrase on movie trailers was much copied -- and much parodied -- has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, according to ETOnline, "Entertainment Tonight's" Web site. He died from complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told "ET."

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including "The Godfather," "Fatal Attraction" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." For a time in the late '70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film "The Elephant Man," he said in interviews, but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow, he handled every assignment equally.

"My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you're reading, even if you think the film's a piece of junk," he told Swindle magazine. "Even the worst picture is someone's favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to." iReport: Share your thoughts on "the Voiceover King"

He also provided the voice for hundreds of thousands of commercials, for companies including General Motors, Ford, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and many others, according to his Web site.

The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself, particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance, in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman's story about her car accident. He also voiced the trailer for "The Simpsons Movie," in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film's characters.

But LaFontaine was most famous for his phrase "In a world ...," used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

LaFontaine told CNN that the scripts gave him the cues for his delivery.

"They dictate how they want to be read," he told "Showbiz Tonight" in 2005. "It's pretty much straightforward stuff because you know the context of the film generally going in. If it's something like 'King Kong,' you have a pretty good idea of how you`re going to say it. It's going to be a big adventure thing. And I let the [script] more or less guide what I'm going to say."

He added that there was no secret to his movie trailer work: "I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up there," he told CNN. "What you see is what you get."

Still, he noted, it's not like he could use his movie-trailer voice everywhere.

"If I tried to use that voice in public," he said, "they'd be calling security."

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, actress and singer Nita Whitaker, and three children, Christine, Skye and Elyse

R.I.P.

[U2isthebest]

This is so sad. Even if the movie sucked, he always made it sound exciting.

[mad1]

WHAT THE MAJOR FUK?

THE GUY WITH THE BEST VOICE EVER FOR ANY TRAILER?


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!

[Lila64]

'King of Voiceovers' Don LaFontaine Dies

YouTube video listed there too. Just saw this.

R.I.P.

[GirlsAloudFan]

Originally Posted by mad1

WHAT THE MAJOR FUK?

THE GUY WITH THE BEST VOICE EVER FOR ANY TRAILER?


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!

What she said.

[Earl-Of-IMDb]

WHAAAAT! man dat guy was awesome! RIP

[pepokiss]

RIP

I hope this doesn't sound like a joke, but, is movie phone guy alive?

[Lancemc]

Is it too much to hope this is the death of the horrible movie trailer voice-over as well? Because that would be great.

[No spoken words]

Originally Posted by Lancemc

Is it too much to hope this is the death of the horrible movie trailer voice-over as well? Because that would be great.

Every cloud has its silver lining, yes Lance?

[Lancemc]

There'll be water if God wills it.

[Carek1230]

He had such a memorable voice, this is really sad. RIP. Age 68 is too young to die.

[bono_212]

Man, I heard this on the radio today and actually got pretty sad

[europop2005]

hes gone to a different world

[LMP]

Originally Posted by Carek1230

He had such a memorable voice, this is really sad. RIP. Age 68 is too young to die.

When the average male life expectancy is in the mid-'70s, it's not that bad. Still, it's a sad loss, as his awesome trailer voice has amused me for years.

[cobl04]

68 is too young.

I read this today, and was quite saddened actually I always wondered if they were all indeed the same bloke.

[MrPryck2U]

Holy Shit! That sucks! That guy had an amazing voice. I didn't know what he looked like until I saw him in the GEICO commercial.

RIP Don

[DaveC]

Originally Posted by Carek1230

Age 68 is too young to die.

68?



Peace out Don.