... Don LaFontaine is no longer the voice of that world, it is a lesser world. LaFontaine, the Voice of the Movie Trailer whose goosepimply vocal performances number in the thousands of hundreds of dozens, has died in Los Angeles at age 68.
And be sure to revisit the thrilling voiceover masterpiece, "5 Guys in a Limo," featured here a few years ago, after the jump. Don't you dare miss it!
Pay your respects at DonLaFontaine.com.
"I don't think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away." -- Tom Noonan
"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out." -- Martin Scorsese
“An idea does not exist apart from the words that express it. Style is not an envelope enclosing a message; the envelope is the message.” -- Dwight Macdonald
"There's nothing I like less than bad arguments for a view that I hold dear." -- Daniel Dennett
6 Comments
So sad to see him go, that voice was legendary. I've seen that Key Art awards video a few times, and it's always so funny to see those voiceover artists in person. It sometimes amazes me how just a few people can so dominate modern media like that.
I also wish I'd known that LaFontaine recorded people's answering machine greetings in his spare time. Coolest. Greeting. Ever. :)
I can't be the first person to say:
"This time, it's personal".
Mark Elliot. Now I know his name.
Don LaFontaine was talented, but way overused. I especially consider his commercial for Huggies. The guy was so ubiquitous, he fell into self-parody. When the same voice is used to sell major movies and diapers, it's time to give it a rest.
Yeah, I have to agree with Raymond. Through no fault of his own, that Voice was part of Misleading Trailer Syndrome. MTS will do anything to get you into a seat on opening night even if it means advertising a black comedy as a Laff Riot or a small slice of life as a Gripping Human Drama. The voice may have been goosepimply but the message was often a sham. The Geico commercial was funny, though.
Damn.
Now all we've got is that annoying jerk who does trailers for Rob Schneider.
Everytime I read about this, I feel a twinge of guilt, as my first thought that popped into my head as I read the news about him was, "Now I don't have to hear that annoying voice anymore!" before suddenly realizing how horrifying and heartless that stray thought sounded. It wasn't even the right guy that annoyed me who died anyway. But it sounds like this fellow was quite the historical one.
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