Don LaFontaine
Born	August 26, 1940 (1940-08-26) (age 67) Duluth, Minnesota
Occupation	Voice actor
Spouse	Nita Whitaker
Children	Skye Donielle LaFontaine Elyse Kathlyn LaFontaine [1]

Donald LaFontaine (born August 26, 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American voice actor famous for recording over 9,000 movie trailers, television commercials, network promotions, and video game trailers. His signature voice is both ominous and sonorous. Due to the sheer volume of trailer voiceovers LaFontaine has recorded, he has become identified with the phrase "In a world...", which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché. He has also parodied this cliché several times, more recently in a commercial for GEICO insurance. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Location in St. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ... A voice actor (also a voice artist) is a person who provides voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts), voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides. ... is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location in St. ... A voice actor (also a voice artist) is a person who provides voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts), voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides. ... Theatrical trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ... From the earliest days of the medium, television has been used as a vehicle for advertising in some countries. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. ...

LaFontaine has stated that his favorite work in a movie trailer was for the hit biopic film The Elephant Man.^[2] A biographical film or biopic is a film about a particular person or group of people, based on events that actually happened. ... The Elephant Man is a 1980 biopic loosely based on the story of the 19th century British deformed celebrity, Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film). ...

Life and career

His career began as a recording engineer at the National Recording Studios, where he had the opportunity to work with Floyd Peterson producing promo spots for Dr. Strangelove. Peterson incorporated many of LaFontaine’s ideas for the spots, and not long after, they went into business together. While working on the 1964 western Gunfighters of Casa Grande, LaFontaine had to fill in for an unavailable voice actor to finish a client’s presentation. Not long after, the client bought the spots, and LaFontaine’s career as a voice actor had been sealed. Prior and into the 1970s, LaFontaine developed his signature style of a strong narrative approach, and heavy melodramatic coloration of his voice work. For the hit 1987 single by Depeche Mode, see the album Music for the Masses Film poster for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a 1964 satirical film directed by Stanley Kubrick. ... Justus D. Barnes, from The Great Train Robbery The Western is one of the classic American literary and film genres. ... A voice actor (also a voice artist) is a person who provides voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts), voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides. ... A melodrama, in the broadest sense, is a serious drama that can be distinguished from tragedy by the fact that it is open to having a happy ending. ...

LaFontaine’s signature voice has commanded a busy schedule. He is said to voice about 60 promotions a week, and sometimes as many as 35 in a single day. It has been said that his voice-over can add prestige and excitement to what may otherwise be a "snoozer" movie. Most studios are willing to pay a high fee for his service, thanks in no small part to his rigorous efforts and golden voice. His income is reportedly in the millions.^[3]

Famous for being driven to voice-over jobs in a personalized limo with a full time driver, so as not to waste time parking and going from job to job, more recently he has begun recording many promotions from his own palatial estate in the Hollywood Hills, saving the time from traveling to many high-profile recording studios. This is due to the advent of ISDN codec technology that allows talent to communicate with high clarity in real time to studios around the world, and to the Internet where a file can be recorded and e-mailed to a studio within seconds. The Hollywood Hills, an unofficial designation of part of the City of Los Angeles, California, are part of the eastern section of the low transverse range of the Santa Monica Mountains, which extends from the Los Feliz District and Hollywood, on the south side of the Valley, to Pacific Coast... ISDN is also short for isosorbide dinitrate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a type of circuit switched telephone network system, designed to allow digital (as opposed to analog) transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better quality and higher speeds, than available with analog...

Similar voice actors Ashton Smith, Hal Douglas and Peter Cullen have all been categorized as being a close copy to the style of LaFontaine, and are sometimes confused with LaFontaine.^{[citation needed]} Ashton Smith (born circa 1962) is a voice actor famous for recording many movie trailers, television commercials and network promotions. ... Hal Douglas Hal Douglas is a voice actor who has lent his deep voice to many movie trailers and television commercials. ... Peter Cullen, born in Montreal, Canada is a voice actor who is best known for providing the voices for Optimus Prime and Ironhide, in the original Transformers series and the narrator in both American Voltron series. ...

Notable performances

Some noticeable spots of his work are in the trailers to The Godfather, and various segments on Jeopardy!, in categories such as DR. SEUSS AT THE MULTIPLEX, COMING SOON… HISTORY!, FOOD A LAFONTAINE, and NURSERY RHYME PREVIEWS. Most recently he has been featured in a GEICO commercial that began airing in August 2006, where he is introduced as "that announcer guy from the movies" (with his name listed underneath) by another voice over actor, D.C. Douglas. Before this, many people had not heard of him or ever seen his face. This article is about the 1972 film. ... Jeopardy redirects here. ... The Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. ... A voice actor (or voice artist) is a person who provides voices for computer and video games, puppet shows, amusement rides, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, stop motion, and animation works (including cartoons, animated feature films, animated shorts), and radio and television commercials. ... D.C. Douglas (born February 2, 1966, Berkeley, California) is an American character actor, voice actor, and director now living in Los Angeles. ...

He was the announcer on the newscasts of WCBS-TV New York, from 2000-2001. WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. ...

He also appeared on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, where he played "Not my job" (a game in which famous people have to accurately answer questions totally unrelated to their chosen professions). The prize (for a listener, not the contestant) is "Carl Kassel's voice on your home answering machine". LaFontaine did not win the game, and offered to do the answering machine message himself instead. NPR redirects here. ... Wait Wait. ... Carl Kasell (b. ... ...

LaFontaine and fellow voiceover pro Joe Cipriano were interviewed on The Paul Harris Show [1] on May 5, 2005 on the St. Louis radio station KMOX 1120AM. They discussed their careers, tips for others, and their contributions to Joan Baker's book, Secrets of Voiceover Success. Neither LaFontaine nor Cipriano was in the studio with Harris — they were each in their own home studios in Los Angeles, connected to the show via ISDN lines. Category: ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area  - City  66. ... KMOX is an AM radio station broadcasting from St. ... ISDN is also short for isosorbide dinitrate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a type of circuit switched telephone network system, designed to allow digital (as opposed to analog) transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better quality and higher speeds, than available with analog...

LaFontaine and four of his fellow voiceover artists--John Leader, Nick Tate, Mark Elliot, and Al Chalk--appeared together in a short film produced as an introduction segment for the 26th Annual Hollywood Reporter Key Awards called 5 Men and a Limo, where each voiceover artist parodied their own styles en route to the ceremony. Nick Tate (born June 18, 1942) is a popular Australian actor best known for his role as the likable but tough Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television show Space: 1999. ... Mark Elliot is the primary voice-over artist for Walt Disney Entertainment. ... Al Chalk is an American voice actor. ... 5 Men and a Limo (1997) is a short film (4. ...

His other performances include:

• Fillmore! - Announcer
• The Terminator -Trailer Voice-over
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Trailer Voice-over
• Cast Away - Trailer Voice-over
• Fatal Attraction - Trailer Voice-over
• Batman Returns - Trailer Voice-over
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) - Trailer Voice-over
• Daddy Day Care - TV Spot Voice-over
• Chicken Run - Trailer Voice-over
• Dr. Strangelove - Trailer Voice-over
• PowerSlave (video game) - Narrator
• Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Commercial Voice-over
• Morrow Road - Trailer Voice-over
• The World's Greatest Magic - Announcer
• The Land Before Time - Commercial Voice-over
• 79th Academy Awards - Co-announcer of the 79th Oscars.
• America's Most Wanted - Announcer
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? - Announcer
• Birds-eye Steam Fresh frozen vegetables - voice-over
• Entertainment Tonight and The Insider (2004-present) - Announcer
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - trailer announcer
• Days of Our Lives (1990) - Promo announcer during the climax of the Cruise of Deception storyline
• iZ3D Promotional Video (2008) - Commercial Voice Over
• He also appeared on a Geico commercial that hires a celebrity to dramatize a person's car accident story with the classic In a world phrase (In a world where both of our cars were totally underwater ...) He later did the same thing on The Tonight Show.
• He performed the voice-over promoting The Simpsons Movie in 2007, in which his comments were immediately echoed by characters' comments from the film. At one point he says, "Hey, you're just repeating everything I'm saying!" and Homer responds, "I know. It's weird!" (an actual clip from the film, in a different context.)

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the first film in the series. ... Terminator 2: Judgment Day (commonly abbreviated T2) is a 1991 movie directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick. ... For other uses, see Castaway (disambiguation). ... Fatal Attraction is a 1987 thriller about a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end and who becomes obsessed with him. ... For the video game based on the film, see Batman Returns (video game). ... Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with twelve children (seven boys and five girls). ... Daddy Day Care is a 2003 comedy film, starring Eddie Murphy. ... This article is about the movie. ... For the hit 1987 single by Depeche Mode, see the album Music for the Masses Film poster for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a 1964 satirical film directed by Stanley Kubrick. ... Exhumed is a First-person shooter, developed by Lobotomy Software and published by Playmates Interactive Entertainment. ... Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is an ABC reality television series that began broadcasting in 2003 in which a familys house, including all rooms, exterior and landscaping, is made over by a team of builders and designers in seven days. ... The Worlds Greatest Magic was a series of American television shows showcasing magic acts. ... This article is about the 1988 film. ... The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film for 2006, took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. ... For the professional wrestling tag team, see Americas Most Wanted (professional wrestling). ... Entertainment Tonight is a daily television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Paramount Domestic Television throughout the United States, Canada, on the Nine Network in Australia and on UBC Inside in Thailand. ... The Insider, an entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities, debuted September 13, 2004. ... Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a recently announced sports game[1], featuring both Mario and Sonic, Nintendo and Segas mascots, along with other characters from their respective series. ... Days of our Lives is an American soap opera, which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965[5] on the NBC network in the United States, and has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. ... The Cruise of Deception was a major storyline and arguably one of the most memorable ever on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives. ... The Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons, directed by David Silverman, and scheduled to be released worldwide by July 27, 2007. ...

Satire and other appearances

His voice has been the subject of parody and satire, as seen in a Cartoon Network commercial for The Powerpuff Girls, the stand-up comedy of Pablo Francisco, and on the popular web-cartoon site Homestar Runner. Comedian-actress Janeane Garofalo formerly performed "an impression of every movie trailer ever made" with the words, "In a WORLD!..." saying that every movie trailer seems to begin with LaFontaine saying, "In a world..." or "In a city..." In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see Cartoon Network around the world. ... The Powerpuff Girls is an Emmy-winning American animated television series about three little girls in kindergarten who have superpowers. ... B. J. Novak in a stand-up comedy routine at Olde English sketch comedy in June 2007. ... Pablo Ridson Francisco (born January 5, 1974 in Tucson, Arizona) is a Chilean-American stand-up comedian now living in Redondo Beach, California. ... Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. ... Janeane Garofalo (born September 28, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist, writer and former co-host on Air America Radios The Majority Report. ...

The trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy defines what a trailer is, saying the narrator "will normally employ a deep voice that sounds like a seven-foot-tall man who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood" and speaks in a clear parody of LaFontaine. [2] (however the voice is provided by fellow voice over artist Ashton Smith) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... Ashton Smith (born circa 1962) is a voice actor famous for recording many movie trailers, television commercials and network promotions. ...

LaFontaine has also participated in some of his satire, as evidenced by his voice in "North by North Quahog & Brian Sings and Swings", episodes on the FOX animated series Family Guy. His voice has also been featured in musical tracks. “North by North Quahog” is the first episode of the fourth season of Family Guy and is the first new episode of Family Guy after the series revival. ... “Brian Sings and Swings” is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of Family Guy. ... This article is about the animal. ... Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ...

He is also mentioned in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Antenna". In the episode, George Lowe bemoans the fact that he cannot get a voiceover job while LaFontaine earns "30,000 dollars a minute". Lowe attempts an impression of LaFontaine, saying "In a world where towers rule the earth." For the movie, see Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. ... George Lowe in a 2001 episode of Sealab 2021 called All That Jazz. ...

On April 12, 2007, LaFontaine appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with ousted American Idol finalist Haley Scarnato to provide humorous "movie trailer"-esque commentary, as a spoof of his Geico commercial. is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... May 26, 2006 opening monologue of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an Emmy Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jay Leno on NBC. It premiered on May 25, 1992, succeeding The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. ... James Douglas Muir Jay Leno (April 28, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian and television host, who succeeded Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. ... For the current American Idol season, see American Idol (season 7). ... Haley Suzanne Scarnato (born July 15, 1982) is an American singer who was the 8th place finalist on the 6th season of American Idol. ... The Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. ...

His voice can also be heard on the promo clip for The HD-DVD Official Web Site.

On November 20, 2007, he appeared along with Frank Caliendo and Pablo Francisco, who both impersonate Lafontaine's movie trailer voice, on Caliendo's Frank TV sketch comedy show on TBS in a sketch that parodied The Three Tenors.^[4] Frank Caliendo (born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian known for his impersonations on the FOX Network television series MADtv, and has been the in-house prognosticator for FOX NFL Sunday. ... Pablo Ridson Francisco (born January 5, 1974 in Tucson, Arizona) is a Chilean-American stand-up comedian now living in Redondo Beach, California. ... Frank TV is the new TBS sketch comedy show starring Frank Caliendo. ... album cover of the 1990 concert in Rome left-right Domingo,Carreras, Mehta, Pavarotti The Three Tenors is a name given to collabarative concerts of the three operatic tenors Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. ...

References

E!: Entertainment Television is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite network. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Official site
• Don LaFontaine at the Internet Movie Database
• Don LaFontaine at TV.com
• Don Lafontaine at the Voice Chasers Database
• The Age (Australia), November 29, 2003: Trailer talk Article about Don LaFontaine by Alan Gelder.
• SWINDLE Magazine Interview