RIP Don LaFontaine

Donald LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor famous for recording over 5,000 movie trailers, television commercials, network promotions, and video game trailers. His signature voice was perceived as being both ominous and sonorous. Due to the sheer volume of trailer voiceovers LaFontaine recorded, he became identified with the phrase “in a world…”, which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché. He also parodied this cliché several times, more recently in a commercial for GEICO insurance.

LaFontaine was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California with a blood clot in his lungs on August 22, 2008, and was reported as being in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal on the Mediabistro.com site. Don died September 1, 2008 following complications from pneumothorax.