Don LaFontaine

Don LaFontaine (1940-2008) was a voice-over announcer best known for his work on thousands of movie trailers and other promos, particularly identified with the phrase "in a world." His deep voice was heard on Sesame Street, dramatically intoning the lowercase letter I in an animated segment produced by Fred Garbers. According to documentation, his sped-up voice was used as one of two balls playing in another Garbers segment.Documents provided by trusted source As a trailer announcer, he was heard on a joint teaser for Muppets from Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
LaFontaine was originally a recording engineer who in the 1960s worked producing radio spots and trailers. He took to the mic when an announcer failed to show up and started his own company in the 1970s, announcing the trailer for The Godfather Part II. After a stint working directly for Paramount Pictures as head of their trailer division, LaFontaine returned to freelance voice-over work. While he was heard on a variety of trailers, including The Elephant Man, his urgent delivery and deep tones became associated with horror movies (Friday the 13th and Halloween entries) and especially action movies (Mad Max 2, which uses "in a world," The Terminator and direct sequel, the Die Hard series, and many more.)
By the 1990s, media coverage had raised his profile outside the industry and he began spoofing himself in a 1998 series of Hollywood Video ads (kept behind a counter to tell customers what a movie is about). For TV, he was heard on nearly every major network, particularly on Fox and NBC, announced America's Most Wanted and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, did the intro to Renegade, and early in his career voices a talk radio host on an episode of The Rockford Files. He spoofed his announcer work again on Family Guy and American Dad! and was heard on the animated series Filmore (parodying the Quinn Martin voice-overs announcing the episode and act titles). A 2006 GEICO commercial, making a customer's story more interesting by announcing it as an "in a world" trailer, made his face visible as well as his voice. The 2013 film In a World (with Rob Corddry and Mark Elliott) uses clip footage and LaFontaine's voice-over significance as a plot point, setting off a search to find a new "in a world" voice. 
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Category:Celebrities
Category:Animated Voice Actors
Category:Commercials Actors