Steve Zirnkilton

**Stephen Morgan Zirnkilton** is the signature voice of NBC's critically acclaimed Law & Order brand; which in addition to the "mothership" includes Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

He used a special opening narration for the crossover episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Chicago P.D.:

He was also the narrator of the fourth overall (Dick Wolf) TV incarnation of *Dragnet* (known during its second and last season as *L.A. Dragnet*) with the classic opening and a variation of the sentencing portion of the second TV incarnation (Jack Webb and Harry Morgan) stating, for example, that the individual is *"Sentenced to die by lethal injection. In California, an appeal in capital cases is automatic".*

Among others, Steve's credits include; NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, Discovery Channel, TLC, TNT, TBS, ESPN and the Cartoon Network. His voice has been heard on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as the animated series Family Guy. He was the voice of the reporter in the animated feature film The Rugrats Movie. And baseball fans know him as the narrator for the documentary Faith Rewarded, a film about the Boston Red Sox historic World Championship season. Steve has been the live announcer for the Kennedy Center Honors. And for the past 10 years he has joined John Walsh as the on-stage announcer for the Top Cops Awards in Washington, D.C.

## Trivia

Steven Zirnkilton is an actor who gave voice to all opening themes from six series of the Law & Order franchise, but Trial By Jury was the only show where Steve received a credit for his opening narration.

Zirnkilton made his sole onscreen appearance in the Law & Order original pilot episode, "Everybody's Favorite Bagman". He is one of the FBI surveillance technicians conducting covert surveillance of a restaurant where corrupt politicians are dining. He has one line of dialogue: "*Look at that. Do you believe these guys?*"
The actual title of his role in the script was Detective #2.

In the aftermath of 9/11, the main title voiceover by Steven Zirnkilton was changed for the first few episodes to include the following dedication:

Among others, Steven Zirnkilton did the first promo for Law & Order: Los Angeles:

## Quotes

> In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories. - Law & Order
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> In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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> In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories. - Law & Order: Criminal Intent
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> In the criminal justice system, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials. - Law & Order: Trial by Jury
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> In the City of Los Angeles, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories. - Law & Order: Los Angeles
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> In the nation's largest city, the vicious and violent members of the underworld are hunted by the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau. These are their stories. - Law & Order: Organized Crime
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> In the criminal justice system, deputy district attorneys represent the people. The prosecutors you are about to see, and the cases they try, are real. Nothing has been reenacted. - Crime & Punishment
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> The story you are about to see was inspired by actual events. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. - L.A. Dragnet
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> Join us as we go inside the New York office of the FBI and get an all access look at the men and women on the front lines. - Inside the FBI: New York
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## External Links

* Steve Zirnkilton at the Internet Movie Database