Don LaFontaine
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Don LaFontaine (born in Duluth, Minnesota on August 26, 1940) is a famous voice-over actor. His deep voice has been used in over 4000 movie trailers and many more television commercials and network promos (notably on the FOX Network).
Don LaFontaine, nicknamed "The King of the Movie Trailers" and "The VoG (Voice of God)", is credited with creating the modern movie trailer. He is also responsible for having written many of the movie trailer clichés, such as "In a World Where...", "A one-man army...", "From the bedroom to the boardroom..." and many more.
LaFontaine voices about sixty promo sessions a week; he commands a very high salary and is now a multi-millionaire thanks to his work. He used to be chauffeured in his own white stretch limousine between recording studios as to not waste time looking for parking, therefore being able to complete more jobs per day; but has recently started working out of his home almost exclusively by an ISDN line.
Almost all cinema audiences will have heard Don’s voice. It is described as breathy, deep, sonorous and ominous. Audio Clip (MP3) (http://vbfile6.voicebank.net/sandboxes/17/Trailers/English/Men/LaFontaine.mp3)
However, Don is not the only deep-basso voice actor behind the movie trailers: he is often confused with Tex Brashear, Hal Douglas, or Peter Cullen. He is also doing the television advertisements for The Apprentice.
The ominous style of voice employed by LaFontaine was sent up in the trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which it is described as "a deep voice, which sounds like a seven-foot tall man, who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood."
An interview with Don LaFontaine and Joe Cipriano can be found here:[1] (http://www.harrisonline.com/audio/listings/voiceover.htm)