Passing of a Giant

A moment of silence please.

The undisputed king of voice-overs — Don LaFontaine — has passed.

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Voiceover Master DON LaFONTAINE died Monday afternoon
9/1/08 at 2:10 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 68.
  Don’s agent, Vanessa Gilbert, tells Entertainment Tonight that he
passed away following complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or
gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung.  The official
cause of death has not yet been released.  
Over the past 25 years,
LaFontaine cemented his position as the "King of Voice-overs."
  Aside from being the preeminent voice in the movie trailer
industry…Don  has also been the voice of Entertainment Tonight and The
Insider, CBS, NBC ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon
Network.  By conservative estimates, he has voiced hundreds of thousands
of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac,
Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors. He
recently parodied himself on a series of national television commercials for
Geico. At last count, he has worked on nearly 5000 films, including
appearances as the in-show announcer for the Screen Actors Guild and Academy
Awards. Based on contracts signed, he has the distinction of being perhaps the
single busiest actor in the history of SAG.
Don was an active supporter of
AFTRA & SAG, giving of his time, opening his home, lending his experience
& stature to the AFTRA Promo Announcers Caucus,  as well as
generously giving his advice & help to his fellow voice-over artists, in
addition to the many causes & friends he helped over the years.
Don is
survived by his wife Singer/Actress Nita Whitaker, and three children,
Christine, Skye and Elyse.

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Don had been a cigarette smoker, and even though he gave it up 20 years ago, always admonished his friends and acquaintances to quit.  Part of the complications which eventually took his life, stemmed from issues left-over from his smoking days.  This is not a moral lesson.  Don himself was adamant in his non-smoking message to anyone who cared to listen.

CourVO