In a world…without Don LaFontaine

You may not recognize his name, but you’ve surely heard his voice before. Don LaFontaine, master of movie trailers, the gravelly-voiced enunciator of that magical phrase, “in a world…” died on Monday at the age of 68.

If you visit his website you’ll learn all sorts of fun things about Mr. LaFontaine, from his early days as a recording engineer for the U.S. Army to the accidental beginning of his voiceover career in 1965. There’s even a section called “Ask Don,” where he explains that he used to do answering machine messages until he was overrun with requests.

When you’re finished there, be sure to check out his IMDB page for a hefty résumé of his work – in addition to all of those movie voiceovers, he’s appeared in TV shows, video games, and of course, commercials.

Now you recognize him, don’t you? And who else could make steamed veggies sound so important?

So in memory of Don LaFontaine, try introducing his most famous catch phrase into your daily life.

“In a world…where library DVDs are returned undamaged….”

“In a world…where librarians put somberos on their cats….”

“In a world….”

– Amy