Table of Contents
Don Lafontaine Wiki BiographyDon LaFontaine Net Worth $80 MillionActor Miscellaneous Producer Writer Sound Department Music Department Production Manager Thanks Self Archive Footage
Don Lafontaine Wiki Biography
Donald Leroy LaFontaine was born on the 26th August 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA, and was a famous voice actor who lent his voice to more than 5,000 film and video game trailers, as well as hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, and various internet promotions. His career was active from 1962 until 2008, when he passed away.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Don LaFontaine was? It was estimated by authoritative sources that LaFontaine’s net worth was over $80 million, the result of his successful involvement in the entertainment industry mostly as a voice actor.
Don LaFontaine Net Worth $80 Million
Don LaFontaine was raised by his parents Alfred and Ruby LaFontaine. In 1958, he matriculated from Duluth Central High School, and immediately joined the United States Army; he was stationed at Fort Meyer, Virginia, and worked as a recording engineer for the US Army Band and Chorus.
Shortly after his discharge, he moved to New York and began his career as a sound editor and engineer at National Recording Studios. In 1962 he started working with radio producer Floyd L. Peterson on radio advertisements for Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove”, and the two worked so well together that they went into business in 1963, producing advertisements exclusively for the motion picture industry, which added a considerable amount to his net worth. In the following years, their company became successful enough to employ more than 30 people. LaFontaine and Peterson are often credited as the creators of many famous catch phrases that can still be heard in trailers, such as “In a world…”, “A one man army”, and “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no way out”.
LaFontaine’s professional voice acting career began in 1965, after he had to replace the unavailable voice actor for the trailer of the western film “Gunfighters of Casa Grande” in order to have something to present to their client, MGM. To his surprise, MGM bought the spots, thus LaFontaine continued to work as a voice over artist for the next 16 years.
For a number of years he worked for, and eventually became the head of Kaleidoscope Films Ltd., a film trailer production house. In 1976, he decided to become independent, and started his own production company called Don LaFontaine Associates, with his first work being the trailer for “The Godfather, Part II”, increasing further his net worth. Two years later, he was asked to join Paramount Pictures as the head of their trailer department. He became the Vice President of the company, but decided to leave and move from New York to Los Angeles in 1981, as he missed being involved in the active production.
Over the following years in Los Angeles, LaFontaine was at his peak, voicing over 60 promotions a week, sometimes as many as 35 per day. Most studios were willing to pay high fees for his services, which significantly increased his net worth. He was nicknamed ‘Thunder Throat’, and ‘The Voice of God’.
During his lifetime, LaFontaine cemented his position as the ‘King of Voiceovers’. He worked on nearly 5000 films, such as “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, “Shrek”, “Law & Order”, “Batman Returns” and many others, and lent his voice to various programs on NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, UPN, Cartoon Network, and others. Additionally, he voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio advertisements, for companies such as Chevrolet, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, etc. All of these projects increased his net worth to a large degree.
Regarding his personal life, Don LaFontaine was married to Joan Studva from 1967 until 1988. In 1989, he married singer and actress Anita Whitaker. He was the father of four children. Don passed away of complications from a pneumothorax at the age of 68, on the 1st September 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
Full Name
Don LaFontaine
Net Worth
$80 Million
Date Of Birth
August 26, 1940
Died
September 1, 2008, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Duluth, Minnesota, United States
Height
1.73 m
Profession
Voice actor
Nationality
American
Spouse
Nita Whitaker (m. 1989–2008), Joan Studva (m. 1967–1988)
Children
Christine LaFontaine, Elyse LaFontaine, Skye LaFontaine
Parents
Ruby LaFontaine, Alfred LaFontaine
IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0480963/
Movies
Santa vs. the Snowman 3D, The Making of Star Wars, Claire Makes it Big
TV Shows
America’s Most Wanted, Fillmore!, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Lazer Tag Academy
Trademark
1
Use of the scene-setting phrase “In a world where…” in his voiceovers for movie trailers
2
His booming, powerful voice
Quote
1
In a world…
2
It’s never too early….for a salad!
Fact
1
After high school, he enlisted in the Army, and learned about recording engineering. The first promo he engineered was for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
2
His first professional voice work came while working on the 1964 movie Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964). He filled in for a voice actor in a radio promo. This led to more voice work; by the 1970s, he was one of Hollywood’s busiest voice talents.
3
In interviews he stated that his voice spontaneously cracked in mid-sentence at the age of 13. He became very self-conscious about his “new” voice until his classmates at school would pay him to speak as their fathers to make “sick calls” on their behalf so they could take a day off from school.
4
Father, with Nita Whitaker, of Christine, Skye and Elyse.
5
His agent is Vanessa Gilbert.
6
Said that Peter Thomas influenced his career.
7
In an interview he stated that his favorite voice-over for a film trailer was the one he recorded for David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” (1980).
8
Was imitated in Pablo Francisco: Bits and Pieces – Live from Orange County (2004).
9
Recorded as many as 25 voice-over sessions in a single day and over 100 separate spots in a day.
10
His is the voice you hear on the majority of the trailers/previews at movie theaters nationwide. His body of work included voice over narrations for at least 5,000 film trailers and possibly as many as half a million TV and radio spots.
11
Did voice-over work for over 40 years.
12
Claimed that he was able do nearly 80 voice-over jobs in a day.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Taking the Hill: The Warrior’s Journey Home
2009
Documentary
Host / Narrator
Phineas and Ferb
2009
TV Series
Narrator
Family Guy
2001-2009
TV Series
Narrator / FOX Announcer
Captain Alpha Male
2009
TV Movie
Lord of All Good
Free Radio
2008
TV Series
Don LaFontaine
American Dad!
2008
TV Series
Movie Trailer Announcer
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back
1991-2008
TV Series documentary
Announcer
Frank TV
2007
TV Series
Live!
2007
Announcer (voice)
Internet Safety Force
2007
Video short
Opening Narration
Random! Cartoons
2007
TV Series
Announcer
Interrogation
2006/II
Short
Luke
World’s Most Amazing Videos
1999-2006
TV Series
Announcer
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
2005
Video
FOX Announcer (voice)
Ark
2005
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Fillmore!
2002-2004
TV Series
Announcer
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
2003
Video Game
Attract Loop Narrator (voice)
Santa vs. the Snowman 3D
2002
Short
Narrator (voice)
Stargate SG-1
2001
TV Series
Wormhole X-Treme Trailer Announcer
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
1997-1999
TV Series
Announcer
Claire Makes It Big
1999
Short
Wild Horses Trailer Narrator (voice)
Sandman
1998
Santa, Balladeer
Team Knight Rider
1997-1998
TV Series
Opening Narrator
JAG
1997-1998
TV Series
Opening Narrator
Santa vs. the Snowman
1997
TV Short
Narrator (voice)
Plump Fiction
1997
Voice-over (voice)
The Birdcage
1996
Radio Newscaster (voice, uncredited)
Cung on zo
1993
Trailer Announcer (voice)
Last Action Hero
1993
Movie Trailer Announcer (voice, uncredited)
A Man Called Sarge
1990
Narrator (voice)
Scrooged
1988
IBC Promo Announcer (voice, uncredited)
Time Walker
1982
Reporter
St. Helens
1981
Narrator (uncredited)
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
For the Bible Tells Me So
2007
Documentary narrator
World’s Deadliest Sea Creatures
1998
TV Movie announcer
World’s Most Daring Rescues
1997
TV Movie documentary announcer
The Magic of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces
1995
TV Special announcer
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Interrogation
2006/II
Short executive producer / producer
Sandman
1998
executive producer
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Interrogation
2006/II
Short
Sandman
1998
writer
Sound Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Coming Apart
1969
sound editor
San Sebastian 1746 in 1968
1968
Short documentary sound editor
Music Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Hitter
1979
music editor
Production Manager
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Hitter
1979
post-production supervisor
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
They Put It Out There
2011
TV Movie special thanks
Phineas and Ferb
2009
TV Series in memoriam – 1 episode
Like Those Who Dream
2008
Short special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The World’s Greatest Magic 5
1998
TV Special
Himself – Narrator (uncredited)
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
1997
TV Series
Himself – Narrator
Five Men and a Limo
1997
Short
Himself (as Don La Fontaine)
The World’s Greatest Magic 4
1997
TV Special
Narrator (uncredited)
The World’s Greatest Magic 3
1996
TV Special
Narrator (uncredited)
The World’s Greatest Magic 2
1995
TV Special
Narrator (uncredited)
The World’s Greatest Magic
1994
TV Special
Narrator (uncredited)
Untitled ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Featurette
1992
TV Short documentary
Narrator (uncredited)
Willow: The Making of an Adventure
1988
TV Movie documentary
Narrator (voice, as Don La Fontaine)
Soldier Girl
1980
Documentary
Himself – narrator
The Making of ‘Star Wars’
1977
TV Movie documentary
Narrator (voice)
VO Buzz Weekly
2012
TV Series
Himself
Unseen
2011/II
Documentary short voice
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back
2010-2011
TV Series documentary
Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer
2009
Documentary
Himself
Head Case
2008
TV Series
Himself / Announcer
Spread TV
2007
TV Series
Himself
alt.news 26:46
2007
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2007
TV Series
Himself
The 79th Annual Academy Awards
2007
TV Special
Announcer (voice)
Breakfast
2007
TV Series
Himself
The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
2007
TV Series
Himself
Last Call with Carson Daly
2006
TV Series
Himself
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
2006
TV Series
Himself
I-See-You.Com
2006
Himself (as Don La Fontaine)
Jeopardy!
2005
TV Series
Himself – Clue Giver
Family Guy
2005
TV Series
Himself
Behind the Scenes: Behind Enemy Lines
2002
Video documentary short
Narrator
Boot Camp
2001
TV Series
Narrator (voice)
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
In a World…
2013
Himself