Don LaFontaine Dead At 68

Hope y'all said your prayers and held good thoughts for the voiceover master. Don LaFontaine died this afternoon, from complications from pneumathorax (gas in the pleural cavity, usually caused by a collapsed lung).

LaFontaine had recently gotten some face recognition, thanks to commercials for GEICO Insurance (standing in a lady's kitchen describing her experiences with auto insurance) and the New York Lottery, where he's sitting in a diner having coffee with fellow voice guys Ed McMahon and Johnny Gilbert. (LaFontaine's speaking part is sometimes edited out of the commercials to promote specific lottery games, but you can definitely see him sitting in the booth.) He was also part of an all-star team of trailer announcers (which also included Al Chalk, Nick Tate, John Leader and Mark Elliott) who made a short film shown at the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards. This is actually funny stuff and you don't have to know all that much about the guys - if you know the kind of schtick they do, then you'll laugh at them all poking fun at their image. Note LaFontaine's hair. I don't know if that is LaFontaine's real hair or a rug.