The Way It Was #17

Some guys, like 'Vernon With A V', give good radio. Some guys give good Movie Trailers. Don LaFontaine, a Los Angeles voice-over guy was the King of Movie Trailers. He died this week at the age of 68. We'll miss him and his voice. While I was at 66WNBC, I spent a lot of time during records - on the phone - lining up commercial gigs. Hey, no snickers about those 1970's glasses...they were the coolest of the cool back then. Voice over guys are an interesting breed; usually invisible but with voices you instantly recognize. And we all have a lot of respect for each other but that doesn't mean we would be above giving a competitor the wrong address or time for an audition! My old friend Larry Kenny, the man of a thousand or more voices, years ago told me the story of going into an ad agency's reception room for a commercial audition and looking around to see who was also there to audition. Not seeing anyone he recognized among the competition, his chest puffed out and he felt pretty good about his chances of getting the job. Then Ted Brown (he was the guy who did all the Campbell Soup spots in the 1970s) walked in and Larry's ego took a tumble and Ted's chest puffed out. Then Dan Ingram walked in and Ted started getting nervous and Dan is feeling like the king of the hill. Then, Mason Adams, the voice of Smuckers and everything else from the 1970s, walked in and everyone knew they were toast. My friend, Bob Gibson, the retired New York newsman, reminded me of the great "5 guys in a limo" voice over announcer spoof from Los Angeles and I'm passing it along so you can enjoy it if you haven't seen it before. Even if you have, it will be fun to see again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdfQHw Over on Vernon Classics #17, I included one of my voice-over demos that has a couple Movie Trailer clips. I ain't bad...but Don LaFontaine was the King.