Just when we thought America had narrowly averted tragedy over the long weekend, word arrived this morning that voice-over legend Don LaFontaine died Monday of complications from a collapsed lung. He was 68. LaFontaine voiced more than 5,000 trailers and 350,000 commercials in his career, which began by accident in 1965 when he provided a last-minute fill-in for an MGM radio spot. He continued on as an independent artist and eventually joined Paramount in 1978 as head of trailer production — the time during which he became known as the "voice" of the studio and oversaw his favorite trailer, for 1980's The Elephant Man. He had long since returned to independent production, most famously working on-camera last year as a pitchman for Geico. But around Defamer HQ we have our own LaFontaine high point (viewable after the jump), and we're sure he would have agreed if only he could reconsider. May this proud son of Duluth, Minn., rest in peace; if they had any shame, the Republicans just down the road would put off another GOP Convention day in the spirit of quiet remembrance. [ETOnline]